Wallenda discusses hanging by her teeth over Niagara Falls

“It is just as much of a challenge, in fact more of a challenge often, because you’re worried you’re going to get tangled up in it,” he said.

Like her husband, Erendira Vazquez Wallenda traces her daredevil roots back generations. There are eight generations of performers on her mother’s side who have been part of the third-oldest circus in Australia, she said, and seven generations on her father’s side, which tours in Mexico City.

The idea for Erendira’s stunt emerged as the Wallendas were discussing how to maintain their connection with Niagara Falls, where they one day hope to open a Wallenda-themed entertainment centre. Nik Wallenda thought the only way to top his own stunt was to redo it without the tether that he had objected to wearing in 2012. That seemed unlikely.

“Remember that world record that you set years ago hanging by your teeth under a helicopter about 200 feet (60 metres) above the ground?” Nik Wallenda recalled his wife saying. “Well, why don’t you allow me to do it 300 feet (91 metres) above the falls?”

“I was like, ‘Absolutely. That’s amazing. That’s awesome,’” he said.

The Niagara County legislature last month approved spending $35,000 for the act.

Wallenda hung on by his teeth 76 metres above Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo., in 2011. Erendira plans to break the height record by performing 91 to 106 metres in the air.

The altitude will take the mother of three above the mist and wind of the roaring falls.

“What is against her,” Nik Wallenda said, “is that your mind — the higher you are, the harder it is to let go and hang on by your teeth.”

Erendira Wallenda said her training in the rain and mist of Florida, where they live, helped prepare her for the conditions expected on Thursday. She said her dentist made her a mouth guard that she will wear, but she will use her jaw muscles to avoid falling.

“Obviously, my dentist doesn’t want me to do this for the rest of my life,” she said.

“Our dentist is a very understanding person,” her husband added.

Five members of the Wallenda circus troupe fell from a high-wire in Sarasota, Fla., in February while practising an eight-person pyramid. Everyone survived.

Carolyn Thompson, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Wallenda discusses hanging by her teeth over Niagara Falls

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