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National Park After Dark
340: Death-Defying Dreams: Grand Canyon’s Most Daring (and Foolish) Stunts
01:16:28
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- [00:05]
Cassie
One could imagine a world where truly death defying feats are limited to the grainy footage of the past, captured before safety codes were established and the age of digital scrutiny. But we all know that is simply not the case. The human desire to push the limits of capability, skill and danger is an enduring impulse. And the audience's hunger to witness these moments, to be present for the razor thin line between triumph and tragedy is just as strong as it was decades ago, if not more so. Egged on by the immediacy of social media and live streaming, think about the spectacles that have captivated us across generations. Harry Houdini, locked upside down in a tank filled with water for his signature water torture chamber escape, struggled against gravity and time, only to emerge triumphantly and cement his iconic legacy. David Copperfield, strapped to a table, appeared to be sliced in half by a massive spinning saw blade in his death saw illusion before re emerging unscathed. Proving his mastery of misdirection, Criss angel pushed the boundaries of illusion by appearing to hover weightlessly between rooftops, leaving spectators to question reality itself. These classic magicians and escape artists defined an era where cheating death became the highest form of entertainment. But then you have the daredevils, those who stepped outside the controlled environment of the stage. Consider Alain Robert, the French spider man who has built a career on free solo climbing some of the world's tallest buildings without ropes or harnesses. In one nerve wracking ascent, Robert scaled the Four Seasons hotel in Hong Kong, clinging to window ledges and structural beams. Authorities often arrested Robert for his unauthorized climbs, but that never stopped him. Or David Blaine, who submerged himself in an eight foot water filled sphere for seven agonizing days in 2006, breathing through an oxygen tube. Although he fell short of breaking the world record for holding his breath underwater, this grueling test of physical and mental strength solidified his reputation as a modern day Houdini. Even more famously, in his above the below endurance test, Bland suspended himself in a glass box over the river Thames for 44 days. Living on nothing but water, he lost 25% of his body weight, but gained worldwide recognition, despite some Londoners even mocking him by flying hamburgers near his enclosure. These acts, whether they involve skyscrapers or glass boxes, are a visceral reminder of the human's body's resilience and fragility. But when the stakes are raised and the stunts are performed live for millions, what exactly is the audience watching for? Are they marveling at the mastery, precision and strength of the performer? Or are they there to witness the potential fall. This raw tension, the uneasy mix of awe and morbid curiosity, is the core appeal of extreme live stunts. Few places on Earth offer backdrop as iconic, treacherous, and unforgiving as the Grand Canyon for these audacious antics. It has been the stage for some of the most daring and controversial live feats in history. Today we explore the daredevils who have attempted to defy its scale, the crowds who flocked to witness their survival or catastrophe, and the regulatory battles fought where these dangerous spectacles could or could not take place. Welcome to National Park After Dark.
- [03:57]
Danielle
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to National Park After Dark. I'm Danielle.
- [04:02]
Cassie
I'm Cassie.
- [04:03]
Danielle
And we're going to a park that you have not physically stepped foot in yet.
- [04:07]
Cassie
I know this is one. I. I feel almost embarrassed to say that because the Grand Canyon is such a huge. It's one of the top parks that people visit, and it's just one that I've never made my way towards yet. But I really. It's. It's really high. It's getting higher and higher on my list the longer I haven't been there.
- [04:26]
Danielle
Yeah, it feels like this. Like your great white buffalo. You need to. You need to get it. Yeah. Well, I'm excited to hear this because I. I know I saw that you were doing something stunt related because of the picture that you put, like, on our planner. So just so everyone knows, like, we have a planner so we can see what each other is, the theme of what the other person is doing so we don't overlap, which has never happened before, or do certain themes back to back to back. And all I saw was just like, a motorcycle in the air. I'm like, okay, what is this about?
- [05:03]
Cassie
Yeah, yeah, I had to do an episode on live stunts because I was actually. It's interesting because I have been wanting to do a story in the Grand Canyon, but what really sparked this for me is when Netflix announced that Alex Honnold is planning to go to Taiwan and climb this, like, 600, 1600, I'm sorry, foot skyscraper in Taiwan on live television on Netflix, who will be streaming it. And they haven't announced a date or anything, but it's in 2026. And when I saw it just kind of sparked my memory of all the live stunts that used to take place. And actually what made me want to do the Grand Canyon national park is because I have a personal memory of tuning in to a live stunt that took place in the Grand Canyon years ago. And I was like, wait, this would be a really Fun episode two questions first.
- [05:55]
Danielle
Is Alex Honnold free soloing this building or.
- [05:59]
Cassie
Yes, I believe so.
- [06:01]
Danielle
Okay. I mean, that's.
- [06:02]
Cassie
Yeah. Which is what adds to the live stunt aspect to it, I think.
- [06:07]
Danielle
Right. If there were ropes, people would be like, okay, you're Alex Honnold.
- [06:12]
Cassie
Yeah.
- [06:12]
Danielle
Step it up. Yeah. Okay. And then the second one. When was this live stunt in the Grand Canyon? You have a memory of this one?
- [06:21]
Cassie
Took place in 2012 when we were in college. And I remember tuning in. It was. I think it was between my classes because I had a late night class and I remember tuning into this and sitting in my dorm room with my laptop on my futon and.
- [06:38]
Danielle
You had a futon in your. Yeah, in your room. I had. So you were living.
- [06:43]
Cassie
Weird happenstance that happened to me in college is that I had a single room for my first two years when I was in college. And I lucked out because I say lucked out. But when I had to list my medical issues. When you go into college, I listed that I had had a kidney transplant and stuff. And for whatever reason, that got misconstrued into them thinking that I needed a handicapped single room with my own bathroom. And so when I got to college, I arrived.
- [07:16]
Danielle
I'm not gonna sign dorm.
- [07:18]
Cassie
No, I did because I was like, wait, I. I don't need that. I don't physically. I want to take up a handicap room for a student who actually might need this access. So I went down the first day I went to the office and I was like, hi. Like, I love my room, but here's my name and I can walk.
- [07:38]
Danielle
I only have one kidney, but it doesn't affect my.
- [07:41]
Cassie
It doesn't affect my ability to move. And so they looked in the system and they're like, oh, wow, you're right. I have no idea why you got this room. They were like, okay, so. So your options are, is we can put you into a force triple or no, we don't have anyone who needs your room this year and you can have it.
- [08:01]
Danielle
Oh, easy choice.
- [08:02]
Cassie
So I took the room and it ended up the next year. It was also the same case. There was no one who needed the room and I got first dib. So they gave it to me my freshman and my sophomore year.
- [08:13]
Danielle
That's very nice. You lucked out for sure. I mean, very kind of you to go down and say, you know, I. Anyone who actually needs this room, like, please, there's been a mix up.
- [08:24]
Cassie
Yeah.
- [08:24]
Danielle
I imagine you're like, actually, no, I want to be in a Triple.
- [08:28]
Cassie
Like. Well, selfishly, I was a little sad I didn't have a roommate because that was the college experience. Everyone had roommates and.
- [08:34]
Danielle
Yeah, but.
- [08:36]
Cassie
So I was sad about it a little bit, which was part of why, selfishly, I went down to tell them. I'm like, wait a second, I need a roommate. But.
- [08:46]
It. It was fine. And actually, I'm very happy that I had my own room for so many reasons. It was so nice. And everyone I knew had. Even if they were best friends with a roommate, there was always just issues. Because college, they just put you in a dorm room with no walls separating you. Not even like a. A separation wall for the most part. Like, you are in these rooms and you're there.
