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Feel the heat: Florida resident Nik Wallenda to walk tightrope across active volcano

Aerialist Nik Wallenda is about to feel the heat.

On Wednesday, he hopes to perform his most daring feat yet: Walking 1,800 feet above the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua, one of the most active volcanoes on the planet. It has erupted 13 times in 30 years.

His walk across “the mouth of Hell” marks his highest and longest tightrope yet.

Watch Wallenda discuss his upcoming stunt on “Good Morning America” in the video below:

And you’ll be able to watch it live when the two-hour special “Volcano Live with Nik Wallenda” airs on Ch. 9 at 8 p.m.

Wallenda told The Associated Press that the stunt will go on, no matter the conditions.

“I’m walking over an active volcano, facing every challenge that Mother Nature can throw at me from the high winds in the area to the heavy gases to, of course, the heat from that volcano, as well as the fact that it is the longest and the highest walk that I’ve ever attempted,” he told AP.

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So while you’re watching Wallenda walk a 1,300-foot cable, where will he look at the halfway point?

“I absolutely will look down,” Wallenda told “Good Morning America” of the mid-point on his walk. “It’s more about this beautiful piece of nature.”

Wallenda said the rope can not be put in place in advance due to safety reasons.

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Wallenda, a Florida resident and seventh-generation acrobat, has been preparing for his biggest stunt yet at home.

The lava lake inside the crater boils at 2,000 degrees. He will be wearing a protective mask and goggle to keep him safe against the plumes and toxic gas.




Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.