The Europabrücke in Switzerland, now the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge. © Europaweg.
Have you ever wanted to walk across Switzerland’s Grabengufer valley, but lacked the time for the three-hour hike it requires? Good news: there’s now a shortcut, which cuts down the travel time to fewer than ten minutes. All you have to do is walk through the air.
This new possibility comes from the recently opened Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge, which, CNN reports, is now the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world. The bridge opened for business on Saturday, July 29th, and spans 1640 feet—about the length of seven city blocks. At its highest point, it hangs about 28 stories above the ravine.
In far-off photographs, the bridge resembles a thin silver necklace, stretched between two mountainous shoulders. Close up, it looks more like a walkable roller coaster. While crossing, “it is possible to look into the precipice below one’s feet,” the Zermatt travel board writes in a press release.
Yikes. This would be a challenge for me, but I wouldn’t pass it up if I had the opportunity, either. My partner would adore this, and be an annoyingly happy monkey all the way across.
You can read more at Atlas Obscura.
Hrrmm … yeah, I won’t be doing that.
Hee. :D I used to mountain climb, and that feels very secure to me, hanging off the side of a mountain, but bridges that sway and move tend to freak me out a bit. I’d do it, though. Just because it’s there.
I’d be really worried about oscillation -- that’d be low frequency but pretty devastating.
I’d assume that was all taken into consideration.
Tacoma. Narrows. Bridge.
All you have to do is be the perfect weight to find it’s resonant frequency and stand at a node.
Don’t do that is what I’m trying to get at. Do not do that!
Raucous Indignation:
Which is?
That of a fully laden swallow.
African or European?
(Though, given that the bridge is in Europe, it would be natural to assume it’s a European Swallow.)
Also break step when marching across in company.
I have very mixed feelings about this. I have recently discovered I’m terrified of heights (though I never used to be), but I love climbing, but that bridge is hanging over a lot of empty space and probably sways back and forth… I don’t know. I’d probably manage to grit my teeth and complete the trip, if it’s less than 10 minutes. Maybe.
You would not get me on that bridge even with a big stick or even a bigger carrot.
I shudder from the very idea.
Wow!
What’s with this fashion of cable bridges in Switzerland? Here’s a shorter, but still impressive one they built in my hometown of Bellinzona: 270m long, 130m above the valley bottom. I managed to walk that one, but I don’t think I’ll ever try the Europabrücke.
The mildly deranged penguin notes the proper way to cross that bridge is to wait until it’s icy in the winter and then stake across. In the summer, she suggests using a clown’s unicycle, you know, one of those with the seat several metres high. Backwards.
Holy shit that’s amazing but nope. Couldn’t even get myself across this for the sake of my children’s enjoyment; I had to send them to the lookout point under care from other members of our group.
(It’s still absolutely breathtaking and an impressive feat of engineering regardless of the shudders it gives me, personally, and I too have loved ones who’d be annoyingly chipper about the whole endeavor.)