Comments on: deliciously vertiginous and grand

deliciously vertiginous and grand

jessamyn — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 22:39:21 -0800

The Grand Canyon Skywalk, supposedly the highest man made structure in the world, opens this week. While the official website has been up and down, the skywalk has already made it into Snopes and drummed up its share of controversy. Former astronauts John Herrington and Buzz Aldrin joined members of the Hualapai tribe today in the first walk across the structure designed by Mark Johnson of MRJ Architects (slideshow, youtube). For more about all things Grand Canyonesque, you might like Polishing the Jewel: An Administrative History of Grand Canyon National Park. [previously]

By: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 22:56:15 -0800

I can't wait for the casino next door.

By: logicpunk

logicpunk — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:04:03 -0800

The Golden Gate Bridge, Hoover Dam, and now this. Will we never lose our fascination with building things someone will eventually get around to jumping from? Seriously... the walls on that thing look to be around shoulder level. Someone's going off there within a year.

By: phaedon

phaedon — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:05:55 -0800

thi$ will end well.

By: inconsequentialist

inconsequentialist — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:06:30 -0800

Someone is about to have the worst window washing gig ever! This is totally terrifying and totally badass.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:10:54 -0800

Calling all BASE jumpers!

By: T.D. Strange

T.D. Strange — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:15:20 -0800

No way. Not doing it. And someone is going to BASE jump from there within a month. There will be a suicide within 6.

By: RavinDave

RavinDave — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:16:18 -0800

Wouldn't bother me in the least. I've already stood on the side of a sheer canyon wall looking pretty much straight down. I got plenty of phobias -- but height ain't one of'em. Sign me up.

By: lemuria

lemuria — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:47:51 -0800

Oh hell no. I like how the guy on the right seems to be fleeing in terror.

By: MrMustard

MrMustard — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 00:12:00 -0800

The Snopes article suggests that walkers will be 'surrounded by Plexiglass', so perhaps suicides and base jumps won't be possible. Also, the floor is glass. Jeepers.

By: uncanny hengeman

uncanny hengeman — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 00:29:06 -0800

Couldn't help but think about the awful Cave Creek disaster. The Cave Creek disaster was an event in which 14 people died when a scenic viewing platform collapsed. Cave Creek is a small stream in Paparoa National Park. The viewing platform was erected by the Department of Conservation in April 1994, and looked out over a 40-metre chasm. The platform was constructed to allow visitors a view of Cave Creek emerging from a cave system below. However, the designers and builders of the platform did not have appropriate qualifications for the job, and at least ten major problems or oversights occurred during the platform's construction. The platform was highly unsafe, especially with large numbers of people on it.

By: moonbiter

moonbiter — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 00:36:35 -0800

From the Washington Post:

But environmentalists and others have criticized the skywalk project since its inception, saying that the overhang will tarnish the pristine canyon and that a less intrusive tourist attraction could have been developed. "I think it's a real travesty," said Robert Arnberger, who was superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park from 1994 to 2000.

From the LA Times:

"It's the equivalent of an upscale carnival ride," said Robert Arnberger, a former superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park who was born near the canyon's South Rim. "Why would they desecrate this place with this?"

Something tells me Mr. Arnberger really doesn't like this project. Also, having been to the canyon several times, something tells me he doesn't remember it very well. It's awesome and beautiful, but pristine it is not (at least not where the Park Service has it's presence).

By: loquacious

loquacious — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 00:42:50 -0800

I can't wait to skateboard on it.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:03:30 -0800

babybluebbw? eeeeew?

By: happybunny

happybunny — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:04:56 -0800

I`m visiting the US in September, and I`m sure as hell going to try that sucker out. :)

By: uncanny hengeman

uncanny hengeman — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:09:58 -0800

Another famous skywalk collapse. 111 dead.

By: rob511

rob511 — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:16:04 -0800

... supposedly the highest man made structure ... How soon you forget, Mr. Bigshot Astronaut Buzz Aldrin. So what's this, chopped livah in a tube?

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:24:24 -0800

Within 12 months someone will have an argument with his father, a hand will be cut off, and the rebellion will continue. The Cree's Death Star will pwn this.

