Dauphine, Former Olympic ski jumping hill in Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte, France
Dauphine is a ski jumping hill in the mountains above Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. The concrete structure consists of a tall inrun tower, a takeoff ramp, and a long landing slope that runs down the hillside.
The hill was built in 1966 to a design by German architect Heini Klopfer and hosted the ski jumping events of the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble. After the Games it was rarely used and gradually fell into disrepair over the following decades.
During the 1968 Games, this site became one of the most watched venues in the region, drawing crowds from across France and Europe. Today visitors come to explore the abandoned structure and imagine what the place looked like when it was full of life.
The site sits on a mountain slope and can be reached on foot via hiking paths, so sturdy shoes are a good idea. Conditions can change with the season, and parts of the structure may be off-limits, so checking locally before the visit is worth the effort.
Soviet jumper Vladimir Belousov won gold here in 1968 with a jump of over 100 meters, which was an exceptional distance at the time. Despite decades of abandonment, the outline of the original structure is still clearly readable on the hillside.
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