Before Nik Wallenda walks across a tightrope suspended above the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua, the aerialist posted a pair of photos to his Instagram previewing his terrifying stunt, which will be chronicled on Volcano Live! with Nik Wallenda Wednesday night on ABC. Though Wallenda has performed similar acts across the Grand Canyon as well as Niagara Falls, the actual volcano definitely adds an all-new element of danger.
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“Don’t look down,” he wrote in the caption, which inspired a few replies under the post.
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“I am waiting,” one follower wrote. “You can do it.”
“It will be something out of the ordinary,” another commented. “Maybe a challenge or a dream. [May] God protect you in your great feat.”
“Praying for you,” a third added. “You got this.”
Ahead of the event, Wallenda spoke with The Wrap, where he explained that he needed to take a few extra precautions in advance of his walk across the volcano, including some that he’d never had to take before. Namely, he’ll have to wear goggles and a gas mask during the stunt because the gases in the air are so thick around the location.
“There’s a substance that comes out of the volcano from that lava that almost appears to be oily or greasy that could cause the wire to be slippery,” Wallenda explained. “The gases that come out actually eat wire, eat metal. We left a piece of cable in the canyon for six months and it literally dissolved because of those gases. Having to train with an oxygen deprivation mask, training with an oxygen tank, extra weight on your back, that throws your equilibrium off. It’s bulkier, so in the wind, you’re not as aerodynamic.”
Wallenda also has a key decision to make, though he won’t make it until the last minute, as he’s unsure whether or not he should strap on an oxygen tank for the tightrope walk.
“I mean it’s real,” Wallenda said about the dangers. “I mean they’re all real, but this one is more real than anything I’ve ever done as far as the layers, again, of risk and danger.”
Volcano Live! with Nik Wallenda will air Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
