I know of people who surreptitiously scale big bridges for the thrill (and sometimes to have sex at the top), but now bridge climbing is becoming an official "attraction" in Cincinnati, Ohio. Official bridge climbing ventures are nothing new for visitors to Australia or New Zealand, but Cincinnati's Purple People Bridge Climb will apparently be the first in the US. From the Cincinnati Enquirer:
True, the Purple People Bridge's highest point is only about 140 feet above the Ohio River – about one-third as high as the Sydney Harbour Bridge's 440 feet…
The 2½-hour experience will include an hour on the bridge itself. The rest of the time will be filled by a breath test for alcohol, lessons about safety procedures, and an indoor "mock climb" at Newport on the Levee.
(Theme Park Services's Dennis) Speigel, whose company has worked on more than 400 entertainment projects in 40 countries, says many people have praised him or raised concerns – some feared people would commit suicide.
That hasn't happened in Sydney's seven years of operations (about 1.7 million have climbed, according to the bridge's Web site), and it won't happen here, he said, because of the safety equipment, he said.
"You have a harness that goes around your body, and you're locked in on that," he said. "When we put you in, you can't take that off. Only that guide can latch you on and unlatch you off."
Link (Thanks, Charles Pescovitz!)
