Planica up close

Wake up! Wake up, we're gonna be late!

5am.

Took my sister to Planica to watch a bunch of flying squirrel men throw themselves off a big hill with long sticks attached to their feet to see who can go the farthest. All the while suffering a bunch of loud drunkish people.

At least that's what I thought ... but all in all it was actually pretty damn awesome!

The two free tickets didn't just get us in the event place, after some careful maneuvering by The Ticket Guy we also got into the VIP section, right under the landing spot, with a good view of the whole flight.

Then the VIP section turned into the VIP seats, the ones closest to all the action.

Then it became a trip up the hill to see everything very up close.

Even the judge's house thingy.

I will never forget the eery calm of standing right next to the slope and having a guy fall past you, into nothing, seemingly laying on air. Subtle whoosh sound. Amazing.

And the speed on the take off ramp! Wow! TV doesn't do it justice at all. Yeah, sure, he's doing 104km/h, so what? But when you're standing 10 meters away ... damn. Those guys are wearing underpants with a lot more room than mine have ...

Seeing Robert Kranjec jump a 231m was ... impressive. The landing looks much harder in real life than it does on the telly.

Alas, the iPhone camera was too slow to catch anyone in the air.