Peak Walk

Peak Walk

Scex Rouge and View Point of Glacier 3000
Coordinates 46°19′37″N 7°12′11″E / 46.32694°N 7.20306°E / 46.32694; 7.20306 (Peak Walk)Coordinates: 46°19′37″N 7°12′11″E / 46.32694°N 7.20306°E / 46.32694; 7.20306 (Peak Walk)
Carries Pedestrians
Locale Vaud
Characteristics
Design Suspension bridge
Total length 107 m (351 ft)[1][2]
Width 0.8 m (2.6 ft)
Clearance below 3,000 m (9,800 ft) above sea level[3]
History
Opened October 25, 2014[3]
Statistics
Toll Free

Peak Walk is a pedestrian suspension bridge linking two mountain peaks in the Swiss Alps. It is situated in the Diablerets massif of the Bernese Alps in the canton of Vaud, and connects the peak of Scex Rouge with another peak.[4] On the other peak is the viewpoint of the Glacier 3000 company. Scex Rouge is about 5 m (16 ft) higher than Glacier 3000's viewpoint.[5] Peak Walk is the world's first suspension bridge which connects two mountain peaks.[6][7][8][9]

The bridge, which has been built by the firm Seiler AG (Steel and metal constructions) in Bönigen,[10] is 107 m (351 ft) long, 0.8 m (2.6 ft) wide and 1.2 m (3.9 ft) high with a 15% slope. It has four pieces of key supporting steel cables with a 120 tonne loading capacity. Peak Walk is anchored by 20 pieces in the rock.[11][note 1] It was built as a tourist attraction in Europe, and it costs 1.8 million franc (about 1.2 million GBP).[12] It is expected that the current number of summertime visitors of around 50,000 will double as a result of the new bridge.[7] Three hundred people could be accommodated at a time, although the number would be reduced to 150 to ensure greater comfort.[12] The designers took the extreme conditions into account, with winds of about 200 km/h (120 mph). Mountains that can be seen from the bridge include Mont Blanc (the Alps' highest point), the Matterhorn, Mönch, Jungfrau and Eiger, and the bridge has a partial glass floor that afford views down through it.[12][13] In addition, the bridge became the world's second highest suspension bridge after the Titlis Cliff Walk, which is 3,000 m (9,800 ft) above sea level.[3][14] The thin air at high altitudes and poor weather hampered construction work, and summer storms delayed the transportation of construction materials.[15]

Note

  1. ↑ "Download the factsheet". (1.26 MB) to see the previous reference

References

  1. ↑ "Opened Peak Walk". Switzerland Tourism. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Peak Walk by Tissot". Office du Tourisme du Canton de Vaud (OTV). Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Coffey, Helen (28 October 2014). "World's first suspension bridge between 2 mountain peaks to open in Swiss Alps". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "High in the Hills". Sunday Tribune. South Africa. October 19, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014 – via HighBeam Research. (subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ "Peak Walk by Tissot". Glacier 3000. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Opening "Peak Walk by Tissot"". Glacier 3000. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  7. 1 2 "World's first peak-to-peak suspension bridge". The Daily Telegraph. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  8. ↑ Gadd, Michael (26 October 2014). "At 9,800ft-high and 351ft-long the new Swiss Alps' Peak Walk is the world's first suspension bridge to connect two mountain peaks". Mail Online. Daily Mail. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "Peak Walk". Sunday Tribune. South Africa. September 14, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014 – via HighBeam Research. (subscription required (help)).
  10. ↑ "Seiler AG". Peak walk by Tissot. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Peak Walk". TéléDiablerets. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 Amey, Katie (7 September 2014). "It's not for the faint of heart!". Mail Online. Daily Mail. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  13. ↑ "Glacier 3000 opens new mountaintop bridge". The Local. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  14. ↑ "New Bridge Links Swiss Mountain Peaks". Clapway. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  15. ↑ "Suspension Bridge to connect two Peaks in the Swiss Alps". We Media (India). 27 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
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