Discovery Channel Airs Nik Wallenda’s Record Setting Walk Between Chicago Skyscrapers

The Discovery Channel gave viewers a bird’s eye view of Nik Wallenda setting two Guinness World Records with his tightrope walk between three Chicago skyscrapers. The stunt was sponsored by the Discovery Channel and included Wallenda defying the odds as he walked along one cable over 670 feet above the streets of the Windy City.

Fortunately for Wallenda, the wind was relatively calm as he walked between the buildings. The tightrope walker, who is a descent of the famous Flying Wallendas, made two crossings, one of which was done blindfolded. As he showed Discovery Channel viewers, the blindfold was real and his vision was completely comprised as he crossed between Marina City towers east and west.

As reported by USA Today, the second crossing, also shown on the Discovery Channel, was 543 ft. above downtown Chicago. While the cold could have played a factor in the success, or failure, of the stunt, the weather was cool, but tolerable. The Skywalk, as it was dubbed by the Discovery Channel, was done without a safety net or harness to catch Wallendra if he fell.

The Discovery Channel logo was prominently visible throughout the event and Wallenda even sported a jacket sporting the Discovery Channel logo and a flag of the city of Chicago on it. Although Wallenda’s walk was advertised as being shown live, Time reports that Discovery opted for a 10-second delay in case there was a failure and Wallenda plunged to his death.

The three downtown buildings involved in the Skywalk included the Leo Burnett building and the two Marina City towers. Wallenda not only set a world record for walking a tightrope while wearing a blindfold, but he set one for walking a tightrope set at the steepest angle. As the Discovery Channel showed, the first crossing was made with the first tightrope at a 19 degree angle.

As the Inquisitr reported, Wallenda’s crossing over the Grand Canyon in 2013 was the highest-rated event shown by the Discovery Channel. Over 13 million viewers tuned in to watch that event.

Wallenda made the walks look easy. His father, Terry Troffer, guided him during the blindfolded half of the Discovery Channel event, telling him when he was coming to areas where supporting cables crossed over the tightrope. A steady pinging noise also helped guide Wallenda, giving him something to concentrate on as he couldn’t see where he was going.

Along with viewers tuned into the Discovery Channel, over 50,000 people lined the streets below Wallenda as he walked between the three buildings.

[Image via Time]