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Hollywood Stuntman to Attempt to Jump Snake River Canyon

Eddie Braun is planning to strap into a steam-powered rocket and travel 430 mph

By Dillon Tabish

BOISE, Idaho — A Hollywood stuntman is hoping to do what famous daredevil Evel Knievel never could: jump the Snake River Canyon.

Eddie Braun is planning to strap into a steam-powered rocket and travel 430 mph to soar to the other side of the canyon this weekend. The launch had been slated for Saturday, but the crew says they’re being flexible due to thunderstorm activity in the area.

The jump is not open to the public because the launch pad and landing site are located on private property. The jump will be live-streamed on the Internet.

Braun has spent more than three years preparing for this jump and that completing it would fulfil a lifelong goal.

On. Sept. 8, 1974, Evel Knievel, the famed daredevil from Butte, attempted to jump the same canyon near Twin Falls, Idaho in a steam-powered rocket. He failed to reach the other side.

Reportedly, Knievel came up with the idea to attempt the jump while drinking at Moose’s Saloon in Kalispell in 1966. He saw a picture of the Grand Canyon on the wall.

“The drunker I got, the littler that Grand Canyon looked,” he told the Missoulian.

He was never able to get permission to attempt the jump in the Grand Canyon and instead turned his attention to Idaho’s Snake River Canyon.