- [09:11]
Danielle
You're right up. I mean, in those. My. The rooms at Keene State, my freshman and sophomore year, they were small. There is no. It's like people have issues with roommates when you just share a home and you have individual rooms, let alone you're two feet away from another bed at all times.
- [09:31]
Cassie
A little bad because not only did I have a private room with my own bathroom, which was a handicapped bathroom, so I had a huge bathroom with a huge shower.
- [09:41]
Danielle
Okay.
- [09:42]
Cassie
My room. I was also in the newest building with like 30 foot ceilings and giant windows. And it was beautiful.
- [09:49]
Danielle
And I experienced so opposite.
- [09:54]
Cassie
I was like, I don't know what I did to deserve this, but thank you. Especially when going into my other. And I was in the nicest dorm room at my school, but when I would go and see other people's dorms, they barely fit two people. My room was bigger than people's rooms who had two, which made sense because I had wider doorways and wider closets and just a wider space to be able to accommodate a wheelchair. But I really, really lucked out.
- [10:26]
Danielle
So you were there. I can picture it so clearly. Watching your laptop on your very own private futon.
- [10:33]
Cassie
Yes.
- [10:34]
Danielle
In your very own exclusive, high end luxury dorm room.
- [10:38]
Cassie
Yes. With my very own vending machine snacks.
- [10:41]
Danielle
I didn't have a vending machine.
- [10:43]
Cassie
I didn't have a vending machine, but I went to the vending machine.
- [10:46]
Danielle
Okay, I see. And you're watching this stunt in the Grand Canyon, which is what?
- [10:52]
Cassie
Do you remember when Nick Wallenda did the High Wire across the Grand Canyon on live television?
- [10:59]
Danielle
No.
- [10:59]
Cassie
Oh, my God. It was. He also did it in Niagara Falls. And I. I believe I tuned in live to that. I know I've seen the video. I don't remember if I watched it live or not. Think it was in 2011, maybe. But watching this stunt live, I was just hand sweating. It was, it was a whole experience and I added a lot more information on that because this, this episode that I'm doing is a contemplation of a bunch of scary stunts that have happened within the Grand Canyon over years, like starting in the 1920s.
- [11:34]
Danielle
Okay. All right. Well, I don't know any of them, to be honest. I'm again, same same, but different. Like I can totally see how you have witnessed or at least have knowledge of some of these stunts. I was not in the in that.
- [11:49]
Cassie
World, in this room. Wasn't peaking your interest?
- [11:54]
Danielle
I want to be though. Let me in.
- [11:57]
Cassie
Well, welcome before we dive into these stunts that were taking place because we are going to be jumping from plan lane plane landings to car plun tightrope walks and kind of everything in between here, let's take a look at the Grand Canyon itself.
- [12:19]
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- [14:28]
The Grand Canyon is an immense geological landscape measuring 277 miles long. Its width ranges from a minimum of 600ft at Marble Canyon to a maximum of 18 miles rim to rim with an average depth of 1 mile. The south rim sits at an elevation of 7,000ft while the north rim is 8,000ft above sea level. The Colorado river, which we know runs through the Grand Canyon, especially because I've covered the Grand Canyon on quite a few episodes so far, is 1450 miles long and it starts in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, snakes through the canyon averaging 300ft wide and 40ft deep. Within the park, the canyon itself preserves an iconic geologic landscape with rocks ranging from 1.8 billion years old to recent volcanic deposits. The Colorado river established its course through the canyon approximately 6 million years ago, and the area preserves deep human history with over 3 3,391 ancestral sites documented within the park. Grand Canyon national park was first designated as a forest Reserve in 1893 by President Benjamin Harrison. It was established as a National Monument in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt and finally designated as a National park by an act of Congress on February 26, 1919. And this park's primary mission, mandated by the National Park Service, is to protect and preserve all of the human culture and natural resources found within its boundaries. It is the core mission for resource protection and public safety and because of that it has put the NPS at odds with modern day daredevils. The NPS actually denies permits for commercial stunt activities that may pose danger to visitors or jeopardize resources. But of course, as we're going to get into for this story, that has not stopped them from happening in the Grand Canyon. Stunts that involve flight below the rim, structure construction, or intentional risk of free fall generally do not meet the criteria for permitted activities within the national Park. The park regulations prohibit launching, landing or operating unmanned aircraft such as drones inside the park without written approval. The restriction is necessary to protect human health and safety, preserve the visitor experience, safeguard wildlife from potential displacement or harassment and maintain safety for emergency operations. Also, I think it's important to note that BASE jumping falls under extreme tourism and is prohibited anywhere in Grand Canyon National Park. And that is because the NPS prioritizes maintaining the park's atmosphere of peace and tranquility, which stunts often compromise. And you actually went into pretty big detail on that in your base jumping episode in Yosemite, where you talked a lot about the complications of the sport from the people who are really passionate about doing it to the nps, who has to kind of deal with the aftermath of what can happen in those stunts.
- [17:38]
Danielle
Yeah, that was a. A couple years ago now, but it's pretty relevant, I think, for that topic of discussion as far as, you know, people being like, well, you know, this is public land and this is, like, what we want to do. And, you know, and then the National Park Service being like, yes, but you're endangering not only yourself, but visitors. And then I'm sure you're going to get into maybe some other subcategories of why stunts aren't just exclusively between, you know, the person and the activity, especially if they're being televised or whatever. I think that in the base jumping one, I maybe there was a couple that they were kind of big spectacles, but by and large, I was just kind of talking about individuals wanting to base jump within the park.
- [18:27]
And I forget the episode number, but I know I titled it Dying for the Cause, so if you're interested, you can look that up if you haven't heard it.
- [18:37]
Cassie
Yeah, it's a really interesting topic. Well, getting into the kind of nuances of performing these stunts inside the Grand Canyon, It's a little bit complex because the Grand Canyon is not only managed by the nps, but it's also managed by tribal nations, including the Hua Lupi and Navajo, who hold jurisdictions over significant portions of the canyon region outside of the national park boundaries. These sovereign governments may approve commercial filming and event operations on tribal land. And that's distinction has become really crucial to understand because the Hua Lupi have developed attractions like a glass bottom lookout and sightseeing helicopter tours that actually dip below the canyon rim, which is a practice that the federal government has prohibited in the national park itself. So if you're signing up for these tours or if you're going to the Glass bottom walk, then you are not technically in the park. You're on tribal lands adjacent to. Yeah, you're still part of the Grand Canyon for sure, because it's the same. It's the Same feature, but it's just not technically within the park boundaries.
- [19:49]
Danielle
Okay, gotcha.
- [19:50]
Cassie
And of course, the National Park Service does not permit aircrafts to fly below the rim, which I kind of mentioned before. And you need special, I shouldn't even say you need special permission. They just don't permit it at all. But the less strict regulations that the tribal nations have have kind of veered away from that rule and they actually do allow it on their tribal lands. So because of that, we're going to dive into the nuance of stunts that were performed inside the park and then how people kind of skirt around those rules and do it in the Grand Canyon, but not technically the park boundaries, but because of that, the Grand Canyon. This story is going to be told in two parts, because first there are those unregulated tests of skill within the future national park before all of these regulations take place. And then, of course, there's the modern day media spectacles performed just beyond its borders that are in more recent years. The era of Grand Canyon stunts began before the modern National Park Service had implemented its strict regulations allowing one of the most, most remarkable feats to occur deep inside the protected landscape. The year was 1922, and Grand Canyon national park was still in its relative infancy, having only been officially designated as a National park three years prior. Aerodynamics experts in 1920 widely declared that flying a plane into the canyon depths would be impossible. They theorized that the turbulent air currents would shred an airplane. There were eddies, whirlpools up currents, and airfalls created by huge boulders, cliffs and obstacles. Test balloons released from the bottom were torn apart. But R.V. thomas, a daredevil stunt pilot from Kansas and a World War I flyer, was determined to defy the conventional wisdom of aviators and said, no way this can be done. So working with Ellsworth Kolb, a photographer who intended to film the daring exploit for $100, Thomas began preparations in late July 1922. He traveled to the canyon by train. Leaving his plane In Williams, Ariz. 63 miles away, he joined a party of tourists traveling down the Bright Angel Trail on donkeys to scout a potential landing site. Near Indian Gardens, Thomas found a suitable fairly level plateau covered only with greasewood, which is a small western shrub. The proposed landing strip was small, only about 60ft wide by 450ft long, ending close to a 1200 foot drop on the Colorado River. So really short. That's literally my nightmare. A short Runway with a 1200 foot drop at the end of it.
