The network broadcast the event live as the daredevil completed the stunt 1,500 feet above the Little Colorado River in 22 minutes on Sunday, June 23.
- June 24, 2013
AceShowbiz -
Discovery Channel captured Nik Wallenda's historic tightrope walk over the Grand Canyon on Sunday, June 23. The King of the Wire performed the stunt, which was broadcast live, on a 2-inch-thick steel cable, 1,500 feet above the river on the Navajo Nation near the Grand Canyon.
Wallenda, equipped with a microphone and two cameras, didn't wear a harness and only brought a balancing pole. He was murmuring prayers along the way, saying about 13 minutes into the walk, "Thank you Lord. Thank you for calming that cable, God," after telling his father that the winds were "a lot stronger than I expected."
After squatting twice to keep his balance, Wallenda completed the walk in 22 minutes and 54 seconds. Nearing the end, he ran towards his family and hugged his wife and kids.
"It was way more windy and the movement of the cable and the side walls as I was walking were getting in the way and confusing," he said. "It took every bit of me to stay focused that entire time. My arms are aching like you wouldn't believe." He added that his mouth was extremely dry, gushing, "I feel like I walked in the desert for three weeks, not 20 minutes."
Wallenda, 34, is a seventh-generation member of the legendary Flying Wallenda. "The Grand Canyon was a place I visited as a kid. For as long as I can remember, it has been a dream of mine to cross over such a spectacular setting," he said before performing the daring stunt. His next goal is to "walk between two skyscrapers in New York City."
