to move up and down
This weekend, 200 participants will be in Niagara Falls to take part a sport called ice cross downhill but known more widely known as Crashed Ice, which began as a marketing tool hatched by the makers of an energy drink. Participation has grown, and while it will not make the skaters rich, it does offer the promise of at least fleeting fame.
The premise: Four skaters begin at the top of an ice track, racing each other to the bottom in a race that mixes elements of ice skating, downhill skiing, luge and a general disregard for personal safety.
In Niagara Falls, which is staging the event for the first time, the track is 460 metres long, with a half-dozen jumps. It looks like an extra-wide bobsleigh track, and organizers say it took about 7,500 hours to assemble. (Photo: Jorg Mitter/Red Bull)
Nik Wallenda faces Niagara Falls tightrope walk with rich, but tragic daredevil history
Daredevil Nik Wallenda will embark on a high-wire walk across Niagara Falls Friday night, starting around 10 p.m. EDT. When he sets out for his stunt, he’ll be adding another chapter to his family’s storied daredevil history, which dates back more than two centuries. (Photos: AP; AFP; Reuters)
Graphic: Nik Wallenda and the tightrope walkers of Niagara Falls
Stunting has been banned for more than a century at Niagara Falls, where daredevils of generations past made their mark. It speaks to the economic struggles the area has faced that Nik Wallenda was given a special exemption for his spectacle after battling officials on both sides of the border.
Related: After running Niagara’s gauntlet of red tape, Wallenda ready for his next challenge: the falls
Hmm, it’s Tuesday, is it too late for this? Nah… Gary Clement’s week in review
Nik Wallenda to become first person to walk tightrope over Niagara Falls
Andrew Coyne: In Justin’s world, separation is just another option
Iran threatens to cut off Europe’s oil
Unrepentant ‘underwear bomber ’ sentenced to life in jail by U.S. judge
Obama meets China’s heir apparent to power
Anonymous revives Vikileaks, targets Vic Toews over online surveillance bill
Nik Wallenda to become first person to walk tightrope over Niagara Falls
In a stunning about-face, the Niagara Parks Commission now says it will allow seventh-generation daredevil Nik Wallenda to be the first person to walk a tightrope wire across the Horseshoe Falls this summer.
The commission had initially blocked the 32-year-old’s bid, citing a 128-year-old act that prohibits “stunting” in a municipality that counts people hurling themselves over the falls in a barrel as part of its lore. But the parks commission made an exception to the rule and reversed its decision, saying the economic benefits of the Wallenda event will far outweigh any other concerns.
“I feel like I’m extremely blessed,” he told the National Post by phone after the meeting. “There was a lump in my throat until about 11:30 this morning,” when the new decision came down.
The Niagara Parks Commission was the only thing standing in the way of what will become a high point of Mr. Wallenda’s career as a daredevil and scion of the ‘Flying Wallenda’ family of high-wire walkers.
Maid of the Mist in peril: Bidding war over Niagara Falls’ tour service raises concerns over what will become of the iconic name
It began with a bridge in 1848, an infrastructure improvement that threatened to kill off the two-year-old ferry service across the Niagara River. The construction of a suspension bridge spanning the river nearly choked out the newly minted Maid of the Mist ferry service, but ownership soon saw a new opportunity — that of a sightseeing vessel, and created a local icon in the process.
The Maid of the Mist has shuttled Marilyn Monroe to the foot of Horseshoe Falls for her role in the film Niagara, borne Prince Charles, the late Princess Diana and their sons, William and Harry, as well as former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, among others.
But the Maid is in peril again, as the Niagara Parks Commission has forced the Glynn family, which has operated the boat tours on the Canadian side of the falls for more than a century, into a bidding war against other would-be operators. Prompted by scandal, the commission aims for the first time to bring the service into line with other Ontario Parks projects. (Photo: Janne Wooddridge/Miami Herald)
Despite setback, high wire walker not giving up fight to return Niagara Falls to its daredevil roots
Nik Wallenda, high wire daredevil, consummate showman and seventh-generation descendant of the legendary Flying Wallendas, wasn’t afraid to step from a skyscraper and walk on a wire 20 stories above the street without a safety net and return riding a bicycle for a Guinness World Record, so he remains undaunted at the prospect of tackling bureaucrats with the Niagara Parks Commission.
Body of woman who fell into Niagara Falls recovered
U.S. authorities recovered the body of a young Japanese woman who was swept over Niagara Falls this week from the Canadian side, New York state park police said Friday.
“The body of a woman recovered Thursday morning from lower Niagara River has been identified by the Erie Country Medical Examiner’s office,” a police spokeswoman told AFP.
“It is confirmed that the woman is the one and the same with respect to an incident where a woman was reported falling into the waters of the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side of the border on August 14.” (Photo: Facebook)
Lure of falls sends teen over the edge
Even after a weekend at Niagara Falls in which a 19-year-old Japanese student is feared drowned, a man was found dead and another suffered serious injuries in a fall, increased safety efforts are unlikely to be effective, the local police chief says.
Every day individuals put themselves in harm’s way by crossing over fences in the area, explained Chief Doug Kane of Niagara Parks Police.
“On the one hand, we need an ability to view the falls,” he said. “And no matter what structure we put around it, people will still attempt to beat it. In contrast, if you look at the American side, most of the area has direct-water access.”