- [22:35]
Danielle
Yeah, it's like I Hope this works out, because otherwise, death.
- [22:38]
Cassie
Yeah. Whenever we take off from Boston, I'm like, at least we're on the ocean. So if something takes place, we have life jackets. And.
- [22:46]
Danielle
Yeah. Unless we slam into it going like 500 miles an hour. Right. We're not going to just gently, like, float into it.
- [22:56]
Cassie
The girl can dream. Okay.
- [22:57]
Danielle
Yeah. Yeah. I guess.
- [23:01]
Flying with you is an adventure. As time goes on, it gets more. I never watched the progression I have. You've deteriorated over time.
- [23:09]
Cassie
Yeah, it's not looking good for me.
- [23:11]
Danielle
Which is not good since we have.
- [23:14]
Cassie
Travel with me while you can, because.
- [23:17]
Danielle
I'll get it in now because, yeah, we have a lot to do that requires.
- [23:21]
Cassie
I don't know how I'll be feeling.
- [23:23]
Danielle
Okay, well, yeah, 10 years is fine. I don't know if I can do this for over 10 years.
- [23:28]
Cassie
You don't want to travel with me for 10 years.
- [23:30]
Danielle
If we keep up the pace that we have been doing, I don't know if we'll have anywhere to go left.
- [23:35]
Cassie
That's true.
- [23:39]
That's true. So anyway, he finds this really short landing strip with a giant hole at the other end of it that you can dive and crash down and explode. But he does secure permission from Colonel Crosby, who was the park superintendent at the time. And so with the go ahead, they had five men who took an entire day to clear the strip for the landing. So just as a quick note to make this happen, they're clearing protected federal national park land. Just this quick little.
- [24:13]
Danielle
You can rip it out of there. We got a plane to land.
- [24:16]
Cassie
We have a plane to land. Get this vegetation out of here.
- [24:20]
Danielle
Especially in the Grand Canyon, it probably. It's probably 3 inches tall and it's taken a thousand years to grow.
- [24:27]
Cassie
It's like it'll grow back.
- [24:28]
Danielle
Yeah, not our problem.
- [24:32]
Cassie
Truly.
- [24:39]
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- [26:18]
Well, this flight was set for Tuesday, August 8, 1922. Thomas departed Williams, Arizona at 9:10am and climbed to 2,000ft as he approached the canyon, and he needed this high altitude to permit a long glide back to safety if anything went wrong with his motor over the thick shrubbery and trees. Upon reaching the rim, Thomas circled over the canyon to test the air. He then dropped low to take some pictures of El Tovar Hotel and Bright Angel Cottages to show the perfect balance of his plane. Thomas even held up both hands and smiled as he glided overhead for the gathered tourists watching. He's like, hey, I don't need to fly a plane.
- [26:59]
Danielle
Look at me.
- [27:00]
Cassie
Which now, I mean, you could totally put both hands up in the air in your commercial airplane and it wouldn't be cool. But in the 1920s, it was really cool.
- [27:11]
Danielle
Pilots. Anybody listening? That's flying my plane. Please don't do that. I'm sure commercial airline pilots do a lot of things that would make me very uncomfortable to see, but they got it handled, right?
- [27:25]
Cassie
I mean, they put it on autopilot once they're at a certain cruise point and they I feel like they just kind of hang and they make sure all the checks and everything's good. They chat, they talk, they like. I feel like for very experienced commercial airline people, it's like driving a car because they're so experienced that they can listen to music, they can talk to their friends, they can text and drive. I'm just kidding. I don't know if they do that. They probably do.
- [27:49]
Danielle
For sure they do that. But have you seen the amount of buttons in a plane?
- [27:54]
Cassie
I know I could.
- [27:55]
Danielle
Why are there so Many buttons.
- [27:57]
Cassie
I wish I knew, but I have no experience with any amount of flight piloting. Nothing.
- [28:05]
Danielle
There's levers, knobs, controls, like just lights of every kind.
- [28:12]
Cassie
If I was a sole person on a plane and I had to figure out how to land it and I had full instructions from someone on the other end, I don't think I could do it.
- [28:21]
Danielle
Yeah, no, I would never volunteer. If that scenario ever was like, does anyone know how to.
- [28:27]
Cassie
No, I would hope you wouldn't stand up.
- [28:29]
Danielle
Well, like some people.
- [28:33]
You'D be like, sit.
- [28:35]
Cassie
No, she doesn't.
- [28:38]
She has no idea.
- [28:39]
Danielle
I'm just trying to help.
- [28:39]
Cassie
Listen to her.
- [28:40]
Danielle
I think on my feet quickly. I feel like I could adapt. But no. Every time I get in and to a plane and if the door of the cockpit is open, I'll glance in there, see all of the controls and be like, God bless us. I hope you know what you're doing because that looks insane. That looks insane.
- [29:01]
Cassie
I need to know what they're doing.
- [29:04]
Danielle
Just keep telling yourself that.
- [29:06]
Cassie
They do.
- [29:07]
Danielle
Just keep going. Did this person that flying this plane that probably had one steering wheel made.
- [29:13]
Cassie
Of wood, it was the 1920s. It's actually a paper airplane.
- [29:22]
So he waves and he's flying at 2,000ft. He's flying around the rim. He's waving to the Taurus. Then with the motor throttle down, Thomas headed straight for the edge and dropped slowly over the rim down into the canyon stack depths. The plane hit a crosswind and rock. Slightly far below the Colorado river appeared a silvery thread. Thomas executed what has been called the most dangerous and yet most useful stunts known to aviators. Climbing in wide circles, he flew to about 4,000ft from the bottom. He then entered a terrifying tailspin plunge, whirling hundreds of feet before leveling out just above his landing spot. That then came the landing. The wind had changed 60 degrees, making the landing extremely difficult. Thomas doubted he could set the plane down and advise Colb to. And I don't know if I mentioned this before, but the photographer is actually in the plane with him. So he instructs him to loosen his seatbelt and prepare to jump. Despite his doubts, Thomas set the Lincoln Standard Biplane down on the small strip. It rolled all the way across and stopped just about 50ft from the edge of the drop. It was a breathtaking feat and the first in only airplane landing on Plateau point within the Grand Canyon.
- [30:39]
Danielle
50Ft is far too. That's.
- [30:43]
Cassie
That's way too close.
- [30:44]
Danielle
Something about. I was trying to make a football field comparison, but it's like, if only.
- [30:49]
Cassie
I knew anything about football.
- [30:52]
Danielle
I know there's a hundred yards. There's. Oh, there's three feet in a yard. So there's 300ft. In a football field.
- [30:59]
Cassie
In a whole football field.
- [31:01]
Danielle
Fields. Right. Yeah. So, however, percentage of that field is not 300ft.
- [31:10]
A football field is 300ft.
- [31:12]
Cassie
No way.
