Tight rope walker successfully crosses Niagara Falls
- 12 years ago
Nik Wallenda, a member of the famed "Flying Wallendas" family of aerialists, successfully walked across a 2-inch-wide (5-cm) cable on Friday night over Niagara Falls Gorge.
Wallenda walked from the U.S. side of the falls to the Canadian side, a journey of 1,800 feet (550 metres) above treacherous waters and rocks. The walk is 150 feet (46 metres) above the falls, he said.
More than a century ago, an aerialist known as the Great Blondin walked a high wire strung farther down the gorge, but a trek over the brink of the falls has never been attempted.
There were 4,000 tickets sold for the event. Crowds began gathering early on Friday.
Wallenda's great-grandfather Karl Wallenda died in 1978 during a walk between two buildings in Puerto Rico at age 73. Wallenda repeated that walk last year with his mother.
Wallenda said he had obtained permits for a future walk over the Grand Canyon in Arizona, which would be the first ever attempted and roughly three times longer than the walk over Niagara Falls.
Wallenda walked from the U.S. side of the falls to the Canadian side, a journey of 1,800 feet (550 metres) above treacherous waters and rocks. The walk is 150 feet (46 metres) above the falls, he said.
More than a century ago, an aerialist known as the Great Blondin walked a high wire strung farther down the gorge, but a trek over the brink of the falls has never been attempted.
There were 4,000 tickets sold for the event. Crowds began gathering early on Friday.
Wallenda's great-grandfather Karl Wallenda died in 1978 during a walk between two buildings in Puerto Rico at age 73. Wallenda repeated that walk last year with his mother.
Wallenda said he had obtained permits for a future walk over the Grand Canyon in Arizona, which would be the first ever attempted and roughly three times longer than the walk over Niagara Falls.