The Worlds Most Dangerous Trail

I'd do it, but only with a few people I REALY trust, and lots of ropes and gear. of course even if I didn't die, my GF would kill me when I got back down.
 
PrimitiveMan said:
Looked like a helmet cam, so his hands were probably free. Sketchy, but not really that insane. Obviously plenty of people do it.
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure its a helmet cam... at one point in the video, the sun is behind him and his shadow is cast upon the ground in front of him and can be seen fairly clearly. From the shape of the shadow, he's definitely not wearing a helmet, and it even looks like he might beholding something in front of his chest... You can see his shadow from about 1:00 to 1:19, and on looking at it again, at 1:19 you can see what looks to me like the extended leg of a tripod he's carrying in front of him... What a nutcase...
 
I wouldn't do that unless my pack actually contained a parachute. It looks like something from the hardest part of a Zelda game.
 
I think balancing across the pipes is the craziest part. I think you are right, the camera is handheld. Dude has some serious good balance.
 
I read somewhere that the government is thinking of restoring it and making it safe enough to be a tourist attraction. Of course, the cost would be staggering.

DancesWithKnives
 
They must not have very many personal injury attorneys around there looking to fund their next home!
Sadly, If i were there, I'd tackle that in a heartbeat. Lots to explore on that trail.
 
Heres a writeup from this post. Considering the posted video was 6 minutes like the video referenced on the site. I'd say the guy was using the camera in his hands and thats the video of which this guy speaks of.

http://www.ssqq.com/ARCHIVE/vinlin27e.htm

Rick Archer's Note: As you can see from the picture on the left, El Caminito del Rey (El Camino del Rey for short) is a frightening mountain walkway indeed!

The El Camino del Rey walkway was built in 1901. This narrow, gut-wrenching path is only 3 feet wide! The path is held to the mountainside by pins driven into the stone. If you fall, it is nearly 700 feet the river below. How would you like to trust the building technology of a century ago?

It was built to allow local workers the ability cross between two nearby waterfalls, Chorro Falls and Gaitanejo Falls. It served as a shortcut so the workers would not have to climb down the mountain on one side and climb back up on the other. Now a century later, the walkway has fallen into a state of serious disrepair. Many parts of the walkway have completely collapsed, leaving nothing but a metal beam and a wire between you and 700 feet of nothing. As you walk the narrow path, whatever you do, don't look down!

The danger doesn't seem to stop people from climbing it. This walkway serves as time-saving approach to Makinodromo, the name of a famous climbing sector of El Chorro. Since the walkway is just as much a shortcut today as it was one hundred years ago, people risk their lives on a daily basis despite its illegal status.

Several years ago El Camino del Rey became famous thanks to an amazing 6-minute video. Although I was unable to learn who actually filmed it, I watched the incredible footage with my mouth wide open. The video is so riveting you feel like you are the one risking your life (the horror movie Cloverfield was filmed in a very similar style). Some intrepid climber videotaped the entire route himself. He shot footage with one hand while barely keeping his balance with the other hand. Watching the gaps in the path plus all the insane people he had to pass along the way made me queasy. I could barely stand it! I was convinced he would fall at any minute. I actually developed a bad case of vertigo even though I was sitting in complete safety at my computer screen.

Thanks to this infamous video, El Camino del Rey has acquired a bizarre status. Today El Camino del Rey serves as a death-dying climbing dare for adventurous people.
 
wow

I wouldnt do it

I had a job sandblasting catwalks real high up before , the mesh plates I was standing on would move and the sand blast hose would shove me around a lot , and I still got a fear of heights from that ...

no way in hell would I go on a track lik that for fun , was hard enough doing allegedly safer stuff for money
 
That's nuts. I cringe watching him cross the sections with no walkway and only the metal supports.

The holes in the trail are crazy too - looks like the rest could give way at any time.

I can't believe how many people were actually on the trail.
 
DWK2 said:
I read somewhere that the government is thinking of restoring it and making it safe enough to be a tourist attraction. Of course, the cost would be staggering.

DancesWithKnives
Click to expand...

Why do governments continue to do this kind of crap? Why can't it be enough to recognize something is dangerous and let people pursue it at their own risk? We do it every single day with cars and no one blinks an eye. Oh, that's right, because the automotive industry and all it's auxiliary aspects generate MONEY!
 
absolutindian said:
I honestly don't think it would be too bad if you clip into the cables bolted into the rock alongside the trail as the other climbers are doing in the video. However, the guy doing the filming obviously wasn't clipping in, and was also diverting his attention from the task at hand by videotaping. Not too smart, even if you're extremely sure-footed. Distraction is extremely dangerous in ANY situation where a mistake or slip could cost your life.
Click to expand...

he was clipping in at the scarier places, you can see several cuts throughout if you pay attention. often when he gets to the end of a bolt he will look out over the valley, and then cut back in a few feet further down the trail.
 
There is nothing on this earth that could make me walk that "trail" !!

Three times in my life I have hiked trails that I should not have , one was near Santa Cruz , Ca. the other was near Angel Falls in Yosemite..the other was near Bear Creek Diversion Dam not too far from me now.
All times I could have easily died.
The one near Santa Cruz had warnings all over it but we did it anyway , was much younger then and much dumber :D Bear Creek was scarrrrry !! but we had rope. Angel Falls was really stupid of me and I have since lost any taste for such silliness.

That said...... anyone who does hike that trail.... I take my hat off to you cuz your nad are larger than mine ! :D





Tostig.

Thanks for sharing , first time seeing that vid.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top