Grand Canyon’s Most Daring (and Foolish) Stunts

The Grand Canyon has always been a magnet for the bold, the reckless, and the people who look at a mile-deep chasm and think... yeah, I can take that. In this episode, we race through a century of jaw-dropping stunts, from a 1922 biplane pilot who somehow landed inside the park’s early boundaries to Nik Wallenda balancing across tribal land on a high-wire without a harness. Along the way we unravel how thrill-seekers dodged rules, rewrote them, or ignored them entirely in a quest to outdo nature itself. For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners! Smalls: For a limited time, get 60% off your first order, plus free shipping, when you head to Smalls.com/NPAD. Blueland: Use our link to get 15% off your first order. Rocket Money: Use our link to get started saving. Quince: Use our link to get free shipping and 365-day returns. Against The Odds: Follow Against The Odds: Tsunami in Thailand on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge all episodes early and ad-free right now on Wondery+. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:31Speaker 01

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• 1:11Danielle LaRock?

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• 1:35Cassandra Yahnian?

  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

• 2:19Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 reemerging 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.

• 3:01Cassandra Yahnian?

  Consider Elaine 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.

• 3:45Cassandra Yahnian?

  Even more famously, in his "Above the Below" endurance test, Blaine 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 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?

• 4:29Cassandra Yahnian?

  This raw tension, the uneasy mix of awe and morbid curiosity, is the core appeal of extreme live stunts.

• 4:37Danielle LaRock?

  Few places on earth offer a 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 flock 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.

• 5:27Danielle LaRock?

  Hello, everyone, and welcome back to National Park After Dark. I'm Danielle.

• 5:32Cassandra Yahnian?

  I'm Cassie.

• 5:33Danielle LaRock?

  And we're going to a park that you have not physically stepped foot in yet.

• 5:37Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 a really high, it's getting higher and higher on my list the longer I haven't been there.

• 5:56Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, it feels like this, like you're Great White Buffalo. You need to, you need to get it. Yeah. Well, I'm excited to hear this because 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. Like, okay, what is this about?

• 6:33Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 six hundred, sixteen hundred, 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 two thousand and twenty six. And when I saw that, 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

• 7:16Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 7:22Danielle LaRock?

  It's two questions. First, is Alex Honnold free soloing this building?

• 7:29Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yes, I believe so.

• 7:30Danielle LaRock?

  Okay. I mean,

• 7:32Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, which is what adds to the live stunt aspect to it, I think.

• 7:37Danielle LaRock?

  Right. If there were ropes, people would be like, okay, you're Alex Honnold.

• 7:41Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 7:42Danielle LaRock?

  Step it up. Yeah. Um, okay. And then the second one, when was this live stunt in the Grand Canyon you have a memory of?

• 7:50Cassandra Yahnian?

  This one took place in two thousand and twelve 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.

• 8:07Danielle LaRock?

  And you had a futon in your, in your room?

• 8:10Cassandra Yahnian?

  I had, so weird, 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.

• 8:23Danielle LaRock?

  Oh, right.

• 8:24Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 8:48Cassandra Yahnian?

  No, I did because I was like, wait, I don't, I don't need that. I don't physically need this. I don't 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. Um, but here's my name and I can walk.

• 9:08Danielle LaRock?

  I only have one kidney, but it doesn't affect my.

• 9:11Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 your options are is we can put you into a forced triple or.

• 9:25Danielle LaRock?

  No.

• 9:26Cassandra Yahnian?

  We don't have anyone who needs your room this year and you can have it.

• 9:31Danielle LaRock?

  Oh, easy choice.

• 9:32Cassandra Yahnian?

  So I took the room and it ended up the next year was also the same case. There was no one who needed the room. And I got first dibs. So they gave it to me my freshman and my sophomore year.

• 9:43Danielle LaRock?

  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.

• 9:53Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 9:54Danielle LaRock?

  I imagine you're like, actually, no, I want to be in a triple.

• 9:58Cassandra Yahnian?

  Well, selfishly, I was a little sad I didn't have a roommate because that was the college experience. Everyone had roommates. And.

• 10:04Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, but.

• 10:06Cassandra Yahnian?

  And I, 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. Um, but, uh, 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 their 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.

• 10:40Danielle LaRock?

  You're there. 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.

• 11:01Cassandra Yahnian?

  A little bad because not only did I have a private room with my own bathroom, which was a handicap bathroom. So I had a huge bathroom with a huge shower.

• 11:11Danielle LaRock?

  Okay.

• 11:12Cassandra Yahnian?

  My room, I was also in the newest building with like 30 foot ceilings and giant windows and it was beautiful.

• 11:19Danielle LaRock?

  Our college experience is so opposite.

• 11:24Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 to and see other people's dorms, it, 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 looked down.

• 11:56Danielle LaRock?

