Slacklining

Slacklining

Slacklining is a practice in balance that typically uses 1 inch nylon webbing tensioned between two anchor points. Slacklining is distinct from tightrope walking in that the line is not held rigidly taut (although it is still under some tension); it is instead dynamic, stretching and bouncing like a long and narrow trampoline. The line's tension can be adjusted to suit the user and different types of webbing can be used to achieve a variety of feats. The line itself is flat, due to the nature of webbing, thus keeping the slacker's footing from rolling as would be the case with an ordinary rope. The dynamic nature of the line allows for impressive tricks and stunts.

Slackline setup

Slacklining in a city

A slackline is commonly constructed with three sections of one-inch webbing: a long section of webbing (30–100 feet) strung tightly and connected to the two shorter sections (8–12 feet) that are called "tree slings" and are used as anchors on either end. The most difficult and widely discussed element of a slackline setup is the tensioning system. Common setups include simple friction methods, using wraps of webbing between two carabiners, a ratchet, a comealong, a carabiner pulley system, a roped pulley system, or a commercial slackline kit.

Tree anchors

The most common anchors for slacklines are trees. Trees greater than 12" in diameter are considered ideal in most cases. Bark protects the tree's vascular system, the cambium layer. Damaging the bark around a tree, such as with Girdling, would cause a tree to die. Therefore care should be taken to protect the tree from the repetitive rubbing of the tensioned anchor.

There are several very effective methods of tree protection that function on two principles: eliminating abrasion, and redistributing load over a wider area. One of the most effective means of tree protection is a wrap of vertical blocks (1" x 1" cut into 6" pieces) strung together by drilling a small diameter hole through the center and running cord through them. Blocks are spaced evenly to prevent the anchor slings from contacting and abrading the outer bark and the length of the blocks distributes the load vertically as opposed to horizontally compressing a continuous line around the trunk. The addition of a carpet square between the block wrap and the outer bark is considered ideal among the founding community of slackliners. Many other ways to protect the tree are commonly used such as towels, mats, cardboard, carpet and purpose made tree protectors.

Using carpet squares or cardboard even, by themselves, only addresses abrasion, leaving the load concentrated on a small area of the tree. These methods would be adequate for occasional use, but with the high tensions of longlines one who slacklines regularly should take every precaution to protect the life of the tree.

Variations

A special characteristic of slacklining is the ease with which the dynamics of the practice can be altered. Using narrow (5/8-inch) webbing will result in a stretchier slackline. This allows for more sway in the line and can make a short line feel substantially longer. Wider webbing (2 inches) is much more rigid and has a tendency to twist and decrease the grip of the slackline and the foot. The tension of the line will also increase or decrease the sway of the line. Weight due to the different methods of tensioning will also vary the performance of a slackline. A comealong and a ratchet will both add enough weight to allow the feedback from quick movements on shorter slacklines to be felt.

Slacklining in a park

Styles of slacklining

Slacklining on a beach

Urbanlining

Main article: Urbanlining

Urbanlining or urban slacklining combines all the different styles of slacklining. It is practiced in urban area, for example in city parks and on the streets. Most urban slackliners prefer wide 2-inch lines for tricklining on the streets, but some may use narrow (5/8-inch or 1-inch) lines for longline purposes or for waterlining on the beaches. Also see the other sections of slackline styles below.

Tricklining

Tricklining is the most common type of slacklining because it can be set up between almost any two secure points. Tricklining is done low to the ground, and as such it is also often called "lowlining." A great number of tricks can be done on the line, and because the sport is fairly new, there is plenty of room for new tricks. Some of the basic tricks done today are standing, stand start, walking, walking backwards, turns, drop knee, opposite turn around, and bounce walking. Some intermediate tricks include: moonwalk, throwing a disc around with someone from line-to-line, juggling, sit start, Buddha sit, mantle start, sitting down, lying down, jump start, cross-legged knee drop, surfing forward, surfing sideways, and jump turns, or "180s." Some of the advanced/expert tricks are: back flip landing on the line, jumps referred to as "ollies", tree plants, front flip dismount, back flip dismount, doing push-ups, tandem walking, the tandem pass, piggy-back rides across the line, jumping from line-to-line, and 360s.

Waterlining

Waterlining is simply slacklining over water. This is an ideal way to learn new tricks, or to just have more fun. Common places to set up waterlines are over pools, lakes, rivers, creeks, between pier or railroad track pillars, and boat docks.

Highlining

Highlining is slacklining at elevation above the ground or water. Many slackliners consider highlining to be the pinnacle of the sport. Highlines are commonly set up in locations that have been used or are still used for Tyrolean traverse. When rigging highlines, experienced slackers take measures to ensure that solid, redundant and equalized anchors are used to secure the line into position. Modern highline rigging typically entails a mainline of webbing, backup webbing, and either climbing rope or amsteel rope for redundancy. It is also common to pad all areas of the rigging which might come in contact with abrasive surfaces. To ensure safety, most highliners wear a climbing harness or swami belt with a leash attached to the slackline itself; however, unleashed walks of highlines are not unheard of.

Slackline Yoga

Another form of slacklining is Slackline Yoga, also referred to as YogaSlacking or Slackasana. Slackline Yoga takes traditional yoga poses and moves them to the slackline. It has been described as "distilling the art of yogic concentration." To balance on a 1" piece of webbing lightly tensioned between two trees is not easy, and doing yoga poses on it is even more challenging. The practice has many layers, simultaneously developing focus, dynamic balance, power, breath, core integration, flexibility, and confidence. Utilizing standing postures, sitting postures, arm balances, kneeling postures, inversions and unique vinyasa, a skilled slackline yogi is able to create a flowing yoga practice without ever falling from the line.

