The Most Scary Walk Ever

WARNING

This backpacking walk as a lot of exposure. The person videoing this did not clip in to the old guide wire.

Check out the video video

Looks like the route could use a little maintenance. What is the point of not clipping in?

HUGE pucker factor - even sitting in my chair!

Great shot, though.

Here is an article about it-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caminito_del_Rey

Built over a 100 years ago; hard to figure out how they did it. Must have carried everything up by hand, including water to mix the concrete.

One of the comments on YouTube says that the guy who shot this was killed in the Himalayas last year-fell into a crevasse.

There is no steel IN the concrete...no wonder the thing is falling apart. Supposedly, it is closed now and they are in the process of restoring the walkway.

Maybe the guy wire isn't all that solid?

Kind of reminds me of the line from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, where they're about to jump off the cliff. One says, "I can't swim." The other says, "That's OK - the fall will probably kill us."

A very likely possibility. Still, even a marginal tether would be better than nothing at all. I have placed a lot of protection that probably wasn't all that great, but that might have worked if I just slipped a bit. Something is better than nothing, especially when you are desperate.

It is an interesting route. Sometimes you are cruising up flawlessly formed steps and then you are instantly thrust into situations where roping up is a really good idea.

Wow, cool beans. I really like Spain anyway, so one more incentive to go back; I hope the very strained Spanish economy allows them to follow-through on repairing and reopening this.

Thanks for pointing it out.

I suppose they have via ferrata all over Europe.

As in Alpine climbing, they may have felt that using protection would slow them down too much to get to their destination on time. Its a long trail. From a climbers point of view it ain't nothin - I've been in a LOT worse places without a tether. Your body does get used to the exposure and stops puckering on its own. After while there is no body fear left - just careful movement.

Not that the movie isn't awesome, but its a walkway afterall, maybe a deteriorated one, but its no polished granite slab.
Jim

I don't think I would literally rope up to pass the exposed bits, but you would lose an insignificant amount of time to clip in to the available cable. Note that the videographer is no longer with us, evidently after taking one chance too many on a crevassed glacier. Being a desert rat, glacier travel is definitely not something I have experienced extensively, but I understand it is a good idea to always rope up on a glacier.

Yeah, I'm not taking that walk. Way too much pucker factor there for me.

The camera work is great though, and I was surprised to see so many others wandering around there.

Sorry to hear about him getting in the accident. He was definitely a risk taker. Way to far out there for me to follow, but he must of had nerves of steel.

Thanks for the link Tom. This picture of it they have there really shows it well. If you look close you'll see a few people on the walkway.

The Caminito del Rey is famous for some hair raising parts, crumbling cement and rusted handrails (I didn't try...)I encountered a number of passages on smooth rock face above the sea or void I didn't enjoy at all.
I had a different scary moment on my last hike in the Vosges area, where the trail crosses a main road at the top of a pass. Come out of the woods after a steep way down, cross the road dodging traffic, the other side is a big concrete abutment (?) wall, with a vertical metal scale. Go up the scale slippery in the pouring rain, with trucks and cars rushing, full speed, two feet behind your butt...Vanish into the woods again with a relieved sigh.

All I have to say is NOT ME. not without at least holding onto the guy wire.