WASHINGTON — Erik Sohn, 33, said people usually didn’t line up to watch him work as he and colleagues moved up and down, examining the outside walls of big buildings.
“They think we’re window washers, and they just walk on and they don’t really stare at us,” he said. “So this is a new experience.”
Then again, usually the buildings aren’t major tourist attractions.
Sohn, of Fairfax, Va., has been entertaining gawkers on the National Mall since Wednesday. He is one of four engineers and architects on a daredevil “difficult-access team” that is rappelling the 555-foot Washington Monument to check for small cracks caused by the 5.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Aug. 23.
It might be the coolest job in all of Washington, at least in the eyes of Sohn’s 3-year-old son, Schaffer, who got to watch his dad Thursday. “He keeps referring to Spider-Man,” Sohn said.
All four team members — including one from Colorado — met with the news media for the first time Friday morning before their shift, trying to adjust to their newfound celebrity.
“So what does it feel like? . . . Do you ever get drawn to the historical significance?” one television reporter asked, noting that more people have walked on the moon than have rappelled on the monument.
“I don’t know about the historical connections, but that is an interesting fact there that you mentioned,” said Katie Francis, 27, of Chicago, adding that it’s “truly an honor to be out there.”
Daniel Gach, 35, of Littleton, said the team had discovered no surprises so far as it looked for cracks and loose pieces of masonry. He said the team members were using rubber mallets to tap each stone and listen for sounds that could indicate damage. They’re equipped with digital cameras and recorders.
Gach said he was confident that the monument would be open to the public again, though it remains closed indefinitely for now. “The structure is sound,” he said.
Dave Megerle, 52, of Boulder, the team’s on-site safety officer, had the first opportunity to go to the very top of the monument when he set the ropes Tuesday for the team, though he hasn’t been involved in the day-to-day rappelling. He said it felt exhilarating, comparing it to climbing the El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park years ago.
“I don’t go rock climbing much anymore,” Megerle said. “This is pretty much what I do for my adrenaline fix.”