- [31:13]
Danielle
If my calculations I just did on the fly are correct, maybe you're right. Are you looking it up?
- [31:18]
Cassie
How many feet is 360?
- [31:24]
Danielle
Oh, there's 120 yards.
- [31:27]
Right. Go sports.
- [31:33]
Embarrassing to the football community. I apologize.
- [31:36]
Cassie
The football community that you're part of.
- [31:40]
Danielle
Let me in. I'm trying.
- [31:44]
Trying to be supportive. Okay.
- [31:49]
Okay. Anyway, my point was 50ft is such a. A small comparison.
- [31:59]
Okay, I'm sorry. Keep going.
- [32:01]
Cassie
If you had 50ft left to run on a football field the last quarter of the game, you have to make a touchdown.
- [32:10]
Danielle
That would be a perfect. You're like, that's nothing.
- [32:14]
Cassie
It's nothing.
- [32:14]
Danielle
50Ft.
- [32:17]
What is happening? Oh, God.
- [32:22]
Cassie
Okay.
- [32:24]
I'm trying to tell a story, Danielle.
- [32:27]
Danielle
Okay, okay. So 50ft. The point is, where's my water? The point that we're trying to make is it was a close one.
- [32:36]
Cassie
It was close one.
- [32:37]
Danielle
That photographer was probably like, this was not worth a hundred dollars because he only got paid 100 bucks. Right.
- [32:43]
Cassie
100 bucks in 1922 is big money, I think. But, yeah, you couldn't pay me enough to be like, all right, get ready, loosen your seatbelt, and prepare to jump out of this plan. Yeah, no, I'm good. But once they land, they safely land. They're 50ft from the edge. But they couldn't take off right away because the winds were really strong. So Thomas and Colb actually had to head up Bright angel trail by donkey instead of taking off on their plane. Also, immediately after they left, a gust of wind carried the aircraft, spun it halfway around, and broke off the tail skid. Thomas later repaired the damage with nothing more than an old automobile spring and wire.
- [33:24]
Danielle
Oh, okay. Wire from where? And how'd you get an automobile spring?
- [33:28]
Cassie
Well, they had to hike back up.
- [33:29]
Danielle
So imagine he's like, ah, whips it out of it.
- [33:34]
Just what I needed. That feels like. What's that saying? It's like you fix it with nothing but duct tape and bubble gum or something.
- [33:42]
Cassie
Yeah.
- [33:42]
Danielle
Like you slap it together. Like, that's fine.
- [33:45]
Cassie
That's how I want my airplane.
- [33:46]
Danielle
Yeah. Like it can carry us out of here. Yeah.
- [33:51]
Cassie
Hey. Well, it did. Because the following morning on Wednesday, August 9, Thomas faced what may have been just as daunting as the descent, which, of course, was the return flight back to the room, because they couldn't just leave this plane at the bottom of this plateau. The short run allowed only minimal takeoff distance, and Thomas banked the plane steeply against the wind and began climbing in a very small circle, always keeping the plane within gliding gliding distance of the landing spot. It took Thomas five minutes to climb the mile from the bottom to the top, and he reached the rim at 10:17am but he did it successfully. Ten days later, the Fred Harvey Company hired Thomas to repeat the flight, this time with a Fox News photographer. The resulting film headlined as the first flight in the Grand Canyon and appeared in theaters across the country. This historic flight was approved because regulations curbing activities that could endanger visitors or damage the environment were not fully in place yet. As the Grand Canyon national park solidified its mission of resource protection and public safety, the door slammed shut on stunts like this one. So this was a short era where this was allowed. By the late 1970s, the national park Service was prioritizing the protection of resource and visitor experience. So when celebrated professional movie stuntman Dar Robinson approached the NPS about doing a vehicle launch off the canyon, the Park Service denied his request to perform the stunt within the park boundaries. So instead, Robinson turned his attention to land controlled by the tribal nations, and he got his approval there. In September 1980, Robinson prepared for a car plunge parachute stunt at the edge of the canyon on the Halupai reservation for the reality television program. That's incredible. A ramp was constructed right at the rim, and Robinson accelerated his white Bradley GT sports car towards the edge and drove right off of it. While the car plummeted midair down the canyon, he leapt out of the vehicle, free falling for a few seconds before deploying his parachute. While the car was still airborne, the sports car fell into the canyon and was destroyed. Approved observers and the production crew watched from the site. And this feat established a critical pattern for future canyon stunts. Finding tribal jurisdictions willing to host the risky spectacles that the NPS denied. And these are stunts that you can actually go on YouTube and watch. Pretty much all of these ones I'm gonna talk about if you guys are interested to go see them, because this guy, he literally just launches this car off the canyon. He's plummeting into it, and then he just jumps out and is free falling next to the car for what feels like a long time before he pulls his parachute and then lands safely.
- [36:45]
Danielle
But it's just a crazy Telma and Louise moment almost. Because they. Yeah.
- [36:53]
Cassie
They die if they have the parachute.
- [36:55]
Danielle
Tell everyone.
- [36:56]
Cassie
Spoiler alert.
- [36:58]
Danielle
Spoiler alert. Yeah. And they filmed that in Arches. That iconic scene, I think.
- [37:03]
Cassie
Oh, really?
- [37:03]
Danielle
I think. I think I did an episode on that. I did a quiz on that once, too. To. A surprise quiz. Remember? For. To you.
- [37:10]
Cassie
No.
- [37:11]
Danielle
All the movie locations and stuff. And you had to guess where they were filmed.
- [37:15]
Cassie
Yeah, I did. Really bad.
- [37:17]
Danielle
I'm pretty sure it was Arches. I'm not sure.
- [37:20]
One part of Thelma and Louise. Anyway. Yeah, I don't have whatever that gene is that gives people the itch to do things like this.
- [37:28]
Cassie
Yeah, me either. I don't think a lot of people do. I don't think that there are a ton of people who would be willing to drive a car off the Grand Canyon.
- [37:36]
Danielle
You have the gene that makes you attracted to people who like to do things like this.
- [37:41]
Cassie
That's my gene.
- [37:42]
Danielle
That's what you have.
- [37:43]
Cassie
That's my gene.
- [37:44]
Danielle
Yeah.
- [37:44]
Cassie
Whatever that is, let me know.
- [37:46]
Danielle
You got a pet.
- [37:55]
Cassie
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- [39:28]
Well, this Successful stunt only inspired other people to follow suit. And soon Evel Knievel, a legendary daredevil known for his stunts with motorcycles, also set his sights on the Grand Canyon. Evel Knievel had always wanted to jump across the Grand Canyon, but the U.S. department of Interior nixed his plans back in 1973. Instead, evil ended up attempting, and also famously failing to cross the Snake River Canyon in Idaho in a steam powered rocket. That same year, the parachute deployed prematurely, causing him to crash near the bottom of the canyon instead of flying across. He survived with only a broken nose. And now there's actually a monument where this all happened that has his picture on it and says that he tried this stunt there. If anyone says in that area and wants to go visit it, I hope.
- [40:18]
Danielle
He has other monuments instead of just Evel Knievel failed here one time.
- [40:25]
Cassie
I don't know if he has other monuments. I didn't look into that. But he does have a lot of successful stunts as well.
- [40:31]
Danielle
I mean, he's one of the most famous. I don't even really know what he did other than he was a famous stuntman. And I know his name right off the bat.
- [40:39]
Cassie
Like American evil is a pretty iconic name. Evil Knievel.
- [40:45]
Danielle
Yeah, he did himself good with that when he dubbed himself that.