The YogaSlackers are a group of slackliners and yogis who have contributed significantly to this art. In 2005, Sam Salwei and Jason Magness began demonstrating yoga poses on a slackline at the Yoga Journal conference in Estes Park. Since then, the members of team YogaSlackers have collectively taught over 5000 people to successfully embrace this form of amazing asana. They have developed a special slackline and simple tensioning system, allowing for practitioners to learn safely and experience the benefit of a wide range of dynamic energies while on the line. They teach workshops around the globe.

Slackline Yoga has been reported in The Wall Street Journal, Yoga Journal and Climbing Magazine.

Freestyle slacklining

Freestyle slacklining (a.k.a. “rodeo slacklining") is the art and practice of cultivating balance on a piece of rope or webbing draped slack between two anchor points, typically about 15 to 30 feet long and a couple feet off the ground in the center. This type of very "slack" slackline provides a wide array of opportunities for both swinging and static maneuvers. A freestyle slackline has no tension in it, while both traditional slacklines and tightropes are tensioned. This slackness in the rope or webbing allows it to swing at large amplitudes and adds a different dynamic.

History

While rope walking has been around in one manner or another for thousands of years, the origins of modern day slacklining are generally attributed to a pair of rock climbers while attending Olympia, Washington's The Evergreen State College in 1979. Adam Grosowsky and Jeff Ellington started walking on loose chains and cables around Olympia, and quickly innovated the technique of stringing up 1" flat climbing webbing and walking it, employing the dynamics and flexibilty of the nylon webbing to develop tricks, including a three-pin tossing routine between two slackliners balanced simultaneously on the same line. Red Square, Evergreen's central campus plaza, was a convenient between-class practice area where they often drew crowds of spectators. Brooke Sandahl, another Evergreen student and frequent climbing partner of Grosowsky and Ellington, was also a very early practioner. Grosowsky and Ellington were fascinated with wirewalking history and circus culture, and in 1981 performed leashless on a 30' highline strung 25' over a concrete floor as part of a project to recreate a traditional one-ring circus in The Evergreen State College's main performance auditorium. During this period Grosowsky, who is now a regionally well-known Northwest artist, devoted much of his lithographic art to themes involving wirewalking and circus culture. The sport blossomed within the West Coast rock climbing community, and then branched out elsewhere all over the world.

Highlining History

In 1983, Adam Grosowsky and Jeff Ellington set up a 55-foot (17 m) cable line at Yosemite's Lost Arrow Spire that was nearly 2,890 feet (880 m) high. However, neither of them were able to cross this line. The next year, Scott Balcom and Darrin Carter set up a highline in the same location, but used webbing instead of cable. In 1985, Scott Balcom crossed the now-famous line. In 1993, Darrin Carter became the second person to successfully cross the Lost Arrow Spire highline. On July 16, 2007, Libby Sauter became the first woman to successfully cross.

Tricklining History

In 2012, Andy Lewis performed a series of tricks on a Gibbon Slackline during Madonna's Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show, a worldwide audience of 114 million people.

World records

Longest highline

Michael Kemeter's highline world record length of 86 metres (282 ft) was exceeded in August 2010 by American Jerry Miszewski in Ostrov, Czech Republic, who walked a highline 95 metres (312 ft) in length. A few weeks later, on September 10, 2010, Andy Lewis (USA) exceeded Jerry's record by walking a 103.5 metres (340 ft) long highline in Moab, UT.

Longest free solo highline

The longest free solo highline was walked in Moab, Utah on November 19, 2011 by Andy Lewis. At a length of 55 metres (180 ft), 'The Great Bongzilla' was walked 1 way leashless by Andy Lewis.

Highest slackline

The highest slackline on record was walked by Christian Schou on August 3, 2006 at Kjerag in Rogaland, Norway. The slackline was 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) high. The project was repeated by Aleksander Mork in September 2007. Just for fun and by the fact there was no earlier 1000m-approved Guiness-World-Record(GWR) Aleksander signed a "GWR-agreement/contract" with Schibsted Forlag representing GWR in Norway. Schibsted was represented by 2 observers and Aleksander received the first official GWR-certificate onsite at Kjerag. The stunt was successfully performed under strong wind and rough weather condtitions. With respect the record attempt was clarified with Christian Schou - who received a GWR-certificate several months later.

Longest slackline

The longest slackline, with a length of 306.8 metres (1,007 ft), was walked on June 4, 2010 by Damian Jörren (onsight fullman, i.e. both directions in the same day) and Stefan Junghann from Germany.

Longest slackline history

Long slackline walking was pioneered most notably by Dean Potter, Larry Harpe, Ammon McNeely, and Braden Mayfield. Rumors of 200–300 foot slacklines were talked about; however, there is no known official line length record from this period.

Heinz Zak, extreme climber and photographer, was one of the first to go on record for long slacklining with his walk of a 328-foot (100 m) line in August 2005. This record stood until March 4, 2007, when Damian Cooksey walked a 405-foot (123.5 m) line in Warsaw, Poland.

This record was then broken on July 10, 2007 by Damian Cooksey when he walked a 506-foot (154 m) slackline in Munich, Germany.

Stefan Junghann and Damian Jörren were the first walking more than 200m (203m onsight full man, March 16, 2009).

Michael Kemeter (onsight) and Michael Aschaber from Austria were following with a length of 217 metres (712 ft) on September 18, 2009.

See also

• Tightrope walking
• Urbanlining
• Jultagi

External links

• Slackline history
• The History of Slacklining