Wanaka freestyle skier Jossi Wells is celebrating his 20-year relationship with the resort with an invitational big air event.
International skiers and snowboarders will launch themselves off a 7m-high jump constructed specially for the event by designer Heath Richmond and snow cat driver Tom Campbell.
They have spent three weeks forming 600cu m of snow into a jump that will send competitors into the air at an angle of 38deg and to a height of up to 9m.
At a speed of about 80kmh, the competitors will travel a distance of 30m in 3½ seconds before landing on a 34deg slope made from 12,000cu m of snow.
That should give them time and space enough to complete a triple flip, although Mr Richmond said snowboarders had completed quadruple tricks in the past and skiers were always aiming to match that.
Mr Richmond (30), from Lake Tahoe, has been designing jumps for many years and said safety was a high priority.
The Cardrona jump is safer than the one at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics because there is less drop between the take-off and the landing.
As well, those using the big air jump have spent years developing their skills on lower jumps.
```The people that do hit [the jump] really know what they are doing, and it's really carefully designed and built.
``So it looks really scary and intimidating but if you know what you are doing, it's surprisingly safe.''
The first person to try out the jump was Mr Campbell.
Qualifying events for the invitational could be held on Thursday or Friday, Mr Richmond said, depending on the weather.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
