Wallenda to Wear Blindfold for Chicago Tightrope Stunt
Daredevil adds new risk to walk between skyscrapers
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Add another challenge to Nik Wallenda’s upcoming Chicago tightrope stunt. The Discovery Channel announced Friday that the daredevil will wear a blindfold for a portion of his walk between 50-plus-story towers. The stunt will take place in one of the city’s windiest areas, at night, and Wallenda will not wear a safety harness or walk above a net.
For the first segment of the crossing, Wallenda will walk the length of two city blocks from Marina City’s west tower across the Chicago River to the Leo Burnett Building. The rope will be strung at a 15-degree angle more than 50 stories above the river, the highest skyscraper walk in Flying Wallenda family history, according to Deadline.
Wallenda will then don the blindfold and cross from Marina City’s west tower to the east tower. “I’m always pushing myself both physically and emotionally,” Wallenda said in Discovery’s statement. “This has been a dream of mine and something I’ve been practicing for a while.”
The “King of the Highwire” has done blindfolded stunts before, but not on a tightrope. Deadline reports that Wallenda once performed acrobatics while blindfolded on the Wheel of Death outside of the Tropicana Casino and Resort’s 23rd floor in Atlantic City.
“It’s my passion, it’s what I love doing,” Wallenda said on Thursday’s broadcast of the Today show. “Chicago, the Windy City, that was, believe it or not, very alluring to me. Most people would think a wire walker doesn’t want to go to the Windy City, but I enjoy the challenges.”
Skyscraper Live with Nik Wallenda will air 7 p.m. EST, November 2, on the Discovery Channel. It will also be livestreamed on SkyscraperLive.com.