Nik Wallenda performed a series of high wire manoeuvres in Chicago on Sunday evening when he first scaled a steep climb between two buildings on either side of the city’s famous Chicago River before then crossing between the two Marina Towers. The impressive and stunning nature of this feat though does not stop there….
Mr Wallenda performed his tip-toe-ing actions blindfolded! He also performed them without either a safety net or harness! So we have to say, we are pretty impressed by Mr Wallenda’s skills and, let’s face it, his balls of frickin’ steel.
It took the plucky Ameriacan acrobat and aerialist just under seven minutes to execute the first part of his feat, climbing to a height of over 150m above the ground of the United States’ second city. That he managed to achieve this in winds approaching 40km/hr say all you need to know about the seventh generation tightrope walker. Let’s just say it is in his blood…
He then went on to cross between Chicago’s two Marina Towers in just over a minute, with a crowd of thousands watching, their hands tightly held over their mouths in astonishment.
Yet while the audience in the city stood transfixed, clearly without a doubt in their minds that Mr Wallenda would make his goal, the TV stations that were covering the event were not as 100% confident he would pull it off – they broadcast his exploits live on TV, but with a 10 second delay in case he lost his balance or was blown off and plummeted hundreds of feet to the ground.
Needless to say though, their worries were unfounded –and Mr Wallenda completed yet another highwire performance to add to his already stunning CV which includes traverses of the Grand Canyon and Canada’s Niagrara Falls.
Photo: via Getty.
