As reported in PennLive, Nik Wallenda is once again set to use the Willamsport, Pennsylvania-based company Wirerope Works to supply the 1,000 foot-long 3/4″ wire rope for his latest ‘skywalk’ between two skyscrapers in Chicago on November 2. Better yet – he plans to attempt this walk blindfolded.
The company, with plants in Williamsport and Sunbury, made the wire rope that Wallenda used two years ago to walk across Niagara Falls.
He reused it last year to walk across the Little Colorado River Gorge near the Grand Canyon.
The approximately 1,000 foot-long rope he will use for his Chicago feat is three-fourths of an inch in diameter compared with two inches for his earlier walks, Mark Reeves, director of commercial operations, said Monday.
Wirerope Works, which Wallenda visited several years ago, will ship him the completed product. He will be responsible for erecting it, he said.
When he announced plans last week for the walk, Wallenda, 35, a member of “The Flying Wallendas” family, told The Associated Press. “Chicago is home of the world’s first skyscraper and my family is often referred to as the first family of the high wire.
“Then there’s the Windy City … which just sounds cool: Nik Wallenda is going to walk in the Windy City.”
As in his previous skywalks there will not be any netting and he will not wear a harness for his feat that will be televised by the Discovery Channel.
It will be the second-highest walk of his career after the Little Colorado River Gorge.
Wallenda will be making two skywalks in Chicago. The first will cross the Chicago River between one of the Marina City’s towers and Leo Burnett Building on a 15-degree incline. The second will be between Marina City’s two towers.
Wirerope Works’ products are used in a variety of applications including elevators, cranes, bridge suspensions and mining including the Marcellus Shale natural gas field, Reeves said.
Its rope can be found in the Alamo Dome in San Antonio, Texas, Madison Square Garden in New York City and Sears Tower in Chicago.