- [40:50]
Cassie
Well, decades later, his son Robbie Knievel, who had very much inherited his father's sense of adventure, decided to attempt the Grand Canyon jump on a dirt bike. Robbie negotiated with the Hula Lupi Indian reservation to jump across Quartermaster Canyon, a section of the gorge that was on their land. The tribe granted him permission in hopes of luring Taurus. The engineering effort alone for this stunt was staggering. It took 10,000 hours and a quarter million pounds of steel to erect the longest motorcycle jump ramp ever built. The takeoff ramp towered 31ft above the canyon edge. And Robbie needed to reach a speed of 80-92 mph to clear the gorge. Battling expected gusting winds, it was a 2,500foot drop to the canyon floor.
- [41:39]
Danielle
If he didn't make it, parachute or.
- [41:41]
Cassie
No, don't believe so. I watched the video of this one. I watched the video of all these, but it's crazy to watch.
- [41:49]
Danielle
I, yeah, I'm again, not interested. I'm interested in this. What if I was like, okay, can you just. I don't want to hear anymore. Just. Yeah, no.
- [42:01]
Cassie
Well, after an earlier attempt on April 29 was canceled due to high winds and cold weather at the was eventually rescheduled for Thursday, May 20, 1999. Fox News televised the event live, and a crowd of 500 people cheered Robbie on while he traveled at nearly 100 miles per hour. The crowd held their breath as Robbie soared across the Arizona gorge. Surprise and excitement erupted when he easily cleared the gap. The jump spanned 228ft, beating the previous world record set in the early 1990s by 5ft. Fireworks shot into the air as he completed the stun. But the drama wasn't over once he touched down. As Robbie left the landing ramp, a combination of high speed, rough terrain and crosswinds caused him to lose control. Onlookers watched as he rocked side to side, losing his balance before he was thrown from the motorcycle into a barrier of hay bales, and paramedics rushed to his side. Though medics initially ruled that he had only minor cuts, a medevac helicopter later rushed him to the where doctors confirmed the stunt legend had broken three ribs and severely sprained an ankle. Despite the crash, he was granted his page in the record books for the 228 foot jump.
- [43:21]
Danielle
Yeah, I mean, he stuck the landing, so kind of. Well, okay, the landing is generous.
- [43:27]
Cassie
Definitely generous. He.
- [43:29]
Danielle
He made it across, which was his goal. He did.
- [43:32]
Cassie
He didn't.
- [43:33]
Danielle
Yeah.
- [43:33]
Cassie
Fall to. He didn't plummet to his dad death.
- [43:35]
Danielle
Right.
- [43:36]
Cassie
Which was the goal for sure. And he initially. He landed and then kept riding and crashed before he could stop.
- [43:45]
Danielle
I can't even imagine that because I know. Well, I don't know this feeling, but I feel like I've had a taste of this feeling. And I think so many people can relate. Especially when you're young, you're first getting confident on a bike or a scooter or something with wheels, skateboard, and. And you're gaining confidence enough to tackle the hill. You know, everyone had a hill.
- [44:08]
Cassie
Yeah.
- [44:09]
Danielle
And you do it and then you're. You gain too much speed, too fat, it's too much too soon. And then you start wobbling a little bit and you're like, oh, shit. Like, am I gonna lose control? Like, you have a moment where you're. You're on shaky ground and it feels like you're going 100 miles an hour. And if you don't keep it together, you know, you're gonna eat shit and like, get road burn or like, mess something up. And in that moment of that shakiness, I just can imagine him being like, am I gonna do it? I'm gonna pound as he's actually going 100 miles an hour after just flying across a canyon.
- [44:51]
Cassie
Yeah, I mean, I've never done any Any, anything even close to the stunt. But I can definitely know the feeling of riding a motor. Motorcycles are heavy. A lot heavier than bikes too. So when they start like going out of control, it. You need a lot of strength and endurance to like reset yourself back. And I've definitely been on the track like while people are watching, like, whoa. And then I just fall over and people have to help me pick up my bike.
- [45:18]
Danielle
And you mess yourself up up like a couple summers ago when your bike fell on you on your leg.
- [45:24]
Cassie
I've done it a few. I've messed myself up a couple times on a motorcycle. A few years ago, I think two summers ago. Yeah, I was, I was out and I fell and my bike fell on top of me. It landed on my knee and I ended up in physical therapy over it because I, My knee, I needed crutches for a little bit and my knee was super swollen. Nothing was broken. I think it was just like some tendons and stuff. But another time I was. When I was first learning to ride on a motocross track, I was riding and I was going around a corner and a kid, I think he might have been trying to pass me. I don't know what was happening, but instead he just drove straight into me while I was going around the corner and he knocked both of us down and I. My entire side of my body was bruised from head to toe. I literally had a purple down my hole.
- [46:21]
Danielle
From where you fell or when he.
- [46:22]
Cassie
Like from where he hit me.
- [46:24]
Danielle
Oh.
- [46:24]
Cassie
Because he just ran into my side and that was fun.
- [46:30]
Danielle
Yeah. Well, it's worth it, right?
- [46:32]
Cassie
Totally. I had a lot of fun.
- [46:33]
Danielle
I mean, you're still doing it.
- [46:35]
Cassie
So not on tracks anymore, but outside and in the background. I never. This I can't relate to though. 40 foot jump and. Or 40 foot ramp and then 228 foot jump. I was happy to get. Get a couple inches off the ground on my bike.
- [46:51]
Danielle
Well, there's a difference between the sport and a stunt, right? You know, like, I mean, people in.
- [46:56]
Cassie
The sport are crazy though too. When I would be on the motocross track, people were so good, they would go over a jump and they would literally jump over me while I'm in the air a little bit. Just your smell like a little. I was really excited until I look up and there's someone literally over me.
- [47:13]
Danielle
They're blotting out the sun above you. Like oh. Oh, yeah.
- [47:16]
Cassie
Like oh. That's what being good at riding looks like. Yeah.
- [47:20]
Danielle
Gotta start somewhere.
- [47:21]
Cassie
Yeah, I finished there too.
- [47:23]
Danielle
And that's fine.
- [47:24]
Cassie
I peaked. I peaked there, I should say.
- [47:28]
Well, by 2006, the Grand Canyon was becoming a stage for hybrid stunts. On March 23, 2006, skateboarder bomb, Berkwit bomb. Bob Bergquist achieved what was described as a first of its kind skating stunt and a lifelong dream base jumping into Hell Hole Bend at the bottom of the Canyon of the Hallelujah. A ramp and mega rail structure was built outward from the rim above a daunting 1500 foot vertical drop. The goal was to travel down the ramp, glide across the mega rail, then free fall, landing safely with the help of a parachute. His friends and family, including his children watching, watched as he successfully rode down the 40 foot ramp, but gasped when he missed the rail entirely, falling way sooner than he was supposed to. His fall brought him so close to the canyon wall, he was in severe danger of crashing into it. Cameras filmed as he flailed in the air before he seemed to gain his composure and steer himself farther from the wall before eventually pulling his shoe and landing safely. People thought that that would be his last time he would attempt that as he had very narrowly escaped death from this experience, but he didn't. He went back up for attempt number two the same day.
- [48:47]
Danielle
Okay, well, he's like, I'm here, I.
- [48:49]
Cassie
Guess, like we're doing this. This ramp's built. Let's go. And this time, Burnquist rode down the ramp, balanced along the rail, released himself from his skateboard, entered freefall and successfully deployed his parachute. The stunt was filmed by a production team for the Discovery Channel show Stunt Junkies.
- [49:08]
Danielle
These shows have never stunt junkies and that's incredible.