By: Malor

Malor — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:26:59 -0800

So what's this, chopped livah in a tube? Pretty much, yep. (to be fair, it could be argued that this isn't a structure, but it IS the "highest" manmade object.)

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:39:25 -0800

happybunny, do as you will, but hiking down into the canyon is still the hippie-approved method of communing with the big gash. And huffing and puffing as you commune with the sparce oxygen.

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:42:51 -0800

Is it just me, or is that sucker pretty darn ugly?

By: nataaniinez

nataaniinez — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:58:26 -0800

Nippon News Network has fairly decent footage *requires windows media player.

By: happybunny

happybunny — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 02:13:01 -0800

Hi Ambrosia Voyeur at 60yrs of age, I like to take it easy from now on. :)

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 02:23:08 -0800

Once again the white man, driven by greed and disregard for the natural harmony of the earth, is violating the sacred ground of... what? Oh it's, uh... not...? It's the...? Oh. Nevermind.

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 02:45:01 -0800

Basically, the Grand Canyon is just a really big hole.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 03:00:06 -0800

happybunny, I will have you know that when I did it, it was with my SO's 60something folks, yet I was the resident hufferpuffer, but fair enough! The IMAX movie nearby is gold also. The pizza place across the way is the place to eat!

By: happybunny

happybunny — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 03:09:32 -0800

Ok if I feel up to it I`ll try the hike, I just hope there are some very pretty nurses on hand. ;)

By: imperium

imperium — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 03:09:40 -0800

I'm an environmental activist and an anthropology graduate, so I flipped a coin. I'm backing the tribe.

By: strawberryviagra

strawberryviagra — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 03:40:53 -0800

The architect's logo is kind of scary. *

By: psmealey

psmealey — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 03:41:26 -0800

I wouldn't go up there if you paid me. I get vertigo just looking at pictures of that thing.

By: eriko

eriko — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 03:49:08 -0800

MetaFilter: the hippie-approved method of communing with the big gash.

By: matteo

matteo — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 04:02:43 -0800

they did a story about this on BBC last night, they interviewed a barely coherent Buzz Aldrin (who also looked like he had had a lot plastic surgery -- there was something wrong with his face) and he said something like "I saw... beautiful... American... huh... history". and then I thought, jesus christ, maybe they really didn't go to the moon, it really was another Nixon dirty trick and they lobotomized the astronauts before sending them back to their families

By: Slithy_Tove

Slithy_Tove — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 04:02:50 -0800

What moonbiter said. The rims of the Canyon, especially the South Rim, are highly developed, and haven't been 'pristine' for a hundred years. You want pristine, you have to hike away from the tourist areas, or down into the inner canyon. There's lots and lots of wonderful, raw, natural canyon, but you have to work a little to get there. I do think the skywalk is silly, though. You can get a perfectly stunning view of the Canyon by just walking up to one of the many, many established overlooks on its rims.

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 04:07:42 -0800

Basically, the Grand Canyon is just a really big hole. Jesus, it's only the biggest God-damn hole in the world.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 04:18:58 -0800

Any argument about harming 'pristine' natural beauty is bullshit. This is to help people see and appreciate the natural beauty, while getting a bit of a thrill. If I ever find myself in those parts again, I'll go have a look.

By: Postroad

Postroad — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 04:27:13 -0800

When the Golden Gate Bridge was first put up, most people said it was ugly, distracting, and spoiled the views of San Franciscol And now? Ignored in all this: you can take a mule ride down into the Grand Canyon and immerse yourself in this great place rather than staring out a window-like overhang. Perhaps that way you can be more nearly interactive.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 04:33:40 -0800

Perhaps that way you can be more nearly interactive. You say that as if most people want to be interactive. I'd say most people want something more like an amusement park ride, or something like a CG scene from a Hollywood movie or something. Communing with nature (s it used to be called) is not on these people's agenda, necessarily.

By: 13twelve

13twelve — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 04:43:16 -0800

This reminds me of those pictures of the side of that "most dangerous hiking trail" in a previous metafilter post. Looking at how that thing sticks out totally made me feel ill. I really want to go on it, but looking at it brings the fear into me. Blackpool Tower has a glass floor bit at the top, which is fairly easy to walk on and not be scared, despite the 115 m height (ok so that is what, a tenth the height of the drop down this canyon?). Surely above a certain height you'd loose the sensation of being high up? I cant stop looking at the pictures yet feel really ill.