  So you were there. I can picture it so clearly, watching your laptop on your very own private futon.

• 12:03Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yes.

• 12:04Danielle LaRock?

  In your very own exclusive, high-end luxury dorm room.

• 12:08Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yes, with my very own vending machine snacks. I didn't have a vending machine. I didn't have a vending machine, but I went to the vending machine.

• 12:16Danielle LaRock?

  Okay, I see. And you're watching this stunt in the Grand Canyon, which is what?

• 12:22Cassandra Yahnian?

  Do you remember when Nik Wallenda did the high wire across the Grand Canyon on live television?

• 12:28Danielle LaRock?

  No.

• 12:29Cassandra Yahnian?

  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. I 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.

• 13:04Danielle LaRock?

  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 world.

• 13:20Cassandra Yahnian?

  In this realm. Wasn't peeking your interest.

• 13:24Danielle LaRock?

  I want to be though. Let me in.

• 13:27Cassandra Yahnian?

  Well, welcome. Before we dive into the stunts that were taking place, because we are going to be jumping from plane landings to car plunges, tight rope walks, and kind of everything in between here, let's take a look at the Grand Canyon itself.

• 13:48Danielle LaRock?

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• 14:59Cassandra Yahnian?

  The Grand Canyon is an immense geological landscape measuring 277 miles long. Its width ranges from a minimum of 600 feet 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 7,000 feet, while the north rim is 8,000 feet above sea level. The Colorado River, which we know runs through the Grand Canyon, especially because I've covered the Grand Canyon in quite a few episodes so far, is 1,450 miles long and it starts in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, snakes through the canyon, averaging 300 feet wide and 40 feet deep within the park.

• 15:41Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 3,391 ancestral sites documented within the park. Grand Canyon National Park was first designated as a forest reserve in 1893 by President Benjamin Harrison.

• 16:11Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 history, 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

• 16:53Cassandra Yahnian?

  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

• 17:36Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 18:09Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, that was a couple of 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 other 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,

• 18:50Danielle LaRock?

  but by and large, I was just kind of talking about individuals wanting to base jump within the park. And I forget the episode number, but I know I titled it dying for the cause. So if you're interested, you can look at that up if you haven't heard it.

• 19:07Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 MPS, but it's also managed by tribal nations, including the Hula Lupai 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 Hula Lupai have developed attractions like a glass bottom lookout and sightseeing helicopter tours that actually dip below the canyon rim,

• 19:52Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 20:08Danielle LaRock?

  Adjacent to?

• 20:10Cassandra Yahnian?

  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. Okay, gotcha. 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 a special, um, 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 gonna dive into the nuance of stunts that were performed inside the park, and then how people kind of skirt around

• 20:54Cassandra Yahnian?

  those rules and do it in the Grand Canyon, but not technically the park boundaries. Um, 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 remarkable feats to occur deep inside the protected landscape. The year was 1922, and Grand Canyon National Park was still

• 21:35Cassandra Yahnian?

  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, upcurrents, 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."

• 22:16Cassandra Yahnian?

  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, Arizona, 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 60 feet wide by 450 feet long, ending close to a 1,200 foot drop on the Colorado River. So really short, that's literally my nightmare.

• 23:00Danielle LaRock?

  It's high stakes.

• 23:02Cassandra Yahnian?

  Runway with a 1,200 foot drop at the end of it.

• 23:05Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, it's like, I hope this works out because otherwise, death.

• 23:09Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 23:17Danielle LaRock?

  And yeah, unless we slam into it going like 500 miles an hour.

• 23:21Cassandra Yahnian?

  Right.

• 23:22Danielle LaRock?

  We're not going to just gently float into it.

• 23:26Cassandra Yahnian?

  The girl can dream, okay?

• 23:28Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, yeah, I guess.

• 23:31Danielle LaRock?

  Flying with you is an adventure. As time goes on, it gets more.

• 23:36Cassandra Yahnian?

  You've watched the progression.

• 23:38Danielle LaRock?

  I have, you've deteriorated over time.

• 23:40Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, it's not looking good for me.

• 23:42Danielle LaRock?

  Which is not good, since we have.

• 23:44Cassandra Yahnian?

  Travel with me while you can.

• 23:47Danielle LaRock?

  I'll get it in now because we have a lot to do that requires.

• 23:51Cassandra Yahnian?

  I don't know how I'll be feeling.

• 23:53Danielle LaRock?

  Okay, well, 10 years is fine. I don't know if I can do this for over 10 years.

• 23:58Cassandra Yahnian?

  You don't want to travel with me for 10 years?

• 24:01Danielle LaRock?

  If we keep up the pace that we have been doing, I don't know if we'll have anywhere to go left.

• 24:06Cassandra Yahnian?

  That's true.

• 24:09Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 24:44Danielle LaRock?

  Whip it out of there. We got a plane to land.

