Oslo, Norway, residents Halvor Angvik and Jokke Sommer are what we normal people refer to as "daredevils." You could also call them "thrill-seekers," "adventure-mongers," "intrepid risk-takers" ... or, simply, "partially insane." What makes them daredevils, you ask? This adventuresome team of snow-loving superstars finds joy in a sport dubbed "speedy flying."
The term "speed flying" is cool enough, but it only hints at this sport's radness. According to Angvik, it's kind of like a combo between ski flying and speed riding, two equally awesome extreme sports that are also relatively unheard of outside snowy lands.
To clarify for those who are unaware, speed riding is when your goal is to keep your skis on the ground while half-skiing/half-flying, explains Angvik in an exclusive Asylum interview. "Speed flying, on the other hand," he explains, "is something you don't need skis for. You can ground-launch the speed-wing on foot and just swoop over trees and ridges close to the ground without touching down."
Continue reading to see a video of Angvik and Sommer ski flying in Wengen, Switzerland.
The sport itself isn't exactly new, but it's gaining popularity thanks to videos posted on the Web by people like Angvik.
"People have been taking high-performance skydiving canopies to the mountains for quite a while and ground-launching them off with running starts like a paraglider, or with skis, like I use in the video," says Angvik.
He and Sommer (also in the video) started ski flying together three years ago, and have now taken hundreds of flights.
According to Angvik, this sport requires two "basic" skills: First, he says, you should know how to fly a high-performance canopy from a skydiving environment. Secondly, it's wise to have at least somewhat perfected your skiing technique. As for being dangerous, Angvik says the sport kind of is, but kind of isn't.
"It seems to me that too many people have decided that humans should stay on the ground and those who don't should be considered careless and suicidal," he tells Asylum. "It's obvious that it's dangerous to impact a solid rock wall at 100-plus miles per hour, but I'd rather focus on what preparations and rules I want to set for myself to make sure I don't end up hurt."
