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Thousands of iPhones, iPads and video cameras were hoisted over heads to capture the walk, although most spectators would go home with photos of a tiny red dot in a white mist.

Mr. Wallenda appeared calm and steady as he walked slowly through the swirling mist during the first leg of the wire walk.

“It’s a beautiful view… A dream in the making,” he said, speaking via his headset in an interview mid-walk, and broadcast on CTV.

However, he said that the turbulent waters below made it difficult for him to see the tightrope sway.

“Water actually becomes a challenge because I can’t prepare for [the wire] as it moves. But so far so good.”

When asked about the harness – which he was required to wear by ABC, who broadcasted his daredevil feat – that tethers him to the tightrope, he said: “I feel like a jackoff, er, jackass wearing it.”

After he successfully crossed the gorge, Mr. Wallenda said that he was thinking about his grandfather as he walked the wire.

“That’s what all this is about. Paying tribute to my ancestors and my hero, Karl Wallenda.”

His father Terry Troffer, who is also his safety co-ordinator and was speaking to Mr. Wallenda through his headset throughout the walk, said he was “proud” of his son’s accomplishment.

“Nik, I’m very proud of you,” he said. “You made history and made the family proud.”

Mr. Wallenda also called his grandmother after the walk, as he promised.

“I promised you would be the first person I called,” he said.