Grand Canyon Glass Skywalk Opens Deep Divide (yikes..don't look down!)

[Dover]

Grand Canyon Skywalk opens deep divide
Arizona's Hualapai Tribe hopes to draw more visitors with a controversial structure that will jut over the crevasse.
By Julie Cart, Times Staff Writer
February 11, 2007



GRAND CANYON WEST, ARIZ. — Perched over the Grand Canyon close to a mile above the Colorado River, a massive, multimillion-dollar glass walkway will soon open for business as the centerpiece of a struggling Indian tribe's plan to lure tourists to its remote reservation.

An engineering marvel or a colossal eyesore, depending on who is describing it, the horseshoe-shaped glass walkway will jut out 70 feet beyond the canyon's edge on the Hualapai Indian Reservation just west of Grand Canyon Village. Buttressed by 1 million pounds of steel and supporting 90 tons of tempered glass, the see-through deck will give visitors a breathtaking view of the canyon.

When the cantilevered structure opens to the public next month, it will be the most conspicuous commercial edifice in the canyon. And, if the tribe's plans come to fruition, the Skywalk will be the catalyst for a 9,000-acre development, known as Grand Canyon West, that will open up a long-inaccessible 100-mile stretch of countryside along the canyon's South Rim. The cost of the Skywalk alone will exceed $40 million, tribal officials say...cont'd

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-skywalk11feb11,0,6802248.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[shain from kane]

1. Bingo! We got a winner.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. What a shame, but who can blame the Hualapais? I guess they see a chance of

getting a piece of the pie.

[Dover]

3. Just wondering what else they might have done with 40 million dollars....

hope this will be the gold mine they are hoping for.

I'm ashamed to say I've never been to the Grand Canyon. But it's nice to know I have that adventure in front of me.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. I was there about 35 years ago and then moved to Arizona in 1983.

While I lived in Tucson, we must have gone to the Canyon 3 or 4 times. I loved the big, old National Park lodges. I even took a helicopter ride into the Canyon on one trip. The worst was we flew from the take-off just above the trees and when we crossed the rim, it felt just like the copter was dropping like a stone. It was just the illusion of the ground suddenly dropping out from under us. The copter was still flying at the same altitude.

[grmamo]

5. interesting story, thanks n/t

[Straight Shooter]

6. I love the concept in the abstract, but hate the reality of its application.

The idea of an illusion of being quasi-suspended in space and feeling so close to the depths of the Canyon, that's wonderful. But the apparent tacky looks of it, and the environmental insult of building that walkway, as well as the 9,000 acre development, it all sounds positively horrid.

[shain from kane]

7. Expect an increase in suicide attempts.

[Straight Shooter]

8. .

:rofl:

[shain from kane]

9. Sorry. My previous reply was posted in the wrong place, so I went back and edited it.

I deleted the old reply, "Luke, I am your father.", and replaced it with a comment about increased suicides

You probably remember that Darth Vader revealed that he was Luke's (SKYWALKer)father, while Luke was hanging on for dear life over a bottomless abyss.

Again, sorry for any confusion by anyone else that reads this and the previous comment.

[Straight Shooter]

10. Well, don'tcha think that makes my ROFL reply a little rude?

:D

[silverweb]

11. More.

This actually looks fascinating. Not sure I could walk out far on it with 4000 feet of empty space below me, but it sure would be worth seeing.

_more detail here_ and _here_

:wow: