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Grandfather Mountain has a new feature for visitors to see and photograph. A plank marking �One Mile - 5280 feet� has been added to the Mountain�s Mile High Swinging Bridge.
Earlier in the year surveyors discovered that some of the attraction�s key elevation markers were inaccurate. It was revealed that Grandfather�s highest point, Calloway Peak, is actually 5,946 feet above sea level rather than the 5,964 feet reported as the official altitude since 1917. Other elevations were also adjusted, including the elevation of the Mile High Swinging Bridge. A plaque on the stairs leading to the Swinging Bridge that marked a spot believed to be a mile above sea level (5,280 feet) had been in place since the attraction opened in 1952. Guests with their own, hand-held GPS equipment have been questioning that location�s elevation for years, but in 2008 Suttles Surveying of Marion, N.C. came in with certified satellite equipment to officially verify accurate elevations. Surveyors determined that the Swinging Bridge is exactly one mile above sea level. Historically it was thought that the Bridge was about 20 feet higher than a mile in elevation, but the new data shows the north end of the Swinging Bridge (near the parking area) to be 5,282.02 feet in elevation and the far end to be 5,278.44 feet in elevation. With that said, it could be determined that there is some point near the center of the Bridge that is exactly one mile high. The next task was to calculate exactly where that one point is located. Grandfather Mountain President and resident math whiz Crae Morton first computed the difference in the elevation between the high end of the bridge and the low end of the bridge to be 3.58 feet. Then he computed the difference between 5,280 feet and the elevations from each end of the Bridge. Using those values he could calculate the ratio in the difference of the elevation at each end. Having measured the bridge to be 226.08 feet in length, Morton concluded that the exact one-mile point is either 127.57 feet away from the parking area side of the bridge or 98.52 feet from the Linville Peak side of the bridge. �It�s neat to now know the exact mile high point,� said Morton, �and for that point to actually fall near the center of the Mile High Swinging Bridge is pretty exciting.� The new �Mile-High Plank� was painted to endure the Mountain�s weather by Pittman Signs in Spruce Pine. The plank was painted green on both sides with �1 MILE 5,280 FT.� painted in white to stand out from the rest of the Bridge�s unpainted metal planks. For more information about Grandfather Mountain and its Mile High Swinging Bridge please visit www.grandfather.com or call 800-468-7325. (Images provided by Grandfather Mountain.)
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