In just a few hour, tightrope walker Nik Wallenda, the man who walked across Niagara Falls last year, will make a live walk across the Grand Canyon on a tightrope. The stunt will air live on the Discovery Channel at 8 PM eastern, and will also be available to watch live online via the internet.
According to information from the discovery channel web site dedicated to tonights walk across the Grand Canyon, Wallenda will cross above the Little Colorado River Gorge of the canyon at a height of 1,500 feet. He will have to cover a distance of some 1,400 feet all while balancing on a tightrope wire just 2 inches wide. With nothing to break his fall, and with no safety tether, this could be disastrous if Wallenda makes a wrong step.
Known as “The King of the High Wire, ” Nik Wallenda is the seventh generation of the legendary Great Wallendas well known for their high-wire and trapeze circus acts. Nik has been walking the high-wire tightrope since he was 4 years old.
For viewers away from their television, the discovery channel is also streaming live video of Wallenda’s Grand Canyon walk live online for internet viewers. Dubbed “Skywire Live” the event is scheduled to air live beginning at 8 pm eastern tonight.