• 24:47Cassandra Yahnian?

  We have a plane to land. Get this vegetation out of here.

• 24:50Danielle LaRock?

  Especially in the Grand Canyon. It's probably, it's probably three inches tall and it's taken a thousand years to grow.

• 24:57Cassandra Yahnian?

  It's like, it'll grow back.

• 24:59Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah. Not our problem.

• 25:02Cassandra Yahnian?

  Truly.

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• 26:35Cassandra Yahnian?

  Well, this flight was set for Tuesday, August 8, 1922. Thomas departed Williams, Arizona at 9:10 a.m. and climbed to 2,000 feet 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 Eltovar 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. It's like, hey. I don't need hands to fly a plane.

• 27:16Danielle LaRock?

  Look at me.

• 27:17Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 nineteen twenties, it was really cool.

• 27:28Danielle LaRock?

  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?

• 27:41Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 28:06Danielle LaRock?

  For sure they do that.

• 28:07Cassandra Yahnian?

  Um.

• 28:08Danielle LaRock?

  But have you seen the amount of buttons in a plane?

• 28:11Cassandra Yahnian?

  I know I could.

• 28:11Danielle LaRock?

  Why are there so many buttons?

• 28:14Cassandra Yahnian?

  I wish I knew, but I have no experience with any amount of flight piloting, nothing.

• 28:22Danielle LaRock?

  There's levers, knobs, controls, like just lights of every kind.

• 28:29Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 28:38Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, no, I would never volunteer if that scenario ever was like, can that, does anyone know how to, no.

• 28:44Cassandra Yahnian?

  I would hope you wouldn't stand up.

• 28:46Danielle LaRock?

  Well, like some people.

• 28:50Danielle LaRock?

  You'd be like, sit the fuck down.

• 28:54Cassandra Yahnian?

  She has no idea.

• 28:55Danielle LaRock?

  I'm just trying to help.

• 28:56Cassandra Yahnian?

  Listen to her.

• 28:57Danielle LaRock?

  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.

• 29:18Cassandra Yahnian?

  To know what they're doing.

• 29:20Danielle LaRock?

  Just keep telling yourself that.

• 29:22Cassandra Yahnian?

  They do.

• 29:24Danielle LaRock?

  Just keep going. Did this person that flying this plane that probably had one up steering wheel made of wood?

• 29:32Cassandra Yahnian?

  It was the nineteen twenties. It was actually a paper airplane.

• 29:38Cassandra Yahnian?

  So he waves and he's flying at 2,000 feet. 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 steps. The plane hit a crosswind and rocked 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 4,000 feet from the bottom. He then entered a terrifying tailspin plunge, whirling hundreds of feet before leveling out just above his landing spot. Then came

• 30:20Cassandra Yahnian?

  the landing. The wind had changed 60 degrees, making the landing extremely difficult. Thomas doubted he could set the plane down and advised Kolb 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 50 feet from the edge of the drop. It was a breathtaking feat and the first and only airplane landing on Plateau Point within the Grand Canyon.

• 30:55Danielle LaRock?

  50 feet is far too, that's, hmm.

• 31:00Cassandra Yahnian?

  That's way too close.

• 31:01Danielle LaRock?

  Something about, I was trying to make a football field comparison, but.

• 31:05Cassandra Yahnian?

  It's like, if only I knew anything about football.

• 31:09Danielle LaRock?

  I know there's 100 yards. There's, ah, there's three feet and a yard. So there's 300 feet in a football field.

• 31:16Cassandra Yahnian?

  In a whole football fields.

• 31:18Danielle LaRock?

  You're right. Yeah. So however, percentage of that.

• 31:23Cassandra Yahnian?

  A football field is not 300 feet.

• 31:27Danielle LaRock?

  A football field is 300 feet?

• 31:29Cassandra Yahnian?

  No way.

• 31:30Danielle LaRock?

  If my calculations I just did on the fly are correct.

• 31:33Cassandra Yahnian?

  Maybe you're right.

• 31:34Danielle LaRock?

  Are you looking it up?

• 31:35Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh, many feet is.

• 31:39Danielle LaRock?

  360. Oh, there's 120 yards. Right. Go sports.

• 31:45Cassandra Yahnian?

  Go sports.

• 31:49Danielle LaRock?

  Embarrassing to the football community. I apologize.

• 31:52Cassandra Yahnian?

  The football community that you're part of?

• 31:57Danielle LaRock?

  Let me in. I'm trying.

• 32:01Danielle LaRock?

  Trying to be supportive. Okay.

• 32:06Danielle LaRock?

  Okay, anyway, my point was 50 feet is such a small comparison.

• 32:16Danielle LaRock?

  Okay, I'm sorry. Keep going.

• 32:18Cassandra Yahnian?

  If you had 50 feet left to run on a football field, the last quarter of the game, you have to make a touchdown.

