CHICAGO — Nik Wallenda looked like he didn't even break a sweat in his latest effort to cheat death and create must-see TV.
With thousands of roaring spectators on hand to watch, Wallenda on Sunday conquered the Windy City skyline.
The 35-year-old daredevil — a 7th generation progeny of the famed Flying Wallendas circus family — first walked uphill on the steel cable over the Chicago River connecting the Windy City's west Marina City tower to the top of the Leo Burnett building. The walk, which took him up a 19-degree angle, started at 588-feet and culminated at 671 feet. (Initially, the climb was only supposed to be 15 degrees, but a last minute adjustment required by the city made the climb steeper, according to Wallenda.)
That death-defying feat was just a teaserThe daredevil then put on a blindfold and walked — at a height of 543 feet — a wire between the two Marina City towers, the corn cob-looking high rises built by the famed Chicago architect Bertrand Goldberg.
Wallenda — who has tightroped over the Little Colorado River Gorge and Niagara Falls — said his blindfolded walk is the most dangerous stunt he's ever attempted.
"There were some strong winds that hit me in the face," Wallenda told reporters after completing the stunts. "It stood me up straight."
<!--iframe-->For the Discovery Channel, which broadcasted the walk they
dubbed "Skyscraper Live with Nik Wallenda," the stunts promised big
ratings.
More than 13 million viewers tuned in for Wallenda's walk over the Little Colorado River Gorge outside Grand Canyon National Park last year, which like Sunday's stunts in Chicago, were done without a harness or safety net. That walk was 1400 feet long, but he wasn't blindfolded.
Ahead of the high-wire act, Wallenda said he was clear-eyed about the danger and the potential for tragedy.
In 1978, his great-grandfather Karl Wallenda plummeted 10-stories to his death as he walked the wire between two buildings in Puerto Rico. In 1962, two family members were killed and another was paralyzed performing a seven-person pyramid on the wire at Detroit's Shrine Circus.
With the potential for a tragic and gruesome ending for Wallenda, Discovery decided to air the program with a 10-second delay and intends to cut away if Wallenda falls off the wire.
Under Illinois law, safety devices for public performances 20 feet or higher are required. But the city of Chicago had a creative take on law, and embraced the event.
"We see the primary focus of the law as protecting aerial performers from being forced by unscrupulous employers to work in unsafe conditions against their will," said Mary May, a spokeswoman for Chicago's department of cultural affairs and special events. "That scenario clearly does not apply to Mr. Wallenda, who belongs in a unique and elite class of performers and whose decision to perform without a net is entirely his own."
But the explanation didn't wash with everyone.
Robert Thompson, a television and pop culture expert at Syracuse University, said that Wallenda's stunt makes for gripping TV. But he questioned the city of Chicago and Discovery's decision in letting Wallenda make the walk without a safety net or harness.
"I think there are serious ethical problems about it," Thompson said. "It's true that he's doing this by his choice. And I suppose if he wants to go home and do this dangerous stuff in his yard, he could do it. But when you are doing these things in public spaces, I think there is a real question of whether he should be permitted to do it."
Michael Lawrence, a lecturer in liberal arts department at Columbia College in Chicago, wrote on Twitter that he wondered if the Wallenda walk was a "kind of terrorism" marked by "urban disruption, manipulation of anxieties, a threat of (self) violence as spectacle."
"It's sort of ridiculous, weird and anachronistic," Lawrence added in an interview.
Spectator Sam Rasby said that he was fascinated with the stunt, but wished Wallenda would have used a safety net.
"I think it would have been just as impressive," Rasby said. "I feel split down the middle if I should even be here."
For his part, Wallenda said he prepared during training to wrap himself around the wire and await rescue, if winds became too strong. The 212-pound Wallenda said that he could hold on to the cable for upwards of 20 minutes, and his safety crew could get to him within 90 seconds anywhere on the steel rope and bring him to safety.
Wallenda received relatively good weather for his tightrope walk — with calm winds and clear skies. Just two days earlier, Chicago's Halloween was marred by high-winds and ice and snow showers. He was prepared to do the walk in snow or rain, but said he would have postponed the walk if gusts exceeded 50 mph.
Even before Sunday's walk, Wallenda was thinking about his next stunt: Walking a tightrope above Georgia's Tallulah Fall Gorge. His great-grandfather Karl Wallenda traversed the gorge in 1970.
