Thankfully, Nik Wallenda made it across Niagara Falls. What a feat!
I read they required him to use a safety link, and watching a video, I saw it went from his waist to a ring on the cable.
However, I also read and saw that because they could not rig stabilizing cables to the ground (there was no ground), they just hung cables with weights dangling down to keep the main cable from swaying too much.
So, as he walked along, how did the ring around the main cable get by the cables hanging down from it?
Maybe the “ring on the cable” wasn’t a ring, but instead some sort of trolley that rode the top of the cable and went around most of it, but left room on the underside for the descending weight lines to pass by. Think cowboy riding a horse bareback: he does not have to cross his boot toes under the horse, but instead closely grips the flanks with his thighs and perhaps ankles.
They had a one hour reality show with Nick Wallenda last year. He was walking a rope between two hotels. Turns out there’s a whole support crew of people on the ground holding ropes to stabilize the wire. I recall Nick’s mom running back and forth between positions with a walkie talkie making sure everyone was keeping the right tension. A lot of the people were volunteers and it was pretty hectic.
I was disappointed they didn’t make more of this show. But, that one episode is the only one I saw. Nick’s mom walked the rope thirty years ago and she’s done a lot to train Nick. His dad helps him a lot with rigging and safety equipment. I wish I had kept a recording of that show. It was really interesting behind the scenes info.
as gunnergoz mentioned it did not totally encircle the tightrope. it was shaped like an ear cuff or open toe ring. the weights were there because they couldn’t do guy wires along the route.
in some ways having a tether when you don’t use one must be a bit more difficult. you have enough to deal with the tightrope and the movements it makes, now you have to deal with an added rope and the way it plays in the wind and mist.
he said if he slipped he would hold onto the rope until his rescue basket arrived. there were 2 one on each side of the rope. it would seem abc didn’t think that was enough.