Wallenda prepares for Niagara Falls tightrope walk

Famous stuntman Nik Wallenda will challenge himself once again by walking across the Niagara Falls on a two-inch-diameter cable, unharnessed.

He plans to cross the falls without any netting either. If he slips, his only hope will be to firmly grab the steel cable, or he'll plummet 60m into the swirling rapids below. Local emergency personnel have been preparing in the event this occurs.

Wallenda said the 550-m-long crossing could take 30 to 40 minutes.

I think with all this wind and all, I don't see how he can keep his balance," another tourist said.

Wallenda, 33, is a seventh-generation scion of the Flying Wallendas family of acrobats. He gained permission to walk across the falls after waging lobbying campaigns in both Canada and the United States.

His great-grandfather Karl Wallenda died in 1978, after falling from a tightrope in Puerto Rico. But Nik Wallenda accomplished that same walk and said he has confidence in his own ability to cross the falls.

Wallenda has invested more than 1.2 million US dollars for the event, with much of the cost going to build and anchor the custom-made steel wire.

The Canadian and US government have welcomed Wallenda's televised stunt across the falls, saying it will spur tourism and bring in an estimated profit of 120 million US dollars to the tourist region.

Nik Wallenda proposed to his wife and fellow acrobat Erendira on a high wire. They have three children, who will act as a cheering squad and support crew for their father. However, Erendira said she would prefer that her children lead a less risky life.