Tightrope Walker Will Attempt Niagara Falls

 

This month, high-wire artist Nik Wallenda will make the first attempt at crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope in over 100 years.

He will use an 1,800-foot long, two-inch wire that will be strung about 200 feet above the base of the Niagara Gorge. Tickets to watch the event in person will be available online and are free. James Hardy was the last, and youngest at 21 years-old, person to cross the gorge in 1896, before the practice was banned.

Wallenda, who comes from a long line of acrobats and circus performers, got permission to do the walk from the New York state and Ontario provincial governments and parks offices. ABC is planning a three-hour live telecast of the event on June 15, and has insisted on safety measures (including a harness that will link him to the cable) that Wallenda feels are unnecessary.

"I'm upset. I'm not used to it," Wallenda said. "I've never worn a tether before so it's just something else I have to contend with when I'm out there." Still, the act is risky, experts say.

"There is a plume of mist that rises from the pool of water in the Niagara Gorge just below the falls that produces a moist updraft. It will be a little like walking a tightrope in a mini-thunderstorm," said Marcus Bursik, Professor of Geology University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences. "The wind will be a factor as well. The wind can be, and often is stronger than the up or downdrafts associated with the falls. ... The plume adds an extra vertical component to a wind that in most places is much weaker than the horizontal wind."

The Canadian Peregrine Foundation has noted another potential risk: attacks by peregrine falcons nesting nearby. "Peregrines are aggressively protective of their territory, particularly when they are caring for their young, and in this region, this is the time of year when they are doing just that," said University of Buffalo associate librariran Christopher Hollister. "There are countless stories of peregrine falcons diving-bombing people... Peregrines reach speeds of 200 miles per hour during a hunting swoop, making them the fastest animal on the planet. Being hit by a bird moving at that speed would have quite an impact on a man trying to balance on a high wire."