Flying Wallenda Survives Amazing Canyon Stunt

Nik Wallenda has sealed his place in daredevil history with a heart-stopping tightrope walk over a gorge near the Grand Canyon—with no safety harness. The 34-year-old took 22 minutes to cross the quarter-mile, balancing on a 2-inch thick cable 1,500 feet above the Colorado River Gorge, the AP reports. He could be heard praying almost non-stop as he inched across, buffeted by winds. The stunt was aired live by the Discovery Channel, with a 10-second delay.

"It was a dream come true," Wallenda said after making it across "This is what my family has done for 200 years, so it's part of my legacy. " His great-grandfather and several other members of the Flying Wallenda clan died performing similar stunts. Wallenda—who says he'll give up the tightrope-walking if his wife and kids ask him to— aims to walk between New York's Chrysler Building and Empire State Building for his next stunt, Reuters reports. (More Grand Canyon stories.)