• 32:27Danielle LaRock?

  That would be a perfect, you're like, that's nothing.

• 32:30Cassandra Yahnian?

  It's nothing.

• 32:31Danielle LaRock?

  50 feet.

• 32:34Danielle LaRock?

  What is happening? Oh, my God. Okay.

• 32:40Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh. I'm trying to tell a story, Danielle.

• 32:44Danielle LaRock?

  Okay. Okay, so 50 feet. The point is, where's my water? The point that we're trying to make is, it was a close one.

• 32:53Cassandra Yahnian?

  It was a close one.

• 32:54Danielle LaRock?

  That photographer was probably like, this was not worth a hundred dollars. Because he only got paid a hundred bucks, right?

• 33:00Cassandra Yahnian?

  A hundred 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 plane.

• 33:10Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 33:11Cassandra Yahnian?

  No, I'm good. But once they land, they safely land, they're 50 feet from the edge. But they couldn't take off right away because the winds were really strong. So Thomas and Kolb 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.

• 33:41Danielle LaRock?

  Okay, a wire from where? And how'd you get an automobile spring?

• 33:45Cassandra Yahnian?

  Well, they had to hike back up, so.

• 33:46Danielle LaRock?

  Imagine he's like, ah. Whips it out of his.

• 33:51Danielle LaRock?

  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.

• 33:58Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 33:59Danielle LaRock?

  Like you slap it together. Like, that's fine.

• 34:01Cassandra Yahnian?

  That's how I want my airplane.

• 34:03Danielle LaRock?

  Slap together. Like it can carry us out of here.

• 34:06Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah. Hey, well, it did because the following morning on Wednesday, August 9th, 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 very small circles, 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 10:17 a.m., but he did it successfully. Ten days later, the Fred Harvey Company hired Thomas to repeat the flight,

• 34:50Cassandra Yahnian?

  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

• 35:31Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 Halaupai 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,

• 36:15Cassandra Yahnian?

  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

• 36:58Cassandra Yahnian?

  a long time before he pulls his parachute and then lands safely. But it's just a crazy.

• 37:04Danielle LaRock?

  It's Thelma and Louise moment, almost.

• 37:08Cassandra Yahnian?

  Almost.

• 37:09Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, they die.

• 37:10Cassandra Yahnian?

  If they have the parachute.

• 37:12Danielle LaRock?

  Tell everyone.

• 37:13Cassandra Yahnian?

  Spoiler alert.

• 37:14Danielle LaRock?

  Spoiler alert, yeah. And they filmed that in Arches, that iconic scene, I think.

• 37:19Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh, really?

• 37:20Danielle LaRock?

  I think. I think I did an episode on that. I did a quiz on that once to, a surprise quiz, remember? To you?

• 37:27Cassandra Yahnian?

  No.

• 37:28Danielle LaRock?

  All the movie locations and stuff and you had to guess where they were filmed.

• 37:32Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, I did really bad.

• 37:33Danielle LaRock?

  I'm pretty sure it's Arches. I'm not sure. So 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.

• 37:45Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 37:52Danielle LaRock?

  You have the gene that makes you attracted to people who like to do things like this.

• 37:58Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yes, that's my gene.

• 37:59Danielle LaRock?

  That's what you have.

• 38:00Cassandra Yahnian?

  That's my gene.

• 38:01Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 38:02Cassandra Yahnian?

  Whatever that is, let me know.

• 38:03Danielle LaRock?

  You got it, Pat.

• 38:14Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 US Department of Interior nixed his plans back in 1973. Instead, Evel 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

• 38:56Cassandra Yahnian?

  that has his picture on it and says that he tried this stunt there. If anyone's in that area and wants to go visit it.

• 39:03Danielle LaRock?

  I hope he has other monuments instead of just Evel Knievel failed here one time.

• 39:10Cassandra Yahnian?

  You know, 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.

• 39:16Danielle LaRock?

  I mean, he's one of the most famous. I don't even really know what he did other than he was a famous stunt man. And I know his name right off the bat.

• 39:25Cassandra Yahnian?

  Well, Evel Knievel is a pretty iconic name. Evel Knievel.

• 39:30Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, he did himself good with that when he dubbed himself that.

• 39:36Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 tourists. 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 31 feet above the canyon edge, and Robbie needed to reach a speed of 80 to 92 miles per hour to clear the gorge battling expected gusting winds.

• 40:21Cassandra Yahnian?

  It was a 2,500-foot drop to the canyon floor if he didn't make it.

• 40:26Danielle LaRock?

  Parachute or no?

• 40:27Cassandra Yahnian?

  Don't believe so. I watched the video of this one. I watched the video of all of these, but it's crazy to watch.

• 40:34Danielle LaRock?

  I, yeah, again, not interested. I'm interested in this. What if I was like, okay, can you just, I don't want to hear anymore?

