For the past few years, I have built a ski jump in my back yard. Traditionally, it was built purely from snow. But as I've gotten better, the jump has steadily grown. Naturally, the success of the project is very dependent upon how much snow we get, what the temperatures are like, etc. With a jump (two years ago) that measured roughly 8-10 feet long, 4-5 feet wide, and 4-5 feet tall, a lot of snow had to be gathered up and sculpted in very precise ways. As anyone who builds with snow would know, this can take a very long time depending on weather and how much time you have to dedicate to the project each week.
Last year, I was able to snag an old banquet table from a neighbor (which would have needed to be propped up in some way; probably not the safest thing). Unfortunately, temperatures were so ridiculously low that I never got around to using it. This year, I'm hoping to find a safer, reusable solution.
Another thing I've tried is building a pyramid-esque shape with compost bags (filled with leaves). These bags work quite well, but they leave a terrible mess in the spring which is a pain to clean up.
I've toyed with the idea of building my own ramp from lumber, but I'm wary of the cost. Not to mention how quickly something like that might rot if left out under melting snow year after year.
So I'm turning to you, DIY, to offer me suggestions. It doesn't really matter what it is so long as it's solid and can be covered with a layer of snow. The dimensions I mentioned earlier are more-or-less ideal, but they can be tweaked in some manner. Basically, this means that I need something that is cheap, takes up a lot of space, but can preferably be collapsed and stored during non-snowy months.
I don't have many pictures to show, but a friend and I made a video two years ago from which you may be able to get a good idea of my setup.
Thank you in advance for all of your help!
Submitted November 26, 2014 at 11:52PM by beokabatukaba http://ift.tt/1FsxKb2
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