How do Olympic skiers and snowboarders practice complex moves? This giant airbag mimics a snowy hill

A training airbag at Utah's Olympic Park allows athletes to practice tricks with a soft landing before taking them to snow.
The Denver Post

Skiing, snowboarding athletes using slope-sized air bags to hone acrobatic trickery

BRECKENRIDGE — A few years ago, California’s slopestyle queen Jamie Anderson said there was no way she would follow the men into the inverted double backflipping trickery showcased in snowboarding’s ...
The New York Times

That Sigh You Hear Is the Sound of Danger Escaping From Risky Sports

Increasingly, competitive snowboarders and freeskiers are practicing their aerial tricks by landing on cushy airbags instead of hard snow. Purists wonder: Where’s the sport in that? By John Branch ...