TWIN FALLS, Idaho — 50 years ago on Sunday September 8th, this mound of dirt was at the center of attention for just about everybody. Because everybody wanted to see Evel Knievel climb in a Skycycle and take off from here and land over there on the other side of the Snake River Canyon.
Evel Knievel had already made a name for himself as the world's most famous daredevil. He jumped over cars, trucks, water fountains, and just about anything he find, always pushing himself and crew to entertain his fans. Knievel was intrigued about jumping over a canyon, but not just any jump or any canyon.
The Snake River Canyon is in a place called Twin Falls, Idaho. An engineer named Robert Truax designed a Skycycle, powered by steam that would launch off a rail, soar high over the canyon, deploy a parachute and land safely on the north side of the rim. That's where the story turns for the worse.
Twin Falls was inundated by thousands of curious fans and onlookers in the days leading up to the launch, gathering all around right here, many very close to the rim itself.
Now depending on who you talk to around Twin Falls, you'll get various opinions about the crowds that Knievel attracted. Nevertheless the launch date was set for September 8th, 1974 and broadcast by ABC's Wide World of Sports. With a wave, Knievel climbed into the Skycycle and off he went into the wild blue yonder. But something went wrong. For some unknown reason the parachute deployed prematurely leaving the Knievel and the Skycycle to float down and slammed into the rocks at the bottom of the canyon. Evel Knievel survived but left noticeably angry over what had just happened.
And that's where the story ended. Why the jump was unsuccessful had been debated for, 50 years. Ironically, Knievel's son Kelly and Robert Truax's son worked together with Hollywood Stuntman Eddie Braun to do what Kelly's dad could not. On September 16th, 2016 Idaho News 6 was there to watch Braun jump from the north rim just east of the Hansen bridge and land successfully on the south side.
