Canadian climbers become first to scale frozen Niagara Falls
Many people have plunged down Niagara Falls over the years. Others have dared to walk high above them, balanced on a rope. But until this week, no one has ever managed to climb straight up the falls. ...
Many people have plunged down Niagara Falls over the years. Others have dared to walk high above them, balanced on a rope. But until this week, no one has ever managed to climb straight up the falls.
Though it was intended to be kept a secret for now, news leaked that Canadian climbers Will Gadd and Sarah Hueniken successfully scaled a frozen section of Horseshoe Falls on Tuesday. It is the largest of Niagara Falls' three sections, considered the most powerful falls in the world.
"It's the only place I've been to climb where you can not only see the climb, and touch it with your ice tools, but really just feel the power of the water going by, right in your whole body," Gladd tells As it Happens host Carol Off.
Gadd spent about an hour ascending the overhanging falls, inserting screws in the ice as he went, to catch him if he fell. After he reached the top, he was followed by Hueniken, his girlfriend, who grew up close to the falls.
"I've climbed things that are harder from a pure technical standpoint, but from a putting it all together and keeping it safe standpoint, that was about the hardest climb of my life," says Gladd.