Nik Wallenda walks wire across Niagara Falls

NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario — High-wire artist Nik Wallenda fulfilled his dream of walking over Niagara Falls on a wire Friday, defying predictions of naysayers who warned of everything from falcons to fierce winds toppling him as he made his way over the roaring water.

As hundreds of thousands of people watched from the Canadian and U.S. sides of the falls, Wallenda gingerly walked through a thick, cold mist, becoming nearly invisible at times except for his bright red shirt and the glint of his balancing pole.

Contrary to some predictions, he did not unhook his safety harness, a tether the ABC TV network had required over Wallenda’s objections. Even with the harness, the walk was gripping to watch, as Wallenda’s balancing pole rocked back and forth in the wind and some birds flew close to his head.

“I feel like I’m on cloud nine right now,” he said at a news conference minutes after completing the walk. “The impossible is not quite the impossible if you set your mind to it.”

Wallenda said the first thing he did after the walk was call his grandmother to let her know he was fine.

Wallenda made it look easy, never seeming to slow down or hesitate, and firmly putting one foot in front of another, wearing the shoes specially made by his mother to provide extra grip on the wet wire.

As he neared the end of the walk at Canada’s Table Rock, Wallenda knelt on one knee, waved and blew a kiss to the crowd. Many had begun chanting “Let’s go, Nik!” as Wallenda came into clearer view in the final moments of the 34-minute trek.

Wallenda, 33, was the first person to make the walk since 1896, when 21-year-old James Hardy completed it. But Hardy and others who crossed the falls never attempted to do so in the same spot as Wallenda: at the widest part of the gorge and close enough to the tumbling water to be coated in icy spray and buffeted by winds.

“It’s history being made,” said Michael Mescall of Collins Center, N.Y., who with his wife, Pamela, had settled into a prime viewing spot near the finishing point in Canada.

ABC, which aired the walk in a prime-time special, demanded that Wallenda wear the harness in case he slipped, even though the scion of the famous Wallenda family of tightrope walkers did not want to.

Few of the spectators who were perched in lawn chairs or on picnic blankets, or just leaning on the railings that run alongside the falls, were bothered by the addition of the safety tether. Most said they understood the need for it in today’s litigious world, but speculation had been rife that Wallenda would remove the harness once he was out on the wire.

Laura Gonnering of Northport, Ala., had hoped he would not. “I don’t think it takes away from the show at all,” she said. “Nobody wants to see anyone get killed.”

Gonnering, along with husband Tom and brother-in-law Tim Gonnering, were watching from beneath three large umbrellas set up next to the falls on the walkway, which was buffeted by wind and drenched in spray. They had reserved it hours earlier.

“It’s been a long time since I camped out for a special event,” Laura Gonnering said. “Last time was to get Garth Brooks tickets.”

The walk took more than a year to organize and required approval from officials on both sides of the border, who frown on so-called stunters chasing fame by performing feats — many of which have ended in death — at the falls.

But New York lawmakers lifted the ban on stunts last year to allow Wallenda’s performance, and Canadian officials eventually agreed to the event, which was expected to bring millions of dollars in revenue to both sides of the border.

Wallenda said his walk was not a stunt or a daredevil act but rather an athletic feat, because of the rigorous practice and training involved.

And he is already planning his next walk: over the Grand Canyon.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.