The first time I saw the wire stretching out from its moorings across the sky, a cloud bank sat in the middle of the gorge. Jay Cochrane stood in front of me, the wire fading into the mists. It was like a scene from the odyssey. Some ancient god was inviting Jay to walk across heaven.
That day ended up as a press day. An Australian TV team climbed the mountain with us, interviewing Jay from this perch. Jay told stories of daily high wire walks at Kennywood Park.
Many years later, I would read a Facebook post by Jason Belavic, who ran spotlights at Kennywood for Jay’s nighttime high wire performances.
‘He did a tightrope act at Kennywood, where he walked from somewhere on the ground, to the top of the Laser Loop return hill, with Andy Vettel III on his back.”
Jay was already showing his production skills, bringing Nik Wellenda to Kennywood to perform acts like the “Skycycle of the Quasars” and the “Wheel of Death”.
On this first day atop the north face of Qutang Gorge, the wire looked like it could transport you to Kennywood Park in Pennsylvania. I felt like I was on the other side of the looking glass. As Jay stood, walking stick in hand, blonde hair, athletic…. He could have been an athlete in any sport I have photographed. But this guy was walking something narrower than a balance beam, a 3/4 inch wire, for a half mile, over a river, in a canyon. I could not fathom the skill or athleticism that Jay’s profession required.
Now after watching his entire career, he is a GOAT, equal to Michael Jordan or Tom Brady. The mental discipline is what sets Jay apart.
Jay’s demeanor showed how relaxed and prepared he was. I couldn’t imagine looking down at my feet and seeing a thousand feet of nothing beneath that tiny, little wire.
Then Jay said to the interviewer, “The only time I have any peace is on the wire.”
On October 26, I saw Jay walk on the wire for the first time. Nonchalantly, he walked out ten feet on the wire, did a one-foot stand, pirouetted and walked back. 72 frames of film, roughly ten minutes of time. But he was a different person on the wire. Focused; Determined; The Prince of the Air.