- [49:12]
Cassie
Yeah, I never watched them either. But I did watch this video. And one of the most heart wrenching moments was after he completed the stunt the second time and it went well was you hear on camera they're filming. So they're filming at live between him and then going to his family too, to show the reactions of them and his stunt. Yeah, and you just hear his kid go, yeah, dad. Oh, like if this had gone bad.
- [49:39]
Danielle
Yeah.
- [49:41]
Cassie
Oh my heart. But it was exciting because his dad had did it. But like, oh, that's such a risk to have your kids watching that. But yeah, man.
- [49:57]
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- [51:39]
You're standing on the beach when you notice something strange. The horizon doesn't look right at first. All you can see is a thin white line. Then the line starts to rise. You realize it's not the horizon at all. It's a 30 foot tall wall of water and it's racing straight towards you. What would you do on the day after Christmas? In 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Indonesia, triggering a devastating tsunami. It struck Thailand without warning. No alarms, no cell phone alerts, no evacuation. In this season of against the Odds, experience one of the deadliest natural disasters in history through the perspective of those who did everything they could to survive. Follow against the Odds on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of against the Odds Tsunami in Thailand early and ad free right now on Wondery Plus.
- [52:38]
In the years following Brinquest jumps, technology offered a new way to traverse the canyon's vast emptiness. Yves Rossi, a former Swiss jet fighter pilot known as Jetman, designed his own custom jet suit with four small jet engines and a rigid carbon Kevlar wing system Measuring six and a half feet wide, the wing strapped to his back, weighing about 125 pounds with fuel and roster, he steered the device using only his head, shoulders, and arms. And if you look up pictures of him and I'll post them, he has. He's wearing black and yellow, and his wingsuit is just like these giant wings on the back of him. He kind of looks like. Kind of looks like a wasp or like a giant bug, but it's meant to make him fly, and I guess that's the point. But he kind of looks like Ant man, but. Did you ever watch Jetman? He's Jetman, but he looks like Ant man in the Marvel.
- [53:35]
Danielle
I have not had the pledge of. Of seeing Ant Man. But Paul Rudd is.
- [53:39]
Cassie
Yeah, Paul Rudd is Ant Man.
- [53:41]
Danielle
Is the ant in Ant Man. Yeah. And I like Paul Rudd.
- [53:45]
Cassie
Me, too.
- [53:46]
Danielle
He's aging great.
- [53:47]
Cassie
I know. Unproblematic people age great.
- [53:51]
Danielle
Yeah. And he doesn't look overly like. I wouldn't say he's had a huge leg up from, like, Botox or any sort of cosmetics, because if he's doing it, he's doing it subtly and in the right way because he looks like his age, only just, like, so good for his age.
- [54:09]
Cassie
Yeah.
- [54:09]
Danielle
Yeah. You know what I mean?
- [54:10]
Cassie
Look, he looks like he is. I wouldn't even say he looks his age because I would say he looks younger. He's just aging really, really well.
- [54:19]
Danielle
Yeah. Yeah. He's so funny. Oh, my God. He's so funny. And this is 40.
- [54:27]
Cassie
Oh, my.
- [54:29]
Danielle
Did we even just find common ground?
- [54:31]
Cassie
We did. It's one of the. My favorite comedies to watch. It's so funny. It's.
- [54:38]
Danielle
And I'm not even 40 yet, and I feel like it's really relate to.
- [54:42]
Cassie
So many of the things that happen. Oh, my. And with Megan Fox in it, too. And it's just. It's so.
- [54:50]
Danielle
Megan Fox is in. Oh, right. Yeah. In the changing room. Yeah, right.
- [54:55]
Cassie
She's. She works at the store that. What's her name? Leslie.
- [55:01]
Danielle
Leslie Mann.
- [55:02]
Cassie
Leslie Mann. Yeah. Leslie Mann owns the shop and Megan Fox works there.
- [55:08]
Danielle
Yeah.
- [55:08]
Cassie
And. Yeah. It's just. It's so.
- [55:11]
Danielle
She's incredible, too. I mean, I love her. Leslie Mann, we're talking about.
- [55:15]
Cassie
Yeah. Leslie man is.
- [55:17]
Danielle
I mean, Megan Fox is great, too. But.
- [55:18]
Cassie
Yeah. If you haven't seen that movie when they go to school and their kid.
- [55:25]
And they. Oh, there's so many good people in it. I. Yeah, I'm probably gonna watch it after this. Just remember.
- [55:31]
Danielle
Yeah. If you haven't seen this movie from 2008.
- [55:36]
Cassie
Go watch it.
- [55:37]
Danielle
You should. You should.
- [55:38]
Cassie
Gold.
- [55:40]
Danielle
So, Jet. Anyway, who looks like Ant Man?
- [55:43]
Cassie
Jetman, who looks like Ant Man.
- [55:46]
So looks like a giant bug. Plans to fly over a section of the canyon near Guano Point on the Hollow by reservation. The original flight, planned on Friday, May 6, 2011, was postponed because Rossi felt he lacked sufficient practice time, admitting that the pressure of the difficult flight had caused him to lose a bit of sleep. So on Saturday, May 7, 2011, so it was only a day later, Rossi finally put his jet suit to the test. Traveling 200ft above the rim at speeds up to 190 mph, he glided 8, 000ft above the canyon floor for more than eight minutes. Rossi traveled five miles before deploying his parachute and landing smoothly on the canyon floor. Rossi acknowledged the importance of the location, thanking Mother Nature and the Hua Lupi tribe for making his lifelong dreams come true.
- [56:40]
Danielle
190 miles an hour is insane. That's not. That's not Ant Man. That's Jetman man.
- [56:47]
Cassie
That's Jetman for sure.
- [56:50]
It's also really cool. I keep saying this after every single stunt, but if you haven't seen these and you're just feeling like you want to watch these things, they're really fun to watch. Even even though I'm telling you the outcomes, you will still get sweaty palms watching these because they're just so. You just can't believe people are really doing this. But speaking of things you can't believe people are really doing, now we get into what we mentioned at the beginning of the podcast, because two years later, Nick Wallendez, a seventh generation member of the famous Flying Wallendas circus family, had a dream of crossing the Grand Canyon since he was a teenager on a.
- [57:28]
Danielle
High wire seventh generation.
- [57:30]
Cassie
It was just in his blood. They're all.
- [57:33]
Danielle
They're all like, there's some family pressure involved. You're telling me for seven generations, those children wanted to be performers in this way?
- [57:44]
Cassie
Families have their things.
- [57:45]
Danielle
I don't know. I feel like somebody needs to look into them.
- [57:48]
Cassie
But, okay, so he was already at this time, he was already a world record holder, having famously traversed Niagara Falls in 2012. Like those before him, Wallenda was denied permission by Grand Canyon national park officials. So instead, he secured permits from the Navajo Nation, opting to cross the Little Colorado river. Gorgeous gorge, approximately 40 miles east of the main tourist facilities. Wallenda prepared intensely in Sarasota, Florida, using wind machines to simulate gusts up to 91 miles per hour. The tightrope a 2 inch thick steel cable stretch 1,400ft long, about four football fields in length. It was positioned about 1500ft above the little Colorado River. Gorgeous. And this stunt was performed without a safety harness which was a non negotiable condition Wallenda insisted upon having after being forced to wear one for his Niagara Falls crossing. So he used custom made leather shoes with elk skin soles and carried a 30 foot long 43 pound balancing pole.
- [58:56]
Danielle
My hands are sweating right now. That's okay. To each their own. Live and let live. I'm from the livery or die state. I, I literally live for your die. If you guys don't want to freaking save the harness, don't make them.
