These People Literally Hang Off the Grand Canyon for a Living
At Grand Canyon West, a few people have a job that sounds impossible to most of us. Every few months, a small crew from Abseilon USA climbs out to clean the Skywalk — a glass bridge stretching 70 feet beyond the canyon’s edge. Below them, there’s nothing but 4,000 feet of open air. The Skywalk’s glass floor offers one of the most breathtaking views on Earth, but keeping it crystal clear takes more than skill. It takes courage. For hours, these workers hang beneath the bridge, steady and focused, washing each panel with soap, water, and a calmness most of us can only imagine.
Abseilon, a Phoenix-based company, specializes in rope access and high-angle maintenance. When they began cleaning the Skywalk in 2012, the process lasted about ten days and relied completely on ropes. Over time, they found a faster, safer way. Founder Ken Piposar once said the idea came to him while he was driving and saw a roller coaster weaving through its tracks. That image sparked what became their signature system — a custom-built platform that moves smoothly beneath the bridge. Now, the team can complete the entire job in less than a day without spending every moment suspended in midair.
Engineering Meets Adrenaline
Image via Getty Images/Diego Grandi
The Skywalk itself is an engineering marvel owned by the Hualapai Tribe’s Grand Canyon West enterprise. Its 2.5-inch-thick glass panels can hold up to 800 people at once, resist 100 miles per hour winds, and even stand up to a magnitude 8.0 earthquake. That doesn’t make it any less nerve-wracking for tourists who peek through the floor at the canyon stretching below. For Abseilon’s crew, though, fear takes a back seat to focus. Before every job, the team conducts a detailed safety review and a job hazard analysis. Every movement, every piece of gear, and every anchor point is checked and double-checked.
This past April, the crew hit a milestone when Alicia Nelson became the first woman to clean the underside of Skywalk’s glass. It took eight technicians nearly a whole day to complete the job, after two weeks of prep work. They worked in harnesses, clipped to ropes, shifting slowly under the bridge with the Colorado River far beneath them. Cameras caught every second of it in headcam and time-lapse footage, showing just how extreme the work really is.
Keeping the View Crystal Clear
With over half a million people walking across the Skywalk every year, the glass panels get dirty fast. Even though visitors have to wear fabric booties to protect the surface, dust from the Colorado Plateau, along with seasonal monsoons and haboobs, constantly coats the bridge. Abseilon’s twice-yearly cleanings keep it looking clear and safe for guests, and the team often ends up being part of the show. Visitors stop to watch, and they often ask the technicians how they can possibly focus while hanging thousands of feet above the ground.
Piposar says the answer is simple: they’re professionals who trust their training. The thrill is real, but once the ropes are secure and the gear is set, it’s just another day at work. People often ask them for glass-cleaning tips, too, and his advice isn’t glamorous. Forget fancy sprays. Just use cold water, a bucket, and a few drops of dish soap, preferably Dawn. It’s the same formula they use to keep one of the world’s most dramatic viewpoints gleaming in the Arizona sun.