Wallenda’s Arizona Tightrope Walk Draws 13-Million Viewers

Aerialist Nik Wallenda's tightrope walk over a gorge near the Grand Canyon drew nearly 13 million viewers to the live television broadcast.

The Discovery Channel said Monday that the quarter-mile stunt at the Little Colorado River Gorge was among the most highly viewed shows in the station's history.

It also prompted 1.3 million tweets Sunday, making it one of the top trending topics.

Wallenda took 22 minutes to cross the 2-inch-thick steel cable, 1,500 feet above the dry river bed. He did it without a harness or safety net.

The well-known daredevil contended with the wind and repeatedly called on God to calm the swaying cable.

He wore a microphone and two cameras, one that looked down on the river bed and one that faced straight ahead.

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