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THE GREAT ECSTASY
OF THE WOODCARVER STEINER

For instance,
I saw this bowl here

and the way the shape recedes,

it's as if an explosion had happened

and the force cannot escape properly
and is caught up everywhere.

Here you can see
how everything is caught up,

all the energy,
and yet it's full of tension.

I've made a sketch to give me an idea
how to set about it.

Ski flying has reached the point

where it's beginning to present
real dangers.

We've just about reached the limit,
as far as speed is concerned,

of the manageability of skis

whereby the slightest wind or bad snow

makes it plain dangerous.

We all get a bit scared, especially
if we see a colleague crash-landing,

which I never do because I never look
when someone crashes.

Because after a fall or a poor flight,

your heart thumps like mad,

even during the run-down a bit.

The heart-thumping you get
before a start

must not be interpreted as being like,
perhaps,

the fear you feel...

...just before a car crash

and you see
that something is going wrong.

If a man were that afraid,
he'd be finished with ski flying.

He wouldn't squat down to it.

He'd just jump straight ahead
and his skis would be pushed upwards.

Maybe he would jump off like someone
who'd never jumped off a ramp before.

That's why ski flyers don't like
people talking of fear.

They talk about
respect for the conditions

or some such thing,
but never of fear.

I think we could jump off higher ramps.

But there'd very likely be jumps
attempted and carried out

that might lead to more accidents.

We're approaching the limit.

Maybe I'd prefer to turn back,

go back to jumping off
150 or 130 metre ramps.

But it's the thrill of flying so far

that nevertheless gives me a kick,

as long as nothing happens to me.
I'd rather not talk about that.

The last jump and fall you just saw
was by Walter Steiner in 1973

at the opening
of Oberstdorf's huge ski-ramp.

Walter Steiner landed
at exactly 179 metres.

That's this mark,
and this mark is, in fact,

the point where ski flying
starts to be inhuman.

Walter Steiner
was in very great danger.

If he'd flown another ten metres,
he'd have landed down here on the flat.

It's like falling from a height
of 110 metres onto a flat surface.

To certain death.

Strange as it may seem,
I can say I'm standing

exactly where this film
had its inception for me.

Shooting began in autumn 1973

during the Swiss team's training
in Austria's Bad Aussee.

There the mat-ramp allows jumps
of up to 70 metres.

We had decided to shoot
with Walter Steiner

because he's absolutely
in a class of his own nowadays.

To my mind, he's the greatest
ski flyer there ever was.

His 179 metre jump at Oberstdorf

was ten metres longer
than the current world record.

But it didn't make him world champion.

Perhaps because he flew too far

and the jury had to interrupt the jumps
and start from a shorter run.

So his over-long flights
were all discounted.

We began shooting around New Year
1974 at the 4-Ramps Competition.

Jumping on the Schattenberg Ramp
was televised live

and so we were more interested
in events on the side.

These are jumpers
from the Soviet Union.

Steiner, Switzerland.

Walter Steiner was still suffering
from a fall two weeks back

when he entered the competition.

He had slight concussion
and a cracked rib.

The competition was won
by Aschenbach of East Germany,

who had become ski flying champion
ahead of Steiner.

It must be remembered
that East German jumpers

start the season highly trained,

with about ten times as many
practice jumps over the year

than all their competitors
throughout the world.

Nobody was at all interested
in the beaten Walter Steiner.

I remember sitting in school,
listening to the teacher talking,

and he said, "Walter, you're
day-dreaming again. What is it now?"

My thoughts were somewhere else
all over the place, except in school.

I kept dreaming of flying,
made some models

and plans of models
bigger than I could ever build myself.

Maybe that's why one night

I suddenly took off and began flying.

But not just 100 metres,
farther and farther down the track,

seeing myself suspended over the slopes
and landing very gently somewhere.

It was all sort of in slow motion.

When you get to the flying part,

you feel the tautness in your head,
not before.

Maybe I can even shut my mouth
because I feel it's superfluous,

just a cramping up.

Then it's all easy.

That's when you become aware
of what's going on.

That's what's great about ski flying.

13th March.

The evening before leaving
to jump in Planica, Yugoslavia,

Walter Steiner
prepares his skis once more.

The running surfaces have six grooves
to keep dead on track.

The skis are two and a half metres long,

much longer and heavier
than ordinary skis.

Wax is then ironed on.

Early on March 14th,
Walter Steiner leaves Wildhaus.

This is the house he lives in.

Steiner is well-prepared
for the only ski flying this year.

There are only four or five
ramps in the world

big enough to warrant talking
of ski flying and not ski jumping.

