With Niagara Falls tightrope walk Nik Wallenda steps into history

As far as feats of derring-do go, they don't get much more primal or more terrifying.

Man versus nature, a famous acrobat pitted against an ancient gorge filled with a gazillion gallons of cascading water. And only a slippery, swaying high-wire, one the circumference of an espresso cup, was strung between them.

But from his first tentative toe touches, to the cheers that erupted as he crossed finish line half a kilometer later, Nik Wallenda kept his poise as he strolled across Niagara Falls and into the history books on Friday night.

"Oh my gosh, it's an unbelievable view," the 33-year-old American said during his journey, which was broadcast live on television.

Then, because he had technically made a cross-border trip, he handed his US passport to the Canadian officials he met after finishing his perilous journey.

The half-hour high-wire act thrilled tens of thousands on the ground who had watched Wallenda cross the chasm between Niagara Falls, New York, and Niagara Falls, Ontario.

It also gave a vicarious scare to untold tens of millions who followed on TV – and Twitter too.

The stunt proved that, even in the internet age, people will pause from their busy lives long enough to take in the time-honoured spectacle of watching a man cheat death.

Even though the outcome was never truly in doubt for Wallenda.

The sure-footed father of three bookended his journey with waves and blown kisses to the crowd. Along the way, he had a word or two with God. "A lot of praying that's for sure, and that helps a lot" he told reporters.

But unlike his chosen deity, he had no guaranteed ability to survive being dashed down upon the rocks (Matthew 4:6) or, in the event that he missed them, locomote across water to land. (Matthew 14:25).

Instead, he had only a few simple tools and techniques at his disposal.

In his hands, numbed by cold mist and wind as he crossed, Wallenda carried a 40-pound balance bar. On his feet, navigating the wire and dark void, were special-grip elkskin-soled slippers, made by his mother.

Beyond that, residing somewhere in his genes, was his unique pedigree.

His "Flying Wallenda" ancestors made their names and livings by accomplishing similar stunts in other times and places. A few of his relatives died trying them.

Tempting fate is an odd vocation, but an enormously lucrative one should one a) survive and b) convince enough people to watch.

To that end, there was no shortage of hype this weekend in the tourist trap twin cities of Niagara Falls, which found themselves awash in even more kitsch than usual.

From Nik Wallenda T-Shirts to Nik Wallenda refrigerator magnets, hawkers offered to sell tourists a piece of history, should they have paused from the casinos and honeymoon hotels long enough to have witnessed the event.

Media forecasts that 100,000 people would gather on the ground for the event seemed somewhat overblown. While massive crowds assembled, it was still possible to book hotel rooms and find cheap parking hours before the feat.

Millions more eyeballs were secured by the live-television deal Wallenda signed with a US network television, even though ABC wrangled a 11th hour concession from him in return for the coverage: a tiny tether tied him to his tightrope, so as to spare TV viewers of the possible spectacle of a man plummeting to his demise.

But what kind of daredevil wears a safety strap? Even Wallenda himself confessed to one reporter that the tether did make him feel like a "jackass". Even so, the audience didn't seem to mind.

"Tonight this was pretty safe but the way I see it, he didn't fall – the proof is in the pudding," said Peter Stocker, a 73-year-old retiree who came to Niagara Falls from Montreal.

Stocker said he had seen the Flying Wallendas perform in circuses back when he was a young man. The family, he said, has high-wire acts in their blood.

"Don't forget he's been doing that since he was a little boy. It's second nature to him," he said.

"His great-grandfather put up a rope between two buildings in Puerto Rico and fell to his death."

In 1978 Karl Wallenda did indeed plummet to his death from a high-wire. But Nik Wallenda avenged the accident by crossing the same chasm, one of several feats in the past decade that has revived interest in the family name.

What's next for him? Possibly the Grand Canyon. As for Niagara Falls, it might be a while before this force of nature sees the likes of such a daredevil again.

A tightrope walker named Jean Francois Gravelet did cross the falls back in 1859, though it's now claimed he did so at a less treacherous point.

Because all manner of copycats have since tried get over the falls with often horrific results, laws have banned such acts for over a century.

The rules were relaxed for Nik Wallenda, but now go back into effect. Not that the fans necessarily want to know that.

"It was spectacular. I want to go here every day," said six-and-a half-year-old Faris Abuain after watching the crossing.

"It's been a long time since anybody did that," he said.