Daredevil Nik Wallenda has become the first person to tightrope walk across the Grand Canyon after a heart-stopping journey in high winds.
After completing the stunt without a safety tether or net, the 34-year-old American admitted that his usual careful calculations hadn’t been meticulous enough this time.
Wallenda, who last year became the first to walk over the Niagara Falls, took just under 23 minutes to complete the 1 400ft (about 426.7 metres) journey over the Little Colorado River.
He had to stop and squat down twice on the 2in-thick steel cable during Sunday’s death-defying walk 1 500ft above the canyon floor - first because of the wind and later because the wire had picked up an unsettling rhythm.
The evangelical Christian could be heard praying almost continually, thanking God repeatedly for ‘calming that cable’.
His nerves showed when he told his father - who was coaxing him via a radio link - that he couldn’t talk to him any more because he needed to concentrate. The dust of the Arizona desert also caused problems by getting into his contact lenses and settling on the cable, making it more slippery under the grip of his specially-made soft-leather shoes.
He ran the last few feet of his journey and kissed the ground before celebrating with his wife Erendira and three children.
Wallenda said: “It took every bit of me to stay focused that entire time. My arms are aching like you wouldn’t believe.”
He had practised with winds of up to 92mph but said he had still not been prepared for the hot, windy and dusty environment of the canyon. “I wasn’t prepared for the movement of that cable. The tension dropped down.”
But Wallenda, who has been highwire-walking since he was two and comes from seven generations of aerialists, insisted he never felt he was going to fall.
He now plans to walk between New York’s Chrysler and Empire State buildings. - Daily Mail