The secret to all those death-defying Olympic jumps is a giant plastic airbag

"Over the last 20 years, a handful of manufacturers-such as Bagjump, Progression Airbags, and BigAirBag-have perfected the art of making massive plastic landing pads, ideal for aspiring extreme sports athletes to push the boundaries of their skills and test out new tricks year-round. Beginning with the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, athletes like Shaun White, Kevin Pearce, Danny Davis, and Sage Kotsenburg began making extensive use of this kind of training, similar to the way gymnasts would use foam pits."

"Sites that have these systems, relatively few and far between, have become destinations for advanced training. Wy'East Mountain Academy, an extreme sports-focused secondary school in Sandy, Oregon, installed a $4 million bag on its slopes last year that's open year-round. The 80-by-200-foot airbag, contoured to the curve of the mountain and installed using snowcat vehicles, is the largest in North America, and something that is relatively rare in the U.S. Smaller versions can be found at the U.S. Ski & Snowboard headquarters in Park City, Utah, and temporarily on California's Mammoth Mountain."

"The extreme levels the sports are being performed at are much safer due to Bagjump training," says Martin Rasinger, a former pro snowboarder and the inventor of the device."

Oversize plastic landing airbags have become essential training tools for snowboarders and freestyle skiers, enabling year-round practice of complex aerial tricks. Manufacturers such as Bagjump, Progression Airbags, and BigAirBag have refined large plastic landing pads over the past 20 years. Athletes began widespread use around the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, mirroring gymnasts’ use of foam pits. Facilities with these systems draw advanced athletes; Wy'East Mountain Academy installed an 80-by-200-foot, $4 million contoured airbag, the largest in North America. Smaller airbags exist at U.S. Ski & Snowboard headquarters and at Mammoth Mountain. Around 20 Bagjump locations worldwide support high-level skill development and safer progression.

Read at Fast Company