• 40:46Danielle LaRock?

  Just, yeah, no.

• 40:47Cassandra Yahnian?

  Well, after an earlier attempt on April 29th was canceled due to high winds and cold weather, the jump was eventually rescheduled for Thursday, May 20th, 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 228 feet, beating the previous world record set in the early 1990s by five feet. Fireworks shot into the air as he completed the stunt, but the drama wasn't over once he touched down.

• 41:31Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 hospital 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.

• 42:06Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, I mean, he stuck the landing, so.

• 42:09Cassandra Yahnian?

  Kind of.

• 42:09Danielle LaRock?

  Well, okay.

• 42:12Cassandra Yahnian?

  Definitely generous.

• 42:14Danielle LaRock?

  He, he made it across, which was his goal.

• 42:17Cassandra Yahnian?

  He did. He didn't fall to, he didn't plummet to his death.

• 42:21Danielle LaRock?

  Right.

• 42:21Cassandra Yahnian?

  Which was the goal for sure. And he initially, he landed and then kept riding and crashed before he could stop.

• 42:31Danielle LaRock?

  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 you're gaining confidence enough to tackle the hill. You know, everyone had a hill.

• 42:53Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 42:54Danielle LaRock?

  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 a hundred 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, what am I gonna do it?

• 43:31Danielle LaRock?

  As he's actually going a hundred miles an hour after just flying across a canyon.

• 43:36Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, I mean, I've never done any, anything even close to this stunt, but I can definitely know the feeling of riding a motor. Motorcycles are have a lot heavier than bikes too. So when they start like going out of control, 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 and.

• 44:04Danielle LaRock?

  You mess yourself up like a couple of summers ago when your bike fell on you.

• 44:09Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh, yeah, I've done it a few. I've messed myself up a couple of 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.

• 44:48Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 whole.

• 45:06Danielle LaRock?

  From where you fell or when he like?

• 45:08Cassandra Yahnian?

  From where he hit me.

• 45:09Danielle LaRock?

  Oh.

• 45:10Cassandra Yahnian?

  Cause he just ran into my side and that was fun.

• 45:15Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, well, it's worth it, right?

• 45:17Cassandra Yahnian?

  Totally. I had a lot of fun.

• 45:18Danielle LaRock?

  I mean, you're still doing it, so.

• 45:21Cassandra Yahnian?

  Not on tracks anymore, but outside and in the back. I never, this I can't relate to though. Forty foot jump and or a forty foot ramp and then two hundred and twenty eight foot jump. I was happy to get a couple inches off the ground on my bike. Well, there's a difference between the sport and a stunt, right? You know, like, I mean, people in 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, smell. I was really excited until I look up and there's someone literally over me. They're blotting out the sun above you. Oh. Yeah, like, oh, that's what being good at riding looks like. You gotta start somewhere.

• 46:06Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, I finished there, too. And that's fine. I peaked, I peaked there, I should say. Well, by two thousand and six, the Grand Canyon was becoming a stage for hybrid stunts. On March twenty third, two thousand and six, skateboarder Bob Burquist, Bob, Bob Burquist, achieved what was described as a first of its kind skating stunt and a lifelong dream, base jumping into Hellhole Bend at the bottom of the canyon of the Holo Loop Island. A ramp and mega rail structure was built outward from the rim above, a daunting fifteen hundred 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.

• 46:51Cassandra Yahnian?

  His friends and family, including his children, watched as he successfully rode down the forty 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 chute 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. Okay, well, he's like, I'm here.

• 47:35Danielle LaRock?

  I guess.

• 47:35Cassandra Yahnian?

  It's like, we're doing this. This ramp's built. Let's go. And this time, Bernquist 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.

• 47:53Danielle LaRock?

  I've, these shows have never, stunt junkies? And that's incredible.

• 47:58Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 48:07Danielle LaRock?

  Mm hmm.

• 48:07Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 48:18Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 48:18Cassandra Yahnian?

  And you just hear his kid go, yeah, dad.

• 48:21Danielle LaRock?

  Oh.

• 48:22Cassandra Yahnian?

  Like if this had gone bad.

• 48:24Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 48:25Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh, oh, my heart. But it was exciting because his dad did it. But like, oh, that's such a risk to have your kids watching that. But.

• 48:33Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 48:34Cassandra Yahnian?

  Man.

• 48:45Cassandra Yahnian?

  In the years following Bernquist's 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 Rossi 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 wing suit 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.

• 49:30Cassandra Yahnian?

  But it's meant to make him fly. And I guess that's the point. But he kind of looks like Ant-Man.

• 49:36Danielle LaRock?

  But did you ever watch that?

• 49:37Cassandra Yahnian?

  He's Jetman, but he looks like Ant-Man in the Marvel.

• 49:41Danielle LaRock?