- [59:09]
Cassie
This event was titled Skywire Live and was televised by the discovery channel in 219 countries. The live coverage hosted by Natalie Morales and Willie Geist began with a lengthy pre show. Viewers could select from five different camera angles online, including one attached to Wallenda's chest that face straight down to the riverbed.
- [59:33]
Danielle
Oh my God. What it. Okay, wait, is this the one that you were watching?
- [59:37]
Cassie
Yes. I was not watching this angle.
- [59:40]
Danielle
Okay.
- [59:41]
Cassie
I was just watching the Fox News cover.
- [59:43]
Danielle
I don't know if I would want that. I would want to see him in his entirety I think instead of.
- [59:48]
Cassie
It's definitely another viewpoint though because you're looking down. Because from the view of Fox News, you see he's over this massive canyon and you know it's huge. But if there's also a viewpoint to see what he's looking at, if he looks down, you know, like don't look down, don't look down, don't look down. But he has a camera just facing down the whole time.
- [60:07]
Danielle
I wonder if. What do they call high wire men? High people who do this high wire stunt. You know how like in yoga when you're trying to balance you or at least I pick a fixed point point and just stare at it so I don't lose my balance. Because if I avert my eyes or close my eyes or do something, it's all over for me. Like I have to stare at something. I wonder if that he does that. He's like, I'm gonna pick a point a mile away from me because I have so far to go and just hope I don't lose my balance. Maybe like he's not looking all around.
- [60:48]
Cassie
Yeah. I imagine that there's so much focus on and he has that pole. Yeah, the balancing pole.
- [60:56]
Danielle
Imagine if like a raven just flew by and like mess up. That's why it's landed on it or even just fluttered by him or something and distracted him or.
- [61:06]
Cassie
That's some whatever Alan Poe right there.
- [61:09]
Danielle
Okay. Well, I don't know. I just picked it, right. An Osprey. I don't know. I don't know why an Osprey would be in the canyon, but yeah. God. I mean, how far is he going again?
- [61:20]
Cassie
Across the high wire? Yeah, it is 1400ft long.
- [61:25]
Danielle
Okay, okay. Or four football fields as we know now. As we know because football fields are 360ft, obviously. I mean. Yeah, yeah, yeah, right.
- [61:42]
180 something yards, six yards, whatever. I get it. I understand.
- [61:48]
Cassie
Great. As his walk began at 7:38pm On Sunday, June 23, 2013, Wallenda realized the wire was slippery due to dust, prompting him to spit on his hands and rub his shoes. He could be heard praying repeatedly saying, help me to relax, Lord. The winds, expected to be around 30 miles per hour, proved to be challenging and unpredictable. Twice he stopped and crouched down, bracing himself on the shaking cable to wait out strong Gus.
- [62:21]
Danielle
Oh my God.
- [62:23]
Cassie
About 13 minutes into his walk, his microphone audio captured him saying, thank you Lord. Thank you for calming that cable God. Also to put a mic on him while he may or may not fault and plummet to his death. Death is crazy. I might do a live stream feed.
- [62:42]
Danielle
That people are watching from his POV. That's insane.
- [62:46]
Cassie
Yeah.
- [62:47]
Danielle
What year is this? 2011.
- [62:48]
Cassie
12.
- [62:50]
Danielle
Okay. I feel like that wouldn't be a like the thing. I would be so curious. I might be eating my words. But when the Alex Honnold thing goes live in a few months, I don't think we're going to be having if he's truly free soloing something live on Netflix, which I have my doubts. Netflix can't get their together for a Love is Blind live reunion so let.
- [63:12]
Cassie
Alone the whole site just shuts down.
- [63:15]
Danielle
This global event, you know that everyone is going to be tuning in for. I doubt that they're going to have a cam and a mic on him.
- [63:24]
Cassie
Yeah, I don't know, it just feels.
- [63:26]
Danielle
Like early 2000s decision making to me.
- [63:30]
Cassie
Yeah.
- [63:30]
Danielle
I don't know though. We'll see.
- [63:32]
Cassie
We'll find out. We'll see how much things have changed.
- [63:35]
Danielle
So the Lord is with him at this point?
- [63:38]
Cassie
Yes. He's praying aloud and live. People watching live are hearing him say his prayers. And during this time it took every part of him to stay focused. It was so dusty, even his contact lenses were affected, impeding his concentration. He thought of his great grandfather, Carl Walenda. Who had actually slipped and fallen to his own death during a high wire walk in Puerto Rico at the age of 73 in 1978. Not the best, best memories to be reliving while you're on a high wire live. But after 22 minutes and 54 seconds of pure suspense, Wallenda jogged the last few steps, jumped off the cable and kissed the ground, becoming the first person to tightrope walk across a gorge in the Grand Canyon area.
- [64:28]
Danielle
Wow.
- [64:28]
Cassie
Amazing.
- [64:30]
Danielle
Truly incredible.
- [64:31]
Cassie
I. It really is.
- [64:32]
Danielle
Or what is it it. That's incredible. That's incredible.
- [64:37]
Cassie
Well, the event was a massive rating success for Discovery, drawing an average of 10.7 million viewers, which spiked to 13 million people during the actual walk, because, remember, they had like a pre show before it to gear up for everything. So 13 million people were watching all of this happen. It shattered Discovery's record for live broadcast and generated immense social media attention, generating 1.3 million tweets and becoming the number one social show across broadcast and cable in the US that day. However, this spectacle was not without controversy. While Navajo Nation President Ben Shelley was grateful for the publicity, hoping it would expose the beauty of the region and boost tourism, a group of Navajo and other Native Americans protested the event. They felt the tribe should not be promoting the risk of human life for tourism and. And question the accuracy of billing the location as the Grand Canyon, given the location was technically outside of the park. And I do think that it's important to mention, because I've been talking a lot throughout this whole episode, that the NPS would not allow it because of all of these environmental reasons. But tribal nations welcomed it. And I think it can kind of get confusing. There is like, why would they allow that? Tribal nations are known for being stewards of the land. Why is. Why is this being accepted here and not at the nps? And a lot of it is economic reasons. When you look at it, these stunts were bringing in a lot of money, not only for tourism, for people who were participating in viewing the stunts in live time. People were coming to their shops, their restaurants, staying at their hotels, coming in and seeing their area. But this. You have to remember that, that these tribal nations, a lot of times are really impoverished, and they are. Some of. They are some of the poorest parts of the country in the U.S. so this was an opportunity to support their communities. And I just think that that's important to mention of why this was happening.
- [66:40]
Danielle
Makes sense. I mean, they see an opportunity to bring some very much needed tourism dollars into their area. I get A it, for sure.
- [66:49]
Cassie
Yeah. But in addition, I think also what's not often spoke about for these stunts is the environmental impacts, because even a single stunt brings crews, gear, support vehicles and crowds into fragile spaces. Food traffic crushes vegetation, loosen soil and creates informal trails that can take years to heal. Helicopters and planes used for filming push noise deep into sensitive areas, scattering wildlife and cutting into the natural quiet. In places already stressed by erosion, limited water and heavy visitation, one major event can magnify the strain. Wildlife is especially vulnerable. Drones, bright lights, noise and sustained human activity can drive animals away from feeding grounds, den sites and water sources. So I also wanted to just mention that there are environmental impacts that these have, because I feel like we can't just brush by that without mentioning it. Oh, yeah, at least a little bit.
- [67:50]
Danielle
I mean, we joked a little bit about it before with the sagebrush and stuff in the 20s, but yeah, I mean, it's something to consider for sure. If, especially with thousands of people and no matter what you do, you know, state signage, blockades, education, whatever, that amount of people is still going to have a pretty significant impact on a specific area, especially one that's so fragile, you know?