"He is my inspiration behind everything that I do," said Wallenda, noting his great-grandfather did two headstands while 600-feet above the gorge. "I want to do that walk with him. I'm hoping with technology — with old film — that there is a way that I can actually walk the wire with my great grandfather. I get chills thinking about it. "
Wallenda also considered taking on New York City's skyline after the Little Colorado River Gorge walk, but opted not to pursue it when New York police commissioner Ray Kelly sounded cool to it. But Wallenda said he still has New York on his mind.
"I live by three words: Never give up," Wallenda said. "I'll be walking in New York City."
More than 13 million viewers tuned in for Wallenda's walk over the Little Colorado River Gorge outside Grand Canyon National Park last year, which like Sunday's stunts in Chicago, were done without a harness or safety net. That walk was 1400 feet long, but he wasn't blindfolded.
Ahead of the high-wire act, Wallenda said he was clear-eyed about the danger and the potential for tragedy.
In 1978, his great-grandfather Karl Wallenda plummeted 10-stories to his death as he walked the wire between two buildings in Puerto Rico. In 1962, two family members were killed and another was paralyzed performing a seven-person pyramid on the wire at Detroit's Shrine Circus.
With the potential for a tragic and gruesome ending for Wallenda, Discovery decided to air the program with a 10-second delay and intends to cut away if Wallenda falls off the wire.
Under Illinois law, safety devices for public performances 20 feet or higher are required. But the city of Chicago had a creative take on law, and embraced the event.
"We see the primary focus of the law as protecting aerial performers from being forced by unscrupulous employers to work in unsafe conditions against their will," said Mary May, a spokeswoman for Chicago's department of cultural affairs and special events. "That scenario clearly does not apply to Mr. Wallenda, who belongs in a unique and elite class of performers and whose decision to perform without a net is entirely his own."
But the explanation didn't wash with everyone.
Robert Thompson, a television and pop culture expert at Syracuse University, said that Wallenda's stunt makes for gripping TV. But he questioned the city of Chicago and Discovery's decision in letting Wallenda make the walk without a safety net or harness.
"I think there are serious ethical problems about it," Thompson said. "It's true that he's doing this by his choice. And I suppose if he wants to go home and do this dangerous stuff in his yard, he could do it. But when you are doing these things in public spaces, I think there is a real question of whether he should be permitted to do it."
Michael Lawrence, a lecturer in liberal arts department at Columbia College in Chicago, wrote on Twitter that he wondered if the Wallenda walk was a "kind of terrorism" marked by "urban disruption, manipulation of anxieties, a threat of (self) violence as spectacle."
"It's sort of ridiculous, weird and anachronistic," Lawrence added in an interview.
Spectator Sam Rasby said that he was fascinated with the stunt, but wished Wallenda would have used a safety net.
"I think it would have been just as impressive," Rasby said. "I feel split down the middle if I should even be here."
For his part, Wallenda said he prepared during training to wrap himself around the wire and await rescue, if winds became too strong. The 212-pound Wallenda said that he could hold on to the cable for upwards of 20 minutes, and his safety crew could get to him within 90 seconds anywhere on the steel rope and bring him to safety.
Wallenda received relatively good weather for his tightrope walk — with calm winds and clear skies. Just two days earlier, Chicago's Halloween was marred by high-winds and ice and snow showers. He was prepared to do the walk in snow or rain, but said he would have postponed the walk if gusts exceeded 50 mph.
Even before Sunday's walk, Wallenda was thinking about his next stunt: Walking a tightrope above Georgia's Tallulah Fall Gorge. His great-grandfather Karl Wallenda traversed the gorge in 1970.
"He is my inspiration behind everything that I do," said Wallenda, noting his great-grandfather did two headstands while 600-feet above the gorge. "I want to do that walk with him. I'm hoping with technology — with old film — that there is a way that I can actually walk the wire with my great grandfather. I get chills thinking about it. "
Wallenda also considered taking on New York City's skyline after the Little Colorado River Gorge walk, but opted not to pursue it when New York police commissioner Ray Kelly sounded cool to it. But Wallenda said he still has New York on his mind.
"I live by three words: Never give up," Wallenda said. "I'll be walking in New York City."
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