9-Oct-14 – He gets Tuesdays off but between now and October 27, professional daredevil Nik Wallenda will be training every day for his November 2 high-wire walk in Chicago.

(Above) Aerial view of Wallenda’s training site near Sarasota, Florida. “UTC” stands for University Town Center. (Image obtained from Nik Wallenda.)

Wallenda began training on Tuesday near Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida, at a large facility that is open to the public.

His official practices are at 6 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, then twice each day on Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Wallenda has made other practice walks to test cables.

The 35-year-old grandson of legendary high-wire artist Karl Wallenda, who died in a fall in 1978, is practicing on two wires, representing the two parts of his stunt. The first wire (above) is at the same 15-degree angle that he will face when he walks from Marina City’s 588-foot west tower to the 635-foot Leo Burnett Building.

The other (below) simulates the walk from one Marina City tower to the other. A specific direction has not been decisively announced but Wallenda said publicly most recently that it would be from the east tower to the west tower.

And he will be blindfolded.

(Above) The lower wire seen here has been set up to simulate the walk between Marina City’s towers.

The wire Wallenda will walk on November 2 in Chicago will be painted white to stand out in the darkness and it will be monitored for ice buildup. The stunt will be broadcast worldwide on Discovery Channel. Wallenda will begin his walk at about 7 p.m. Central Time.