By: The Straightener

The Straightener — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 05:12:36 -0800

If you ever find me out on that thing it will be with a shotgun to my back and my face stained wet with little bitch tears.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 05:30:43 -0800

Jesus, it's only the biggest God-damn hole in the world. That sort-of depends on how you define "hole". If you're taking into account areas underwater, the Mariana Trench would win the title. If you're talking about distance between high and low above sea-level (the "deepest canyon"), the Tsangpo Gorge would win. Still, it is a pretty big hole.

By: Enron Hubbard

Enron Hubbard — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 05:38:01 -0800

I wonder how long before there is a "making of" special on TV? Also, this looks like the next best thing to skydiving for confronting fear of heights.

By: The Ultimate Olympian

The Ultimate Olympian — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 05:43:26 -0800

"I went to the Grand Canyon. It's fuckin' amazing. That's what they should have called it... the Fuckin' Amazing Canyon. I come from Ireland, so the word "grand" doesn't really have the same impact for me. If you're ill, you're sick as a dog, dyin' with the flu or something, and someone asks you how you are, you'll tell them "Ahhh sure, I'm grand", so for me, you know, it's a bit shit. The other thing I don't like about it is how proud all the Americans are of it - "bet you don't have anything like that back in Ireland!" - like God loves them more because he put it in their country, or worse, like they all got together with a bunch of shovels and dug it them-fucking-selves. Sure if they'd wanted to do that they would just have got the Irish to do it for them anyway."

By: srboisvert

srboisvert — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 05:57:26 -0800

Communing with nature (s it used to be called) is not on these people's agenda, necessarily. The communist agenda is dead?

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:02:18 -0800

But environmentalists and others have criticized the skywalk project since its inception, saying that the overhang will tarnish the pristine canyon and that a less intrusive tourist attraction could have been developed. "I think it's a real travesty," said Robert Arnberger, who was superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park from 1994 to 2000. Those damned Indians. It's like they think they own the fucking land or something.

By: biffa

biffa — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:09:04 -0800

That sort-of depends on how you define "hole". If you're taking into account areas underwater, the Mariana Trench would win the title. It's not a hole if it's got water in it, it's a pond.

By: Terminal Verbosity

Terminal Verbosity — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:12:05 -0800

Pssh. When they put a little glass-bottomed horseshoe over Valles Marineris, then I'll show some interest.

By: The Straightener

The Straightener — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:22:30 -0800

I wonder if they have a vending machine in the bathroom that sells man-diapers.

By: Terminal Verbosity

Terminal Verbosity — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:38:07 -0800

: I can't wait for the casino next door. According to NPR this morning, the tribe attempted a casino but it failed. This is plan B.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:41:59 -0800

They're paying 8 natives to stand 24/7 at the bottom holding a blanket just in case anyone tries to end it.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:43:14 -0800

"Wow! Whatta hole!" --- Marv, Home Alone 2

By: i_cola

i_cola — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:44:48 -0800

This is kinda cool but walking down & around is far more fun. Action movie criptwriters start your typing....

By: i_cola

i_cola — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:45:56 -0800

Maybe it works without the 's' but one was supposed to be there...

By: Ynoxas

Ynoxas — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 07:23:33 -0800

What an incredibly flamboyant way to kill oneself. Seriously, they have to have clear walls or something, right? Right??? If you ever find me out on that thing it will be with a shotgun to my back and my face stained wet with little bitch tears. posted by The Straightener at 7:12 AM on March 21 You and me both brother. Those photos of the "most dangerous trail" or whatever above literally make my butt clench my seat, what in the motorcycle world we call "the pucker factor". Also, vertiginous is the best word ever.

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 07:39:26 -0800

Wowee, this is one of those things that I would only ever visit by slinking out on my belly like a snake in case a freak Shamal comes and picks me up and deposits me on the non-safe side of the rinky-dink structure where I would rapidly commence a vertiginous plummet to my doom; a plummet that would last long enough to allow bitter reflection on the foolishness of my recent actions.