We have now arrived
at the giant ramp in Planica.

Today is March 15th,
the first day of training.

However, the organising committee
has decided

this training may count
for the competition,

if conditions
on any competition day are bad.

The weather counts for a lot here,
of course.

It has begun snowing,
but there's very little wind.

We've got two super high-speed
cameras on the job.

They take slow-motion pictures

that slow the action down
ten or 20 times.

Looking at the starting list
we have here,

it's surprising
that there are no Soviet jumpers,

nor any from Japan.

Of the East German jumpers,
usually top favourites in these events,

Aschenbach and Kampf are absent.

But world record holder Wosipivo
is here

and I think we might see a new world
record during training

or a new ramp record,
since they've set the start fairly high up

and it's not known
how the farthest will jump.

Walter Steiner was nervous
before his first practice jump

because he heard on the loudspeakers
that mediocre jumpers before him

were managing fairly long jumps.

He decided on caution,
jumping at half-strength.

Steiner's first practice jump,
slowed down 20 times.

Steiner sails past all the marks.
He lands in the run-out section.

Confusion reigns.

They can't announce
the distance immediately.

It must be a new ramp record.

You jumped further
than the critical point.

I soon realised I was going too far,
but I didn't jump all out.

Congratulations!

Up there, I felt like giving up.

But I knew if I let it go, I'd fly farther
and come down with a bump.

That's where they're measuring.
The distance signs won't go that far.

169 metres.
That's a record for this ramp

and it equals the Oberstdorf
world record flight,

though this ramp in Planica is smaller.

It was going too far from the start
I realised at once.

Still, I'm glad I stayed on my feet.
I didn't think I'd make it.

Do you think tomorrow
will see even longer distances?

No, I hope they'll be more careful now.

I didn't think I'd manage to do it
in Oberstdorf,

but it was enough.

Is this really too far for this ramp?

Yes, it's too far.

Otherwise they'd have distance markers
if it wasn't too far.

But they're bound
to shorten the run now.

- Yes, that's for sure.
- I sensed it.

When an American...
They're not bad jumpers,

but still, if they get up to 140 metres
or even farther

to 150 metres,
that's enough for this ramp.

And then let me come down!

But I thought last year on the small one,
it was getting too far and said so.

Then I jumped badly
and almost felt a fool.

This year, I thought, "Give it a try!"
It worked, thank goodness!

Before the second day's practice,
the jury shortened the run one section

so as not to endanger the jumpers.

Yet Steiner was still afraid
he'd sail down onto the flat

even with the shorter run.

We couldn't really see what happened.
He seems to have had a bad fall.

I heard the loudspeaker saying
he'd jumped 177 metres.

I'll try to find out what happened.

There was a moment's total confusion
because Steiner wasn't visible

from the run-off tower
where I was standing.

All we could assume up the tower

was that this was the end of our film
on only the second day's practice.

I thought, "That's it!"

Is he injured or could he still walk?
We couldn't see properly from up here.

He hurt his side a bit,
but it isn't bad.

But he's not sure whether he'll carry on.

I don't think it's too bad.
He isn't even concussed.

Up here,
the run is being shortened again.

These pictures were taken just after
the fall by one of our cameras.

Steiner was taken to hospital
badly shocked.

Later, he told us the fall had made him
lose his memory for a moment.

His distance, eight metres
farther than the world record

but not counted because of the fall,
was told to him five times,

but he kept asking about it.

He also tore his starting number off
and later didn't know why.

- Will you be jumping?
- I'm OK, but they won't believe it.

You've now exceeded all expectations.

Will you still jump?

I'll have to see if you have any trouble
with that eye later on.

You'd better come back
for some ointment, but not now.

Are you jumping?

I don't know. I have to think.
My mind's not too clear.

Steiner didn't want to show it,

but it was quite noticeable
he wasn't too steady on his feet.

After all, his head had struck the ground
at 140 kilometres per hour.

We'll be showing the 177 metre flight
in slow motion.

The sound you hear was recorded
a minute later on the spot

in a cabin that was too dark for filming.

I tell them something

and they laugh at me
and say I brood too much.

They say there's no need.

Things would be OK if they listened
to one man and that's me.

I have a right to talk that way.

But as soon as I open my mouth,
they say I brood and talk rot.

So I have to prove it,
but proving it isn't so funny.

Not funny at all.

Yes, I proved it in Oberstdorf.
But they didn't even believe it there.

They keep saying I brood too much,

meaning I have to break my skull
before they believe me.

It would be too good to be true!

Well, we'll see.
Maybe they'll listen this time.

