The Whitney Peak Hotel in Reno just installed an exterior 164-foot-tall climbing wall—the highest in the world. It’s exceptionally cool, but we couldn’t help thinking, “Why didn’t Vegas get that?” Sure, we’ve got the VooDoo ZipLine at the Rio and SkyJump at Stratosphere, but there are so many more ways we could be attracting fans of the extreme:
BASE jumping
The Stratosphere is the tallest structure west of the Mississippi. And yet it seems we’ve just started to really tap its potential. Let’s go all the way and offer it up to those who want to leap off without a harness.
American Ninja Warrior course
Fans can’t get enough of the salmon ladder, quad steps and warped wall, or the obstacle course-smashing athletes who make them look easy. The TV show’s finale is already set in Las Vegas; what if we kept the course set up year-round, complete with bleachers and video gear so you can show off when you get home? We’re looking at you, Planet Hollywood.
Parkour
Look at the Strip through the eyes of a parkour expert and all you see are opportunities: elevated surfaces, stairs, railings ... But it would be problematic for the improvisational athletes to do their thing around the tourist masses. So one day a week, why not have CityCenter close off Crystals and let them have at it? Multilevel, multisurface mayhem would certainly attract spectators, if not shoppers.
