Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
EXPERTS VISIT Copper Peak Wednesday during a meeting to discuss design improvements to the site in preparation for the return of ski flying competition to the Gogebic Range. Among those taking part in the meeting were, from left, Torgeir Nordby, Toshiyuki Shimano and Kazuya Tajiri, a Michigan Tech professor who volunteered to act as Shimano's translator.
IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - Experts from around the world gathered in Ironwood Township Wednesday for the first day of a two-day meeting focused on the design improvements necessary to prepare Copper Peak for the return of international competition.
"Basically, we're at the very beginning design phase of the project and we've brought three international ski-jumping experts in," said Paul Anderson, a project manager with Coleman Engineering; the lead engineering firm on the Copper Peak upgrades. "We have a gentleman, (Toshiyuki Shimano), from Japan. He designed the profile of the hill, basically the shape of the hill - of the jump structure and of the landing structure."
The day began with a trip to Copper Peak before the group - which included Anderson; Shimano; John Heilig and Torgeir Nordby, two experts with olympic-level experience who are helping the project; Robert Olah and Jennifer French from Duluth-based Barr Engineering; and James Ebli, the president of the construction firm Gundlach Champion - set up at Gogebic Community College for the afternoon session.
Anderson said he hoped the two days of work would result in an idea of the methods that will be used to design and build the improvements, specifically the landing structure. He explained the landing structure was the largest aspect of the improvements, as it needs to be built whereas the jump structure already exists.
"We're largely going to focus on the landing structure, that's the big focus of these discussions," Anderson said. "Because the in-run structure, there's basically maintenance that needs to be done to it - and it will be a large sum of money - but it's there and it's very very close to what we need. So there's going to be improvements made to the in-run structure. However, the big challenge is the landing hill. It's by far the biggest hurdle we have to get over here."
Plans are to covert the facility in order to allow competition without snow, including during the summer. As this means there will be an artificial surface on both the jump and landing platform, there was a discussion about the best material to put under that surface.
A number of materials were discussed; including wood, concrete and rubber.
One of the challenges of using concrete that was brought up was that it is difficult to make it completely smooth when on an incline, which would impact the feel of the surface for competitors.
Ultimately, it appears more tests of Copper Peak's slope will be needed before any final decision is made, as the stability of the soil plays a key role in the amount of anchors needed for the platform and the type of structure that the site can support.
"The stability of the slope is going to drive design," Olah, a geotechnical engineer, said.
An unstable slope would require the anchors be driven into the bedrock, while more stable conditions could allow them to be anchored in the soil alone.
Other factors - such as drainage and resistance to frost heave - were also discussed when considering the designs.
Assuming the money to fund the improvements can be raised, Copper Peak Organizing Committee Chairman Bob Jacquart said the current design schedule calls for construction to begin next summer with competitions being held in 2018.
