This Is the ‘World’s Largest Rope Swing’ Video That Got 5 Million Hits in a Week
- Posted on February 22, 2012 at 3:59pm by
Liz Klimas
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Brock Howell and his friends must have had quite the rope swing attached to a tree when they were little, because they sure graduated to swinging off bigger and better things.
In a YouTube video titled “World’s Largest Rope Swing” posted a week ago that already has more than 5.5 million hits on YouTube, Howell is filmed flinging himself off Corona Arch in Moab, Utah.
Watch the jaw-dropping footage:
KSL.com reports that jumps were a collaboration between Howell, who took the first plunge, climber Chad Hamilton, who came up with the idea in the first place and also swung around himself, and filmmaker Devin Graham who know the footage would “explode” if they could film it right. And explode it did:
The swing was climber Chad Hamilton’s idea. “Everybody thought I was crazy, literally. They thought, ‘That’s insane,’” he said.
His friend Brock Howell helped build it and made the first jump. “As soon as I jumped, every muscle in my body went huhhh!” he said. “I felt like I almost blacked out for a second.”
Graham saw the YouTube video Howell and Hamilton had made of their first jump and thought, “That is going to be awesome if we can shoot it the right way.” He just wasn’t going to actually do the stunt.
“I went there already knowing I was not going to do this, and when I got there, it was still no question: ‘I am definitely not gonna be jumping off this,’” he said. He added he was terrified and couldn’t believe people were even considering the jump.
According to KSL.com, Graham makes his living finding potentially viral treasures such as this. He has been contacted by companies such as Mountain Dew thanks to some of his viral videos working as marketing tools in his favor.
(Related: How much did the family behind viral ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’ video make?)
Watch the behind the scenes making of the viral video, which actually had several safety measures in place:
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Lyrinda
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 1:17pmYou said that you’d help us to understand the setup… I’d love to see a diagram showing the climb and drop locations – especially the “platform”. I don’t quite understand, from the video, how you get up, get to the platform, drop and then swing. It seems that the jolt at the bottom of the drop could be rough. It also seems that the rope would chafe and fray where it hangs over the side of the sandstone arch. The latter is frequently a problem with rope swings over rough tree branches.
Report Post »Altogether an awesome setup and just-as-awesome video. I want to do it!!!
Oh – is this on NPS or BLM land? Have the lawyers gotten on your case at all?
SouEu
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 5:51pmThose crazy Mormons!
Report Post »SenorStrange
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 12:57pmClearly these people have no responsiblities.
Report Post »Gumbercules
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 3:49am2 chicks and 12 dudes?! I thought it was the other way around in Utah.
Report Post »Carparts4
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:27pmTHe video is amazing….back when I was a climbing guide in west virginia a group of friends and I did a 670 ft pendulum swing from the new river gorge arch bridge in the middle of the night so we didn’t get caught. it was fun until you had to jumar up 670 feet of rope. I only did it twice because of this. unfortunately this wasn‘t during a time were everyone owned a video camera and we had to do it at night so we didn’t get caught by the police. if you really wanna see some long pendulum swings go on youtube and type the name dan osmondb I believe his record is well over 1000 feet in Yosemite national park. I believe he also it is arched and had video of it on youtube
Report Post »Mrs. Bowers
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:10pmNooooo thank you!!!
Report Post »Abraham Young
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 6:58pmI was just there a couple days ago. I saw the rope marks. I had no idea who put them there though.
Report Post »hungerymedstudent
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 11:41pmTher are rope marks because it common to repel of the arch as I have in years past. Never to swing though.
Report Post »elkslayer
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 6:39pmFosil Creek in AZ has a fun rope swing, 72 degree water all year long. But that arch swing would be a blast!
Report Post »JP4JOY
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 6:29pmThere is a “Giant Tarzan” rope swing at the Out n About Treehouse Resort. It is about 60 feet tall between two trees. You grab hold of a ski rope pulled up to a pulley mounted in another tree behind the swing area. You are wearing a climbing getup and hooked to the 1.5″ rope. when you are up in the air it is up to you to let go. What a rush!! My two boys (9 & 10 at the time) and I all did it. My 9 yo wanted to do it again and again until he did till he didn’t have the hand strength left to do it anymore.
Report Post »brickmoon
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 6:27pmSponsored in part by Depends…
Report Post »cranberry
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 5:47pmOMB SO FUN! I wanna do that!
Report Post »KixAcelot
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 5:26pmProps to my boy Austin B (1:25) who proposed to his girlfriend. Showoff…lol
Report Post »ImMormon
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 5:00pmThey are in MORMON COUNTRY!!!!
Report Post »SouEu
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 5:53pmSome people think that Mormons are boring, because they don’t drink, smoke, or have premarital sex. Well, this is what Mormons do for fun.
Report Post »Warphead
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 4:42pmWe had nothing as extravagant as that setup but I couldn’t help but to remember the rope swing that we had. It wasn’t actually a rope but a large vine. We would stand on the fence, hold tight to the vine and swing out over the rail road tracks located at the bottom of a deep revine. Maximum height was probably about 50 feet but for kids it seemed like a thousand. It was especially thrilling to swing out over the the old L&N freight trains that would go buy carrying box car after box car briming with coal. Crazy crazy days. Lucky that we made it without getting killed, no helmets, knee pads or protective gear of any kind. Oh, did I mention we would swing from a vine, not a rope. The vine held up for two years and then one day it had had enough. Instead of sending it’s last passanger hurtling to their demise it graciously and slowly broke lose from way up in the top of a tree, one tentacle at a time and let it’s last passenger down as genly as an elevator ride. Summers waren’t the same after that.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 4:35pm.
C’mon Man….
What Good is a Giant Rope Swing, if you don’t have a lake or a pond to jump into?…..
Report Post »hauschild
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 4:35pmWild. I wonder what you do if you want to slow and eventually stop? I think it would be exhilarating as hell, but then would quickly turn into a pain.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 4:34pmIf the rope breaks and he has no insurance…who pays?
Report Post »Just like the idiots that get lost in the wilderness…who pays?
One day we will see them and only them pay because we wont be able to afford to rescue them from thier own stupidity beause we are broke.
mycomet123
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 6:23pmlol
Report Post »jungle J
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 6:23pmyou are deep thinker.
Report Post »Your Name Here
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 8:49pmThese things NEVER go wrong…
Report Post »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-y4CqHpAL4
Mr.Fitnah
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 4:24pmNice looking girls other than that meh.
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 4:23pmIsn’t this where they filmed the old “Roadrunner” cartoons??? ;-)
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