The Daring Engineering Behind Vancouver’s Capilano Cliffwalk

The Capilano Cliffwalk in Vancouver, Canada, allows visitors to descend into a canyon and walk along the cliff wall, offering them an unprecedented view over the treetops. But building a true suspension bridge and walkway inside a canyon requires some precise planning and fearless builders. By Tim Newcomb

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Capilano Cliffwalk

For more than 100 years, the Capilano Suspension Bridge has put a sway in the step of visitors crossing the Capilano River that cuts through North Vancouver, British Columbia. The 450-foot-long footbridge, which looks like something out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, has been one of the city's top tourist attractions. But third-generation park manager and vice president of operations John Stibbard wanted visitors to have a new and even more thrilling view?one they could only find by clinging to the side of a granite cliff.

Stibbard realized the dream in 2010. While rappeling the cliff walls of the canyon, he imagined the park's visitors being able to enjoy the same amazing view over the Capilano River from a cantilever bridge anchored to the rock. But building a bridge that's anchored to nothing but a granite cliff wall takes some crazy, and crazy-talented engineers. Over the course of months of surveying, rappeling, drilling and drawing up alternatives when the rock formations forced slight changes of plan, Stibbard's team created the Capilano Cliffwalk that now allows visitors to descend into the canyon, close to the treetops. "People don't get to just stand on the edge of a cliff face," Stibbard says. But they do here in Vancouver, and here's how he and his team built this picturesque perch.

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