By: M.C. Lo-Carb!

M.C. Lo-Carb! — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 07:43:37 -0800

Meh. I wish they'd built it over a plaster and chicken wire version of the Grand Canyon in Las Vegas. I like my tacky tourist traps in concentrated form.

By: weston

weston — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 07:49:09 -0800

Basically, the Grand Canyon is just a really big hole. More of a groove, really.

By: Freaky

Freaky — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 07:59:06 -0800

*squints*. Shots that are barely 300px on a side aren't really a very optimal size for things like this.

By: alicesshoe

alicesshoe — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 08:25:07 -0800

UGH./ "Skywalk is the 'wow' that will draw people," said Steve Beattie, the chief financial officer for Grand Canyon Resort Corp., the tribe's business arm. Oh brother. Not the canyon itself, right¿ Toronto's CN Tower has a glass floor. ]Wait till photo of kids on glass floor slides by.[ It also has a Skywalk too. Should they sue now¿ "It's not really in the skies at all" What a travesty of nature. I say what a shame the tribe had to resort to Disneyesque marketing for money. To think what is to follow, restaurants...piping water from the canyon uphill, etc. Ack. Maybe they should have held an NFL Xtreme football game there or something for money. Too bad in '79 the highway bypassed the town and closed many a business. Canadian Ice roads —more danger./ Wheeee./

By: taosbat

taosbat — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 08:29:22 -0800

*shriek*

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 09:00:07 -0800

It also has a Skywalk too. There is...another...Skywalk...er.

By: sluglicker

sluglicker — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 09:07:33 -0800

What's the date today?

By: sluglicker

sluglicker — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 09:09:56 -0800

hehehe...she said vertiginous.

By: rtha

rtha — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 09:11:26 -0800

I'm not really afraid of heights, but the photos of this thing make me want to throw up. :::lies down under desk until nausea passes:::

By: baker dave

baker dave — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 09:29:27 -0800

hope they don't have an earthquake

By: cenoxo

cenoxo — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 09:38:44 -0800

With its wooden deck a mere 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River, the Royal Gorge Bridge near Cañon City, Colorado remains the world's highest suspension bridge. Unabashedly catering to touristas — with bridge, aerial tram, inclined railway, Skycoaster ride , and impressive geology — it's still a big drop to the Arkansas River. WRT to notoriety, Australian BASE jumper Dwaine Weston was killed when he struck the bridge in 2003 during an exhibition plane jump (for the annual Go Fast! Games).

By: howling fantods

howling fantods — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 09:59:09 -0800

The artist's conception might have glass walls, but in the actual pictures in the LA Times article all I see is a waist-high railing.

By: JBennett

JBennett — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:08:45 -0800

This thing is lame. Who really needs to see the Canyon through thick, green tinted glass, covered in dusty dirty sandy footprints. Maybe down the line McDonalds will want to build an identical walk right next to the current POS.

By: JBennett

JBennett — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:11:59 -0800

Oh, and on a news segment about this structure they showed some local artist hammering "authentic" native markings into stones around the planned resort. Double-lame!

By: RavinDave

RavinDave — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:24:52 -0800

To provide a bit of context for those who haven't seen the canyon, let me preface my observation with the fact that I really don't care about nature. When I saw it with some friends, I didn't even expect to like it -- I was preoccupied with Vegas and this damn hole stood in my way. When we arrived I was knocked to my knees by a beauty that simply can't be recorded. At one point, it was like stepping into a rainbow; colors shimmered from the rock formation when the sun hit it just right. We used up several rolls of film snapping pictures, drove on -- and discovered that we had been taking pictures of what was essentially a drainage ditch 5 miles from the canyon. itself.

By: jamjam

jamjam — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:40:32 -0800

Cenoxo, I grew up in Colorado, but we never went to the Royal Gorge until a visit from a southern aunt made it no longer avoidable. In those days there were inch plus gaps in the planks of the bridge, and they let cars drive across. Being out in the middle of that bridge on foot as a car after car drove by, making the planks under your feet flex, groan, vibrate and gape, laid down a memory that still pops up in certain kinds of dreams from time to time.

