A man from a celebrated family of professional daredevils has completed a tightrope walk across Niagara Falls in a televised stunt.
Nik Wallenda braved wind and heavy spray to make the 1,800ft (550m) walk from the US to Canada on a 2-inch (61mm) wire.
Thousands watched from Goat Island, where he began the crossing, suspended 150 feet (46 metres) above the falls.
It is the first such feat over Niagara Falls in over a century.
Mr Wallenda is the seventh generation of the famed Flying Wallendas.
The family has performed for more than 200 years, including the signature act that gave the group their name, where two pairs of performers walk the wire, each supporting another aerialist on a pole.
Those two aerialists, in turn, carry a pole upon which the seventh member of the troupe balances in a chair.
The family has suffered two deaths from falls while performing, including Mr Wallenda's great-grandfather in 1978.
ort required
Mr Wallenda wore a safety harness attaching him to the wire, a precaution insisted on by ABC, the US broadcaster which sponsored the live broadcast of his walk.
Prior to the walk, he said he had not performed with a harness before, but that it would not take away from the event.
After he arrived, Mr Wallenda was asked to hand over his US passport to officially enter Canada.
The 33-year-old had estimated the total cost of the walk would be around $1.3m (£830,000), including creating and installing the steel wire, as well as permits and security on both sides of the border.
Re: Wired walker
Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 6:59 am
by The Hen
Not something I would contemplate in a million years.
Re: Wired walker
Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 7:31 am
by Lord Jim
Big deal....
A real man would have done it with a baby strapped to his back....
Re: Wired walker
Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:50 am
by MajGenl.Meade
No - in a wheelbarrow LJ, in a wheelbarrow.
Re: Wired walker
Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 2:44 pm
by Joe Guy
I see squirrels walking on wires in my neighborhood quite often. I don't think it's that difficult.
Re: Wired walker
Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 7:35 pm
by Guinevere
I couldn't watch it -- no freaking way.
Re: Wired walker
Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 7:44 pm
by rubato
When he got off the wire in Canada a customs official popped up and asked for his passport, which he supplied. The customs official asked him the reason for his trip: "to inspire the world".
Good for him.
Rather extraordinary family legacy. 7 generations! and after many tragedies too:
"...
It was at a performance in Akron, Ohio that the group all fell off the wire, but were unhurt. The next day, a reporter who witnessed the accident was quoted in the newspaper: "The Wallendas fell so gracefully that it seemed as if they were flying" -- thus coining the name "The Flying Wallendas".
In 1944, while the Wallendas were performing in Hartford, Connecticut, a fire broke out, killing over 168 people. None of the Wallendas were hurt.
In the following years, Karl developed some of the most amazing acts like the seven-person chair pyramid. They continued performing those acts until 1962, when, while performing at the Shrine Circus at Detroit's State Fair Coliseum, the front man on the wire faltered and the pyramid collapsed. Three men fell to the ground, killing Richard Faughnan, Wallenda's son-in-law; and nephew Dieter Schepp. Karl injured his pelvis, and his adopted son, Mario, was paralyzed from the waist down.
Other tragedies include when Wallenda's sister-in-law, Rietta, fell to her death in 1963, and his son-in-law Richard ("Chico") Guzman was killed in 1972 after touching a live electric wire while holding part of the metal rigging. Nonetheless, Karl decided to go on. He repeated the pyramid act in 1963 and 1977. Karl continued performing with a smaller group, and doing solo acts.
Karl Wallenda crossed the Tallulah Gorge in Georgia on a high wire on July 18, 1970.
On March 22, 1978, during a promotional walk in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Karl Wallenda fell from the wire and died. It was between the towers of Condado Plaza Hotel, 10 stories high. He was 73. Nik Wallenda completed the walk on June 4, 2011 with his mother, Delilah. [1]
There are several branches of the Wallendas performing today, comprising mostly grandchildren of Karl Wallenda. They still perform regularly and have achieved recognition in the Guinness Book of Records.
Nik Wallenda crossed Niagara Falls from the United States into Canada on June 15, 2012, becoming the first person to do so since 1896. Wearing a safety harness as required by ABC television, he crossed at the river's widest point.[2]
... "
yrs,
rubato
Re: Wired walker
Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 5:55 am
by loCAtek
The Flying Graysons;
...family of the original, acrobatic, boy-wonder side-kick, Robin.
