Niagara Tightrope walking Tips & Facts

So maybe all this publicity Nik Wallenda and his Niagara Falls tightrope walk has got you thinking about attempting your own walk.  Well, stop right there!  First off, it’s not as easy as it looks (serious?) to walk across Niagara Falls and besides, you won’t be getting permission to attempt it as walks have been limited to a once-in-a-lifetime 20 year time span.

If you are still dead set on tightrope walking Niagara Falls, here are some tips and facts that might help you prepare.  We will be keeping a spot open for you at the Niagara Daredevil Exhibit!

• The Great Blondin (real name Jean-François Gravelet) was the first tightrope walker to cross Niagara Falls on 30 June 1859.
• The wire Nik Wallenda will attempt his Niagara crossing will be 6 cm thick.
• The wire Nik Wallenda will attempt his Niagara crossing will be 550 meters. (A Football field is 110 meters!)
• A tightrope walker can also be called a “Funambulist”.
• Nik Wallenda is the Guinness Book of World Records holder for longest and highest distance on a highwire while riding a bicycle.
• Tightwire-walkers typically perform in very thin and flexible, leather-soled slippers with a full length suede or leather sole to protect the feet from abrasions and bruises while still allowing the foot to curve around the wire.
• The fastest tightrope walk over 100 m is 44.63 seconds and was achieved by Aisikaier Wubulikasimu (China) at Taimu Mountain Scenic Spot, Fuding City, Fujian province, China, on 27 October 2009.