But probably they won't listen
till I give up ski flying.

We didn't find Steiner
till 20 minutes later.

He'd gone off alone to the woods.
This was his great moment of crisis.

He later said people expected
too much of him,

trying to force him into a new world
record or see him bleed.

He said,
"I feel like I'm in the arena

"with 50,000 people
waiting to see me crash."

Nevertheless, he ascended
the run-off tower a third time,

but he didn't know
whether he would really jump.

The question was whether he would
ever be able to jump again.

Steiner did a third jump after all.

166 metres,
again beyond the critical point,

again breaking the old ramp record.

Why did you jump
so soon after your fall?

Is it psychologically important?

Yes, if I hadn't jumped again,
I believe I'd have been pretty afraid,

I mean, felt too much respect
for ski jumping.

As soon as I had a good jump
just afterwards,

I knew things were OK.
That was what saved me.

Today is Saturday, March 16, 1974.

It's the first day
of official competition in Planica

and they'll be starting in about an hour.

As I see, there's a problem.

It froze over last night

and today the run-down
must be extremely fast.

Even yesterday
they started right down

and the run can't be shortened
any more.

The worries about Steiner
started all over again.

Thank God, the sun soon came out
and softened and slowed down the track.

Improvised field kitchens
filled the valley

with smells of onion, garlic
and cevapcici.

50,000 spectators turned out

and it all looked a bit like
a great pilgrimage.

People had seen Steiner's astounding
flights on TV the day before.

Steiner, Switzerland, will voluntarily
start a section further down

so as not to throw
the whole series out of gear.

Walter Steiner, as far as I know,
did something never before attempted.

He started one section lower down
than the other competitors.

He'd certainly have crushed
the competition

because his incredible superiority
would have caused such a shortened run

that nobody would have done
over 130 metres.

If the others did 140,
he'd do 170 metres.

Mr Steiner,
why did you start lower down?

Well, if anyone else hits the 140 mark,

I have to reckon on flying too far,
judging from yesterday's results.

It's scandalous that they
didn't shorten the run today

and even lengthened it two sections.

It's inadmissible.

Yesterday they let me jump
too far four times.

It shouldn't happen. It's scandalous
of the Yugoslav judges up there,

who are responsible.

Today it was wet and I had to reckon
on it being a nervous strain

to start lower down, but I had to.
I couldn't take the risk.

But it makes no matter.
I want to ski fly.

And this was the first time
I needn't be afraid.

Sunday, the second day of competition.

Steiner has a magnificent overall lead.

What about the speed now?
Is it normal?

It's enough.
It's enough.

I really had a terrific jump there.

You got 20 marks three times.
I don't think that's been done before.

It may have happened once,
but not to me.

- Not in your lifetime, it hasn't.
- Not with me in any case.

Steiner's flight of 166 metres

was probably the most perfect
ever recorded in the history of ski flying.

After this jump,
once again, too far for the ramp,

they even tried to speed up
the ramp once more

by protecting it with silver-foil
from the sun.

In addition,
they lengthened the run

and pressured Steiner
to try one last time.

He did, but shortened his run
by two sections.

Yes, they almost strung me up,
surrounding me

and saying the whole Yugoslav people
would despise me if I didn't jump

and they'd do all they could,

and what they did is,
started two sections higher up.

I hope the Yugoslav public
is now satisfied at least.

How far would you have jumped

if you'd jumped
from the normal height?

It has to do with thermics.

The jump I've just made wasn't ideal.

I think at 111 kilometres per hour

you could reach
180 metres without difficulty.

Despite voluntarily cutting down his run,

Steiner won the competition with a lead
never before achieved in ski flying.

I once had a young raven.

That was really something.

It was still practically unfledged.

I reared it on bread and milk

and when it could fly,

it used to meet me or saw me
coming on my bike from far off.

I whistled
and it flew onto my shoulder

and came home with me
and stayed till I fed it.

Sometimes it waited at the roadside
when I came from school.

Suddenly I heard it cawing.

I looked around
and saw it was my raven.

And it came flying straight to me.

Unfortunately, he kept losing
more and more feathers.

Maybe it was the food it ate.

The other ravens plagued it.

The row started early in the morning.
They cawed.

He tried to flee, of course,
couldn't get away and fell down.

So I'm afraid I had to shoot him.

It was a torture to see him being harried

by his own kind

because he couldn't fly any more.

I ought to be all alone in the world,

just me, Steiner,
and no other living thing.

No sun, no culture.

Myself, naked on a high rock.

No storm, no snow, no banks,
no money, no time, no breath.

Then, at least, I wouldn't be afraid.