No one ever said being a TV news correspondent is a boring job. Need proof? Check out this report from Fox News Channel’s Seattle correspondent Dan Springer.
Springer was reporting on travel companies installing “Via Ferratas,” permanent cables and iron rungs on mountains, to allow for novice mountain climbers to make treks normally reserved for pros.
Springer recalls the journey, which required a flight, a car ride, a bus ride and two helicopter flights, just to get to the Via Ferrata where they could begin their climb.
We were decked out in helmets, harnesses and clips. Once on the mountain we started our ascension. It was exhilarating. Yes, the iron rungs help tremendously, but you still feel like you’re mountain climbing. It’s strenuous and can be dangerous if you make a mistake. It’s definitely not like simply climbing a ladder. The cable that runs next to the iron steps are a life line.
After several hours of tough climbing we came to the signature spot … a 160 foot cable bridge between two mountain peaks. You walk on two-by-four boards which are held together by cables and chains. This is Indiana Jones stuff – only you are the stunt man. I was attached to the cable which was obviously comforting. They still tell you not to look down. If there ever was a fall, the drop is 2,500 feet. I made it to other side and then up one more sheer face to the summit of the Mt. Nimbus tower. But my amazing day was not over. Getting down was the really scary part.
Just another day working for a cable news channel…
You can read the rest of Springer’s account here, and his video report is embedded after the jump.
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com
(h/t Johnny $)