Walk the line

Acrophobia, or the fear of heights, is one of the most common fears. Most of us have experienced that feeling of having our hearts in our mouths, as we look down, standing at a great height. That is probably why tightrope walkers and aerialists are regarded with such fascination. Especially if those aerialists happen to have walked tightrope over the Niagara Falls, crossing the Niagara River from its American side to the Canadian side.
Yes, we’re talking about Nik Wallenda, who is all geared now for his next big walk, which will see him crossing the Grand Canyon in the US without a harness. The event will be telecast on Discovery Channel at 8 pm on Monday.
Coming from a family of aerialists and circus performers, popularly known as The Flying Wallendas, Nik has been accustomed to “walking wire”, as he calls it, since the age of two. What is interesting is that he didn’t start his circus stint as a tightrope walker, but as a clown. His parents, however, weren’t thrilled at having him join the family business, thinking there was no future for the industry. Nik contemplated a career in pediatrics but instead, realised that his true calling, just like his family members, was high wiring.
Nik’s career of daredevil aerialing has seen him achieve many feats, but the biggest of all, of course, is the crossing of the Niagara Falls from its American side, which included a deep gorge, across the Niagara River, to its Canadian side, close to where Table Rock is situated. Did he fear for his life when he was doing that stunt? “I don’t really have a lot of fears. I’ve said it a lot of times, fear is a choice, but danger is real. And if we can learn to control our thoughts and mind, we can keep fear out,” Wallenda replies.
Now, as Nik prepares to cross the Grand Canyon in the United States, he steels himself to face a separate set of challenges as compared to the Niagara Falls. “Last time, with the Niagara Falls walkover, the mist and the wind were the biggest challenges. But, the Grand Canyon will be more about winds,” says Nik, adding, “You know, the winds are very undetectable. It’s hard to tell when they’re coming and where they’re coming from. If you read stories of the Grand Canyon, you’ll know that a lot of airplanes and helicopters have problems flying there because of the winds.”
Quiz him about his plans post the crossing of the Grand Canyon, and Nik says that his dream is to walk wire at every major landmark across the country. His next big walk, that he is currently working on, is from one continent to another -- from Europe to Asia. Besides that, he also wants to do something as outrageous as shooting out of a canon in a direction that no one ever has done before.