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:00:10 -0800

I was at the CN Tower last year, and I went to the section where they had the glass floor. And, intellectually, I knew it was perfectly safe to walk on the glass, with the signs touting how it was strong enough to hold a hundred elephants or whatever, and several people there walking on it and taking pictures, etc., etc. And standing on the non-glass floor at the edge of the glass, and looking down, there was something very visceral in me, defying all rationality (ooh, maybe it was my undercore!), telling me not to walk on the glass. I finally did, but it took me several minutes to quiet that visceral part of me enough that I could do it.

By: Ynoxas

Ynoxas — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:13:06 -0800

DevilsAdvocate: Reading your account makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck, and I've never even been to the CN Tower. I have been atop the Sears Tower, and it took all the courage I could muster to stand on the little platform and lean foreward to make your forehead touch the glass to look straight down. What's funny is I would not be at all bothered by the height if it were, say, a blimp. But for some reason, the fact that it is affixed to the earth, makes it seem much higher and much more dangerous. In other words, being at 5,000 feet in a Cessna does not make me worried of the height. Being at 35,000 feet in a jet doesn't even really register. Being at 1,000 feet in a big tower makes me quake at the knees. I don't understand it either.

By: psmealey

psmealey — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:27:19 -0800

Same here, Ynoxas. Though I have no trouble with ski lifts for some reason, looking out the windows of tall buildings causes my knees to go weak as well. I have had it my whole life. I even went skydiving in college in an effort to "cure" myself of it, as someone mentioned above. Wasn't a bad experience all in all, but it didn't work.

By: zardoz

zardoz — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:09:23 -0800

And I was just at the Grand Canyon two weeks ago! I'll definitely want to check this out. But...why pink? I suppose it matches the surrounding rock, but jesus what a horrible color.

By: taosbat

taosbat — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:41:24 -0800

I don't understand it either. posted by Ynoxas For me, it was no problem when I was younger but 'fixed' heights have gotten more scary as I get on.

By: perilous

perilous — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:43:44 -0800

I went to the CN Tower in Toronto. It was fantastic. I loved it. I dont really approve of building this skywalk where it is, on the rim of the canyon like that, any more than I approve of building any structures that close to the rim. But the real reason I wont be going to have a look at the Grand Canyon Skywalk is because it is no less than $75 fucking dollars to take a walk around that goddamn thing. Man, they have to be kidding!

By: uncanny hengeman

uncanny hengeman — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 01:17:04 -0800

These things go down!

By: Target Practice

Target Practice — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 05:59:56 -0800

Man, I don't know why you folks keep talking about people jumping off this thing. You ever been to the Grand Canyon? There's plenty of places on the edge of it that have no railing at all, and the ones that are there are only about shoulder-length. Visiting it as a kid, I was terrified the whole time that some perverse sadist was going to run me over the cliff. People who want to jump don't need to get on this contraption.

By: signal

signal — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 07:31:53 -0800

from the architect's website: We live in an area that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. The Southwest area of the United States is both unique and exciting, in an architectural aspect. We design and build from the materials around us and consider the affect the structure will have on the environment. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, apparently. Not sure if I like the affect this is having on its environment.

By: Ynoxas

Ynoxas — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 09:45:53 -0800

Target Practice: You're right, but there apparently is something to committing suicide at noteworthy locations. I mean, there have to be other tall places in San Francisco besides the Golden Gate. When I visited the Canyon, I wouldn't even let anyone else stand next to me. First, I didn't want anyone to, even jokingly, bump or push me, and second, if I did happen to slip or start to fall, I didn't want to instinctively grab onto someone else and take them with me. Seriously, for people who have never been there, there truly is no way to describe the sheer scope and magnitude of what you are seeing. Saying it is a "big hole" is paramount to saying the Atlantic Ocean is a "big pond". Being able to stand at the edge of an almost sheer drop into a canyon a mile deep and 5 miles across, and being able to SEE it all in one "drink", is for practical purposes indescribable. After spending a day there, I came away thinking that it is simply a miracle that more people are not killed there every year, given the sometimes complete lack of safety barriers.

By: taosbat

taosbat — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 13:42:16 -0800

Take a Flying Leap off Colorado's Skywalk?