About "as it is"

Now Available on VR Platforms!

Journey down the Colorado River to see the Grand Canyon as too few do, from the bottom up. Run its biggest rapids, explore its slot canyons, and meet the Navajo and Hopi activists working to protect sacred sites threatened by a controversial development.     

Over 100 years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt asked us to leave the Grand Canyon “as it is”.   Among the crown jewels of the United States’ national park system, Grand Canyon is protected far beyond most public lands, but an unprecedented billion dollar development threatens to change the wilderness nature of the Grand Canyon forever.

Known as the Escalade Proposal, the plan outlines a tramway resort that would bring up to 10,000 tourists per day down to the Confluence, a place held sacred for millennia.  Discover a story as big as the Canyon itself and learn why wild places need our protection now more than ever.

"In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world. I want to ask you to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is. I hope you will not have a building of any kind, not a summer cottage, a hotel or anything else, to mar the wonderful grandeur, the sublimity, the great loneliness and beauty of the canyon. Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it."

- President Theodore Roosevelt, 1903

Journey down the mighty Colorado River to see the Grand Canyon as too few do, from the bottom looking up. Run it’s biggest whitewater rapids, explore its narrow slot canyons, and meet the indigenous activists working to protect sacred sites threatened by a controversial development proposal that would bring as many as 10,000 people a day to the Confluence, one of the most sacred sites in the Canyon.

Also available on these platforms:
Meta Quest, Littlstar, VeeR, Vimeo and Facebook

After more than 3 years in the making, 2 river trips including 17 days on the Colorado River, 18 miles of hiking and 4 production trips to the region - the "as it is" project became a reality. Along the way, 360 cameras improved, stitching software got better and better, and stabilizing some of our biggest rapid shots became a possibility.

The VR film was the first of it's kind to show stunning views of the Grand Canyon from the Colorado River, 360 Labs was the first team to capture 360 video footage from the bottom of the canyon in the Summer of 2014.

Get in Touch

Have a question about "as it is?" We're currently looking for distribution partners who want to help us spread the message of our documentary to the world, and media outlets who would like to share the story behind the work. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you'd like to get involved.

Contact Us

Get Involved

• Save the Confluence
• Grand Canyon Trust
• American Rivers