Nik Wallenda’s Skywalk

On June 23, 2013, Nik Wallenda set a world record crossing the Little Colorado River gorge in the Grand Canyon on a 1,300-foot-long wire, 1,500 feet above the Little Colorado River. His network partners in the televised live event, Discovery Channel, allowed Nik to undertake the walk in the Wallenda family tradition, completely untethered, and broke new ground as a network, broadcasting the event live in 183 countries.

At a height of 1,500 ft above the Little Colorado River, Nik faced the challenges of wind gusts measured at 48 miles per hour, optical illusions of the canyon walls, and a dusty and precariously moving cable.

After nearly 23 minutes on the cable and realizing the end was in sight, he began to thank those that had made the walk possible, before kneeling to the cable, saluting his fans, and sprinting in the final distance to the waiting arms of family and friends. Through television and other media outlets, the event reached an audience of 23 million in the U.S., and millions more worldwide, setting viewing and social media records.

Tiffany Brown Anderson was the exclusive still photographer on the ground for the Discovery Channel.