Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda is ready for another daredevil challenge. He’s been planning a crazy tightrope stunt in Chicago since the spring, and on Tuesday, the Discovery Channel announced that Wallenda will be able to walk untethered above the Chicago River this winter. The walk will air live on The Discovery Channel this November.
Wallenda’s untethered walk will actually be done in two parts. The first part will feature Wallenda walking between the Marina City’s West Tower and the Leo Burnett Building 50 feet above the ground. The second part will follow Wallenda’s walk from the Marina City’s West Tower to the East Tower. Cameras will be stationed across the city and on helicopters to capture the tightrope walker’s every move.
Although Wallenda has accomplished plenty of daunting walks in the past, this untethered walk is also unpredictable. Chicago is known as The Windy City, and Wallenda’s walk will be accomplished in one of the windiest parts. Additionally, in November, temperatures in Chicago are already pretty low, making the cold a factor, as well. However, Wallenda has certainly braved bad elements in the past, crossing the Niagara Falls in a foggy area, on a slippery cable. He’s got the balance and other skill sets to make the Chicago walk happen, and he seems extremely excited about this challenge in particular.
“This is going to be the most incredible tightrope walk of my career. I can’t think of a better city to do it. I have fond memories of spending time performing in Chicago and the Midwest with my family. Besides, it’s the ‘Windy City’ and there’s nothing like doing this during winter in Chicago. That’s a challenge for me and I love to push myself to do things that most people think are impossible.”
Wallenda’s words totally explain how much of a challenge the Chicago walk will be. The man’s made headlines over the past several years after finishing several extremely daring walks. He stepped over his mother on the tightrope during a recreation of the walk in San Juan, Puerto Rico that killed his grandfather. He later went on to become the first person to successfully cross the Niagara Falls in a 1,800 foot walk. Then, he went on to finish a totally different walk near the Grand Canyon. Yet, he claims the Chicago walk will be a “challenge” and seems totally pumped that the gig is officially moving forward.
Discovery is calling the event Skyscraper Live with Nik Wallenda, and will be airing it live in over 220 countries, which should be great news if you live outside of the United States. Here in the US, the event will be hosted by NBC News’ Willie Geist, Natalie Morales and The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore. You can catch Wallenda’s walk for yourself when it airs on Sunday, November 2 at 7 p.m. ET on the Discovery Channel.
