Tether was unplanned and upset Wallenda

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) - Nik Wallenda was originally going to walk across the Falls without a safety harness, for his big walk, he is tethered to the wire.

A little less than a month ago, Wallenda took his last practice steps at the Seneca Niagara Casino, marking the last time crowds would see him walk without a tether. Sponsors are forcing Wallenda to wear the safety harness out of consideration for the viewers.

That comes much to Wallenda's ire.

"It'll be designed in case it were to be tangled up in one of these pendulums that I could take it off where it wouldn't be so cumbersome that I'd be stuck there because of the harness," he explained.

General foreman Randy Fletcher said, "His safety would come up, hit one of those pendulums that are 10 or 15 feet hanging below him, and then he has to bend down unhook it and pass it."

Despite Wallenda's disinterest in the tether, he has the support of family and friends, bringing him to this day.