  I have not had the pleasure of seeing Ant-Man, but Paul Rudd is

• 49:46Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, Paul Rudd is Ant-Man.

• 49:48Danielle LaRock?

  Is the ant in Ant-Man. Yeah. And I like Paul Rudd.

• 49:51Cassandra Yahnian?

  Me too.

• 49:52Danielle LaRock?

  He's aging great.

• 49:54Cassandra Yahnian?

  I know. Unproblematic people age great.

• 49:58Danielle LaRock?

  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 ways. Because he looks like his age, only just like so good for his age.

• 50:15Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 50:16Danielle LaRock?

  You know what I mean?

• 50:17Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 50:25Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah. Yeah, he's so funny. Oh, my God. He's so funny.

• 50:32Danielle LaRock?

  And this is forty.

• 50:33Cassandra Yahnian?

  Forty. Oh, my.

• 50:36Danielle LaRock?

  Did we just find common ground?

• 50:38Cassandra Yahnian?

  We did. It's one of my favorite comedies to watch.

• 50:42Danielle LaRock?

  It's so good.

• 50:43Cassandra Yahnian?

  Funny.

• 50:44Danielle LaRock?

  And I'm not even forty yet. And I feel like it's relatable.

• 50:48Cassandra Yahnian?

  Relate to so many of the things that happen. Oh, my. And with Megan Fox in it, too. And it's just, it's so good.

• 50:57Danielle LaRock?

  Fox is in it? Oh, right. Yeah.

• 50:59Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 50:59Danielle LaRock?

  In the changing room.

• 51:01Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah. She's, um, she works at the store that, um, what's her name? Leslie's?

• 51:07Danielle LaRock?

  Leslie Mann.

• 51:09Cassandra Yahnian?

  Leslie Mann. Yeah, Leslie Mann owns the shop and Megan Fox works there.

• 51:14Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 51:15Cassandra Yahnian?

  And, yeah, it's just, it's so.

• 51:17Danielle LaRock?

  She's incredible, too. I mean,

• 51:19Cassandra Yahnian?

  I love her.

• 51:20Danielle LaRock?

  Leslie Mann we're talking about.

• 51:22Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, Leslie Mann is so funny.

• 51:24Danielle LaRock?

  Megan Fox is great, too.

• 51:25Cassandra Yahnian?

  Uh, if you haven't seen that movie, when they go to school and their kid, and they, oh, there's so many good people in it. I, yeah, I'm probably gonna watch it after this, just to reminisce.

• 51:38Danielle LaRock?

  If you haven't seen this movie from two thousand and eight.

• 51:42Cassandra Yahnian?

  Go watch it.

• 51:43Danielle LaRock?

  You should. You should.

• 51:45Cassandra Yahnian?

  It's gold.

• 51:46Danielle LaRock?

  So Jetman.

• 51:48Cassandra Yahnian?

  So anyway.

• 51:48Danielle LaRock?

  Who looks like Ant-Man.

• 51:49Cassandra Yahnian?

  Jetman, who looks like Ant-Man.

• 51:53Cassandra Yahnian?

  So looks like a giant bug. Plans to fly over a section of the canyon near Guano Point on the Hualupai Reservation. The original flight planned on Friday, May 6, 2011, was postponed because Rossi felt he lacks 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 200 feet above the rim at speeds up to 190 miles per hour, he glided 8,000 feet above the canyon floor for more than eight minutes. Rossi traveled five miles before deploying his parachute

• 52:36Cassandra Yahnian?

  and landing smoothly on the canyon floor. Rossi acknowledged the importance of the location, thanking Mother Nature and the Hualupai tribe for making his lifelong dreams come true.

• 52:47Danielle LaRock?

  190 miles an hour is insane. That's not, that's not Ant-Man. That's Jetman.

• 52:53Cassandra Yahnian?

  That's Jetman, for sure.

• 52:57Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 53:12Danielle LaRock?

  I'm sure.

• 53:12Cassandra Yahnian?

  Because they're just so, you just can't believe people are really doing this. Um, 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 Wolenda's, a seventh generation member of the famous Flying Wolenda's Circus Family, had a dream of crossing the Grand Canyon since he was a teenager on a high wire.

• 53:35Danielle LaRock?

  Seventh generation?

• 53:37Cassandra Yahnian?

  It was just in his blood. They're all, they're all performers.

• 53:41Danielle LaRock?

  Family pressure involved. You're telling me for seven generations, those children wanted to be performers in this way?

• 53:50Cassandra Yahnian?

  Families have their things.

• 53:52Danielle LaRock?

  I don't know. I feel like somebody needs to look into them, but. Yeah.

• 53:57Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 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 two-inch-thick steel cable, stretched 1,400 feet long, about four football fields in length. It was positioned about 1,500 feet above the Little Colorado River Gorge.

• 54:41Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 55:02Danielle LaRock?

