Eli5 How do ski jumpers not take any fall damage?
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They are landing on a very soft substance (groomed snow) on flexible springs that can absorb shock, (skis) at an angle that is close to a tangent with the surface (like a plane on a runway).
It’s mostly the landing angle. [The landing ramp is incredibly steep](https://images.dailyhive.com/20171120223249/whistler-olympic-park-ski-jump-3.jpg), so it pretty much matches their path through the air. From the jumper’s perspective, it’s like the ground gradually rises to meet them. Right before landing, they’re falling nearly parallel to the ground. The landing ramp then gradually levels out to horizontal after they’ve already touched down.
You’re right, if they flew and landed on flat ground like 100 ft below, they would splat.
Ski jumping is all about length. The ground is shaped to follow their falling trajectory, so when they land, in essence they have only ‘fallen’ a few feet.
Jumpers do get damaged, but it is mostly due to falling on the slope at speed and having to lose their momentum, and not from the vertical drop.
The landing zone is sloped to approach the ski jumper’s trajectory. This minimizes closing speed between the jumper and the ground. Lower closing speed means a less forceful landing.
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