“It’s beautiful today with the sunshine and the mist not coming over,” said Pio Ricci, lead hand mason with the Niagara Parks Commission, who was part of the crew carrying out the annual rock scaling operation along the Niagara Gorge near Table Rock on the Canadian side of the Horseshoe Falls.
The work began on Monday and will continue through the week until completion, weather permitting.
Modern Crane based in Ontario brought in a large AT crane used to lower a cage carrying three workers who remove any of the loose rock and debris that have built up over the winter months. The work is carried out in order to make it safe for visitors who use the lower observation deck of the Journey Behind the Falls attraction.
“Every year before the plaza down below can open we have to clean the loose rock that could potentially fall on the plaza below. We also clean the ledge and make sure that everything is OK,” said Ricci, who has taken part in the operation since he started with the NPC 15 years ago.
“We do a run all the way down. Then we move over and do it all over again,” said Ricci. “This year we had a lot of freezing and thawing and you tend to get more loose rocks when that happens. Last year, it was cold and it just stayed cold. It can vary from year-to-year.”
Wearing helmets and protective gear, the workers ride the cage which is lowered and raised some 13 storeys high over the Falls basin. Large ropes are tied to each end of the cage and workers stationed on top near the crane try to keep it from swaying if too much wind is present.
“We really enjoy working on this, it takes about a week and then we work on other projects,” said Ricci. “Once you see us doing this work, you know summer is coming. We make sure that everything is safe. If it gets too windy the cage can end up banging against the wall. We have perfect weather today for what we need to do.”
Rock scaling is also taking place above the lower roadway access point of the new zipline attraction, as well as at NPC’s White Water Walk attraction.
Ice-jacking is the name of the process that loosens the rocks on the gorge face. Water captured in the crevasses of the rocks freezes and thaws over long periods of time and creates loose rocks. Rocks are chiseled out and allowed to fall into the gorge creating a sloped fortification wall called talus. Depending on where it lands, the talus can either be removed or left in place.
Once the rock scaling has been completed, the NPC has an independent geology firm carry out an inspection to make sure everything is safe for visitors. Each winter, the lower observation deck of Journey Behind the Falls is closed to the public to ensure visitors are safe from ice and possible rock falls.
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