  My hands are sweating right now. That's, okay, to each their own. Live and let live. I'm from the live or die state. I live or die. If you doesn't want a friggin' safety harness, don't make them.

• 55:16Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 faced straight down to the riverbed.

• 55:40Danielle LaRock?

  Oh, my God. What? Okay. Wait, is this the one that you were watching?

• 55:44Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yes. I was not watching this angle.

• 55:47Danielle LaRock?

  Okay.

• 55:47Cassandra Yahnian?

  I was just watching the Fox News.

• 55:49Danielle LaRock?

  I don't know if I would want that. I would want to see him in his entirety, I think, instead of, uh...

• 55:55Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 56:14Danielle LaRock?

  I wonder if, uh, what do they call it? Uh, high-wire men? High, people who do this high-wire stunt, you know how, um, like in yoga? When you're trying to balance, you, or at least I pick a fixed point and just stare at it.

• 56:31Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 56:31Danielle LaRock?

  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.

• 56:51Cassandra Yahnian?

  Maybe.

• 56:51Danielle LaRock?

  Like he's not looking all around.

• 56:54Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, I imagine that there's so much focus on.

• 56:58Danielle LaRock?

  And he has that pole.

• 57:00Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, the balancing pole.

• 57:03Danielle LaRock?

  Imagine if like a raven just flew by and like messed up. That's why it's like.

• 57:07Cassandra Yahnian?

  Landed on it.

• 57:09Danielle LaRock?

  Or even just fluttered by him or something and distracted him or whatever.

• 57:13Cassandra Yahnian?

  That's some Edgar Allan Poe shit right there.

• 57:15Danielle LaRock?

  Okay, well, I don't know. I just picked it right. An Osprey. I don't know. Well, I don't know why an Osprey would be in the canyon, but um, yeah, God. I mean, how far is he going again?

• 57:27Cassandra Yahnian?

  Across the high wire.

• 57:29Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 57:29Cassandra Yahnian?

  It is 1,400 feet long.

• 57:32Danielle LaRock?

  Okay, okay.

• 57:33Cassandra Yahnian?

  Or four football fields.

• 57:35Danielle LaRock?

  As we know now.

• 57:36Cassandra Yahnian?

  As we know.

• 57:37Danielle LaRock?

  Because football fields are 360 feet, obviously. I mean, yeah, yeah.

• 57:44Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 57:45Danielle LaRock?

  Right?

• 57:49Danielle LaRock?

  A hundred and something yards, six yards, whatever. I get it. I understand.

• 57:55Cassandra Yahnian?

  Great. As his walk began at 7:38 PM on Sunday, June 23rd, 2013, Willenda 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 gusts.

• 58:28Danielle LaRock?

  Oh, my God.

• 58:29Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 fall and plummet to his death is crazy.

• 58:47Danielle LaRock?

  I might get a live stream. Feed that people are watching from his POV. That's insane.

• 58:52Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 58:53Danielle LaRock?

  What year is this? 2011?

• 58:55Cassandra Yahnian?

  12.

• 58:56Danielle LaRock?

  12, okay. I feel like that wouldn't be a thi- like the thi- 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 gonna be having, if he's truly free soloing something live on Netflix, which I have my doubts. Netflix can't get their shit together for a Love is Blind live reunion. So let alone.

• 59:19Cassandra Yahnian?

  The whole site just shuts down.

• 59:22Danielle LaRock?

  This global event, you know, that everyone is gonna be tuning in for. I doubt that they're gonna have a cam and a mic on him.

• 59:31Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, I don't know.

• 59:32Danielle LaRock?

  It just feels like early 2000s decision-making to me.

• 59:37Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 59:37Danielle LaRock?

  I don't know, though. But we'll see.

• 59:39Cassandra Yahnian?

  We'll find out. We'll see how much things have changed.

• 59:42Danielle LaRock?

  So the Lord is with him at this point.

• 59:44Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yes, he's praying aloud and li- 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 Wallenda, 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 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,

• 1:00:28Cassandra Yahnian?

  becoming the first person to tight-rope walk across a gorge in the Grand Canyon area.

• 1:00:34Danielle LaRock?

  Wow.

• 1:00:35Cassandra Yahnian?

  Amazing.

• 1:00:37Danielle LaRock?

  Truly incredible.

• 1:00:38Cassandra Yahnian?

  I, it really is.

• 1:00:39Danielle LaRock?

  Or what is it? That's incre- that's incredible.

• 1:00:43Cassandra Yahnian?

  Well, the event was a massive ratings 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

• 1:01:24Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 questioned 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. It's 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.

• 1:02:09Cassandra Yahnian?

  When you look at it, these stunts were bringing in a lot of money, not only for tourism, for people who were participating and 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 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 US. So this was an opportunity to support their communities. And I just think that that's important to mention of why this was happening.