- [68:17]
Cassie
Yeah, yeah. And having some type of plan, and I know, based on when I was looking up research, I know that the tribal nations have their own cleanup plan that they implement, that they have implemented in the past for these types of things. And I don't know the extent of it. So I don't know if it includes, like, restoring vegetation or. Or if they pick places that are safer. I don't really know the whole nuances behind the choices in that. In that aspect, but I know that that is a contributing factor to why some of these stunts are not done. And the controversy that surrounds them, of course, is also because you're profiting off of someone who may or may not lose their life on live television.
- [69:00]
Danielle
There is that, but it's their decision.
- [69:03]
Cassie
It is their decision. But you're also subjecting millions of people to maybe seeing someone die on live television.
- [69:12]
Danielle
But it's your choice to watch that one's holding you at gunpoint and telling you you have to maybe watch this. Yeah, I don't know. I think we also talked a little bit about that in my base jumping episode of. Like.
- [69:25]
Cassie
Like.
- [69:26]
Danielle
Like. It's a weird line.
- [69:28]
Cassie
It's hard to be like, this is wrong. This is right. You know, it's just. It's very complicated. It's a weird situation. Yeah.
- [69:36]
Danielle
Yeah.
- [69:37]
Cassie
And I mean, I watched them.
- [69:38]
Danielle
You did?
- [69:39]
Cassie
I have watched. I have Tuned into live. Live stunts. And it doesn't seem like they are going away because people are very interested in these. What started as a handful of people watching Thomas land his plane eventually turned into global audiences watching live stream extreme stunts. The most striking upcoming example, of course, is Alex Honnold's announced live free solo climb in early 2026 in what streaming service Netflix is calling a global must watch live event, predicting that there will be millions of people across the globe tuning in. So clearly the fascination continues and will most likely never end because there is something truly intriguing, not only about the stunt itself, but also the people who are willing to do them. And that is my story of the Grand Canyon and all the stunts that have happened throughout the years.
- [70:34]
Danielle
Amazing. That's incredible and incredible. Believe that. I mean, I can believe that people choose to do that. I just could never be one of them. But power to you, if that's what brings you joy and happiness and fulfillment. Yeah. I feel like for a while there was a big influx of these types of things. And I know you just clearly outlined several of them, but I'm talking more of it was like the age of the Red Bull. Like Red Bull sponsored stunts or monster. You know what I mean? Like, like I. I don't know what that was about, but I feel like that was a flash in the pan of like it was very hot at the time to. For certain companies to be sponsoring really incredible feats.
- [71:23]
Cassie
I think one of them is still pretty popular in. Especially on YouTube and stuff. When you see people like snowboarders and skiers and motocross people and people who do these big adventures. You see there's a ton of YouTube videos and a lot of them are sponsored by Red Bull.
- [71:42]
Danielle
But I'm talking about like, I feel like the one I'm thinking of was. I believe it was. I don't know the person's name, but I believe he was sponsored by Red Bull. And he jumped out of a plane like in technically, like at the very top of the atmosphere, like way higher than a normal. You skydive out of.
- [72:03]
Cassie
Oh.
- [72:04]
Danielle
And it was this whole thing.
- [72:05]
Cassie
I kind of vaguely remember that I thought you were going to talk about. I thought you were going to say when Travis Pastrana jumped out of a plane without a parachute and just trusted that his friends would. Who had parachutes would grab him.
- [72:16]
Danielle
Didn't even know about that.
- [72:18]
Cassie
Yeah, and he did. He does stunts all the time too, because he raced up Mount Washington on a motorcycle and for like the fastest time and got the fastest time I believe going up Mount Washington. So there definitely are stunts that are.
- [72:34]
Danielle
Happening all over the place. I mean, the. The scary thing is is I think that they're just increasing in risk and because of the. I mean, we could all tie it back to social media and people's attention spans and like, kind of like wanting to one up. I mean, that's been a theme forever. You know, somebody does one thing, somebody has to beat it by either time or distance or. Yeah, you want to be the one to one up that person. But you can only do so much, you know, and go so far. And I think that people are just so eager to get that, you know, like be on top or get the most views or clicks or comments or whatever that they're putting themselves in some really crazy situations. And I mean, these seem to be. These are professionals. They're doing them at least it looks like in a regulated way. Sometimes they're like, hey, I'm not really feeling this right now. The conditions aren't right. Let's reevaluate way. They're not just doing it to do it right.
- [73:33]
Cassie
Yeah.
- [73:34]
Danielle
And I don't know, it just makes me nervous. So.
- [73:39]
I don't know if I'll be watching Alex Honnold live. Even though I know in my heart of hearts that like, it's just the way the world works. They're not truly doing it live to the millisecond. Like if something happens to him, they're going to cut the feed because they run. It's like an award show. If somebody swears it's bleeped out and they're like, no, we're live. It's like, no, you're not. You're five seconds ahead or a minute ahead.
- [74:03]
Cassie
Oh, I didn't even think about that. Yeah.
- [74:06]
Danielle
Yeah. What are you doing? You're thumbs upping, like so many things.
- [74:08]
Cassie
I think it's just the way I'm Riverside is the way I'm sitting or something. It thinks I'm thumbs upping. I don't know why.
- [74:16]
Danielle
I don't know. Well, thank you for sharing that. That was a interesting episode and I know we kind of shot the a little bit, but it was fun.
- [74:24]
Cassie
Yeah. Yeah. Thank you everyone for tuning in and hanging out with us. I wanted to do kind of a kind of fun episode. I think my past few stories I've done have more been deep in history, which I love. But I wanted something that was a little bit more fun and this is it for me. Yeah. So thank you guys for tuning in. Hope you're enjoying December, the Sagittarius season.
- [74:48]
Danielle
It's my birthday week. It's my birthday week.
- [74:51]
Cassie
It is. It's your birthday month. Your birthday week week.
- [74:54]
Danielle
Yeah, I, I'm not really into the month thing, even though I do feel like energetically I feel really good usually in December. But yeah, I'm definitely a birthday week person, especially if it's towards full week. I don't know though, because if your birthday is on like a Friday or Friday or Saturday or even a Thursday, I think you can claim the week. But if it's on a Monday or Tuesday, you can't because it's over.
- [75:19]
Cassie
Because it's at the beginning of the week.
- [75:21]
Danielle
Week. Yeah.
- [75:22]
Cassie
So sometimes you get a birthday week.
- [75:24]
Danielle
Yeah. And it's not all the time because calendars work like that.
- [75:29]
Cassie
Well, this is your birthday week. It is.
- [75:32]
Danielle
And I'm excited. Well, yeah, we'll see everyone when it's not my birthday week, which is next week. And in the meantime, enjoy the view.
- [75:42]
Cassie
But watch your back.
- [75:43]
Danielle
Bye bye. Thank you for joining us again this week. If you love National Park After Dark and want to hear exclusive bonus stories stories, join us on Patreon or Apple subscriptions. Patreon subscribers have access to our National Park After Dark book club, live streams.
- [75:58]
Cassie
Discord and much more.
- [76:00]
Danielle
If you prefer to watch our episodes video episodes are now available on YouTube. If you're enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe on your favorite listening platform. And to follow along with all our adventures, you can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Tick Tock and X. At National Park After Dark.
- [76:28]
Cassie
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- [77:01]
Get your mother loving ears on because your big time radio DJs got news. PayPal lets you choose how you want to pay. Pay for all the stuff with PayPal. I can pay in store, pay online, or pay overtime.
- [77:14]
Danielle
What's that?
- [77:15]
Cassie
You want this translated into song? I hope you're sitting down. You can pay your own way. You keep those ears on, you hear. Don't just pay, baby. PayPal. Learn more@paypal.com.