Exciting, insane and utterly terrifying: All you need to know about the Four Hills ski jumping tour

Put your skis on, tighten the strap on your helmet and hurl yourself down the icy slope and into the abyss in front of you. It may sound like a recipe for disaster, but it's actually a traditional Olympic sport. Join Mozzart Sport Kenya as we jump (pardon the pun) into the strange world of ski jumping.

Norway in 1800s. There wasn't much to do in the Scandinavian country around 150 years ago. There weren't many invaders to deal with and there certainly were no websites to visit - so the descendants of the Vikings needed to find something to do. Skiing down the snowy slopes was OK, but there was a need for an activity a bit more exhilarating. And so, some brave people started to use their skis to jump into the air and see who can do it best. Norwegian-Danish military officer Olaf Rye is credited with the first-ever official ski jump. This brave man, who would later die in battle, jumped 9.5 metres in the air on 22 November 1808.

After over two centuries of perfecting the technique, equipment and the hills on which the jumpers compete, the jumps are quite a bit longer.

After the jumper starts with the inrun by setting down the hill, he reaches the speed of around 100 km/h. On the end of the ramp, he jumps into the air and assumes a body position that would allow him to fly as far as possible. The goal, of course, is to jump the longest, but it's not the only criteria on which the final ranking is determined. The style in which you land is also important and is rated by five judges.

Another variation of the sport, ski flying is arguably even more thrilling. It's similar to ski jumping in every sense except the scoring system. In sky flying, distance is considered over style. Under ideal conditions, top contestants are capable of leaps of over 200 metres, but ski flying is not included in the Olympics.

Over the years, the style has been perfected by many champions, with the most successful competitors hailing from countries like Austria, Germany, Poland – and of course, the Scandinavian countries Norway and Finland.

There are different hills with different-length inruns, so the final distances can vary quite a bit. Still, jumps of well over 100 metres are the norm, with many competitions seeing jumps of 150 or even 200 metres. The longest-ever jump recorded is the incredible 253.5 metres, a quite mind-blowing achievement by Austrian daredevil Stefan Kraft from March 2017.

Every season, around 25 events make up the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup. The athletes collect points during all those competitions and try to top the charts for the season. But the most prestigious part of every campaign is the Four Hills Tournament, a series of four events that's held over a week around New Year's Day in Germany and Austria. For nearly 70 years, the towns of Obersdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany and Innsbruck and Bischofshofen in Austria are the home of the most prestigious week in the sport.

Japanese jumper Ryoyu Kobayashi has won the Tournament in 2018/19 by triumphing in all four events of the Tournament and he will be the first favourite this season, but the beauty of this sport is that anyone could shine and make a name for themselves.

Obersdorf awaits (©AFP)

Needless to say that there aren't any Kenyans competing in ski jumping, but these four events full of adrenaline, excitement and passion are well worth your time as 2021 makes way for 2022. Tune in to the Four Hills Tournament!

The Four Hills Tournament 2021/22

29 December 2021 - Obersdorf

1 January 2022 - Garmisch-Partenkirchen

4 January 2022 - Innsbruck

6 January 2022 - Bischofshofen

Obersdorf winner

Ryoyu Kobayashi (Japan) (2.20)

Karl Geiger (Germany) (4.50)

Marius Lindvik (Norway) (9.00)

Halvor Egner Granerud (Norway) (9.00)

Kamil Stoch (Poland) (15.0)

Stefan Kraft (Austria) (15.0)

Killian Peier (Switzerland) (20.0)

Markus Eisenbichler (Germany) (25.0)

Anze Lanisek (Slovenia) (35.0)

Jan Hoerl (Austria) (35.0)

Overall winner

Ryoyu Kobayashi (Japan) (1.85)

Halvor Egner Granerud (Norway) (10.0)

Karl Geiger (Germany) (4.00)

Anze Lanisek (Slovenia) (40.0)

Markus Eisenbichler (Germany) (30.0)

Marius Lindvik (Norway) (9.00)

Stefan Kraft (Austria) (15.0)

Robert Johansson (Norway) (40.0)

Daniel Huber (Austria) (80.0)

Stephan Leyhe (Germany) (250.0)

***odds are subject to change