• 1:02:46Danielle LaRock?

  Makes sense. I mean, they see an opportunity to bring some very much needed tourism dollars into their area. I get it, for sure.

• 1:02:55Cassandra Yahnian?

  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, loosened 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

• 1:03:39Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 any, at least a little bit.

• 1:03:57Danielle LaRock?

  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, 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?

• 1:04:24Cassandra Yahnian?

  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 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's around them, of course, is also because you're profiting off of someone who may or may not lose their life on live television.

• 1:05:07Danielle LaRock?

  There is that, but it's their decision.

• 1:05:10Cassandra Yahnian?

  It is their decision, but you're also subjecting millions of people to maybe seeing someone die on live television.

• 1:05:19Danielle LaRock?

  But it's your choice to watch. No one's holding you at gunpoint and telling you you have to maybe watch this. I don't know. I think we also talked a little bit about that in my base jumping episode of like.

• 1:05:32Cassandra Yahnian?

  It's a weird line. It's like where you, 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.

• 1:05:42Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:05:43Cassandra Yahnian?

  And I mean, I watched them.

• 1:05:45Danielle LaRock?

  You did?

• 1:05:46Cassandra Yahnian?

  I have watched, I have tuned into live, uh, 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 a live free solo climb in early 2026. And 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.

• 1:06:30Cassandra Yahnian?

  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.

• 1:06:41Danielle LaRock?

  Amazing. That's incredible. And I can't

• 1:06:45Cassandra Yahnian?

  Incredible.

• 1:06:46Danielle LaRock?

  Uh, 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.

• 1:07:09Danielle LaRock?

  It was like the age of the Red Bull, like Red Bull sponsored stunts or monster.

• 1:07:15Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 1:07:16Danielle LaRock?

  You know what I mean? 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. I think.

• 1:07:30Cassandra Yahnian?

  I think it's still pretty popular and 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.

• 1:07:49Danielle LaRock?

  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.

• 1:08:10Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh.

• 1:08:11Danielle LaRock?

  And it was this whole thing.

• 1:08:11Cassandra Yahnian?

  I kind of vaguely remember that. I thought you were going to talk about, I thought you were gonna say when Travis Pastrana jumped out of a plane, uh, without a parachute and just trusted that his friends would, who had parachutes would grab him.

• 1:08:23Danielle LaRock?

  Didn't even know about that.

• 1:08:24Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah. And he did, he does stunts all the time too, cause 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.

• 1:08:41Danielle LaRock?

  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, if 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.

• 1:09:24Danielle LaRock?

  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. They're not just doing it to do it, right?

• 1:09:39Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 1:09:41Danielle LaRock?

  And I don't know. It just makes me nervous. So

• 1:09:46Danielle LaRock?

  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 gonna cut the feed. Cause 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.

• 1:10:09Cassandra Yahnian?

  No, I didn't even think about that. Yeah.

• 1:10:12Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah. What are you doing? You're thumbs upping like so many things.

• 1:10:15Cassandra Yahnian?

  I think it's just the way I'm, the recite is, the way I'm sitting or something. It thinks I'm thumbs upping. I don't know why.

• 1:10:22Danielle LaRock?

  I don't know. Uh, well, thank you for sharing that. That was a, uh, interesting episode and I know we kind of shot the shit a little bit, but it was fun.

• 1:10:30Cassandra Yahnian?

  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, uh, fun. And this was it for me. Yeah. So thank you guys for tuning in. Hope you're enjoying December, the Sagittarius season.

• 1:10:55Danielle LaRock?

  It's my birthday week. It's my birthday week.

• 1:10:58Cassandra Yahnian?

  It is. It's your birthday month, your birthday week.

• 1:11:01Danielle LaRock?

  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.

• 1:11:13Cassandra Yahnian?

  Full week.

• 1:11:14Danielle LaRock?

  I don't know though, because if your birthday is on like a Friday, 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, cause it's over.

• 1:11:26Cassandra Yahnian?

  Hmm. Cause it's at the beginning of the week.

• 1:11:28Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 1:11:29Cassandra Yahnian?

  So sometimes you get a birthday week.

• 1:11:31Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah. And it's not all the time because calendars work like that.

• 1:11:36Cassandra Yahnian?

  Well, this is your birthday week.

• 1:11:38Danielle LaRock?

  It is, 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.

• 1:11:49Cassandra Yahnian?

  But watch your back.

• 1:11:50Danielle LaRock?

  Bye.

• 1:11:50Cassandra Yahnian?

  Bye.

• 1:11:51Danielle LaRock?

  Thank you for joining us again this week. If you love National Park After Dark and want to hear exclusive bonus stories, join us on Patreon or Apple subscriptions. Patreon subscribers have access to our National Park After Dark Book Club, live streams, Discord, and much more. 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, TikTok, and X at National Park After Dark.

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