DON’T FALL – Slacklining/Highlining

Picture+of+Slacklining

Source: "Yosemite Highlining" by Jeff Pang is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Yosemite Highlining” by Jeff Pang is licensed under CC BY 2.0

By: Evan Nanthavong, Reporter

Don’t fall are the words you’ll hear from everyone but people who Slackline.  A lot of the times we see people on the news Slacklining over the grand canyon or other dangerous feats that have been accomplished over the years yet, that is not the full story as many may think. You can Slackline in between two trees! Slacklining’s dictionary definition “The activity of balancing and walking on a piece of bouncy nylon rope which is suspended above the ground.”More accurately the word Highlining is used for slacklining above higher elevations yet, people use the word interchangeably. Let’s talk about slacklining across mountains, shall we?

First off most people don’t just wake up and think to themselves “I’m going to walk across two cliffs on a 2-inch line”.  To people who

Picture of Slacklining
“A slackline above Yosemite Falls” by Lorenzo Tlacaelel is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (Source: “A slackline above Yosemite Falls” by Lorenzo Tlacaelel is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

slackline it is not as simple as just walking across a line. There is a form of comradery and comfort to slacklining that you can’t know unless you have done it before. There is a connection to nature. There is also a sense of forced meditation that some may say. The concentration needed to do this is crazy. If your thinking about what your wife said to you last or what you ate for dinner you will fall.  My point is that you need an absurd amount of full concentration to do this sport.

Now a lot of people think that slacklining is dangerous and should only be done if you are very daring. Of course, you do have to be pretty brave to go and slackline but it’s not just a give all type of sport. There are precautions you need to take. Safety comes first! A lot of slackliners use a harness to catch themselves if they fall, that is if they’re not doing free solo slacklining but that’s another topic.  Picking a quality spot to slackline, using signals and marks, never leaving your slackline unattended are some great examples of being cautious.

In conclusion, slacklining across mountains is an awesome recreational sport that is completely safe. You yourself should go out there and experience the art the slacklining.

RELATED STORIES:

https://www.outsideonline.com/2140766/4-ways-slacklining-will-make-you-stronger-athlete 

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/the-beginners-guide-slacklining-2.html

https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/highlining.htm