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g an ficult as creditin if d as st o m al e , innovation to th ould be difficult g w in d te go n n o ve in an as is klining w acklining tightrope To say that slac e truth is that sl h T . n o ti ea gymnastics, to cr in s it m h ea it b w g n n ci so the balan cently, individual per mmunity. But re balancing. From f co o c ti es le ic h ct at ra e p r ore th already popula a small part of and more and m n , ee it b g n as yi h tr g e n ci ar us, balan re people emerge, walks in the circ as more and mo ty ri la u p did this activity o p y tl in ac ed ex d w lo o p H ex e. up slacklining has mpgrounds alik article will clear ca is d th an y s ll k u ar ef p p o ty nd in ci t years? H ter it was lines can be fou wth in the recen o gr le ib 1851 and soon af ed in cr in an e m th n ed er d n o d the and what spaw ple from aroun discovered by m eo p as y w y an le m al , V ed e p it Yosem ing develo a few questions. g precipices that e sport of climb in th k s ri A st . d ce an la p s ck ed e a sacr utes, e revered ro found, it becam to be among th ch traditional ro g it p in itt lt u se l m fu to ti , u is bea short hikes s others, world came to th nal park. From io at n r la an and countles u it p ap o p C l ry E ve e, w m o o n p 4, a D f make up the y some that cam res such as Hal b u at id fe sa r is la u It p o e. p it ics on to Yosem iddle to multi-day ep lar pilgrimages pment in the m o gu el re ev e d ak g m in b rs im re ventu gular r of rock cl climbers and ad e, it became a re ecame the cente b m , ti k a ar p at e s th th n in o ound e many m popular campgr ple staying ther eo ing. p e m so h it g sport of climb tury. W in n w ce o gr th 0 ly 2 id e p th ra f o uing the rill seekers purs th f o y it n u m m co
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It was in this place that the sport of slacklining came into existence. Af hammering, scoping, bo ter the long days of jugg lting , cleaning, smearin ing, g, cri m pi ng , jamming, bleeding summiting , people wo , taping , sending and uld flock back to camp 4 for the evening. Just as a daily basis, so were ne new routes were being w ways to spend down created on -ti m e. Th e inhabitants of camp 4 parking lot chains, hand could be found walking railings, and even rope s strung up between th type of hobby became e trees. In the mid to lat increasingly popular, as e 70’s this lo ca l ho tsh ots and visitors alike we rope. It appeared to ha re seen balancing on th ve positive effects in ho e ning balance for climbi core. While tightrope wa ng , and strengthening lking has been around th e leg s an d for many centuries, this ways. The climbing rope new pastime was differe being walked was loos nt in m any e and not nearly as taug performers. In this way ht as the steel cable wa it was clearly more of a lk ed by cir cus challenge. Soon, individ and this is slacklining uals started to walk on as it is known today. So fla t we bb ing, me of the most influen skills in Yosemite. Indi tial slackliners at presen viduals including Adam t lea rn ed their Grosowski, Jeff Ellingt Darrin Carter had perh on, Chongo Tucker, Sc aps the greatest influen ot t Ba lco m and ce on the early sport of slacklining.
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Adam a nd Jeff beg in the l ate seve an practicing their ba nties, a standa nd intr la rds, an o duced m nce among th d could them w e high any peo do num ere on trees an p e r l e o t h u t o e s These t d peace ricks ar line. Adam wa tricks includin the sport. The ful vall eys of Y e astou y s an inc g w a were in e n r e i m v n osemit redible ery goo pressiv ding ev troduce e e l d e i ne surf , n amon j u d to the e v g e g Pasade n ling rou by toda er, and g slack sport o na. Afte t i y ’s ne whi could e liners t f slac r co le both Tucker ven do set up a nsiderable pra klining at this oday. In 1983 o a f h andst ,S ctice an v line un in slack dernea d plann ery place, and cott Balcom a and on the lin line his th a br nd Chr e. ing , Sc tory from th ott, Ch soon brought is Carp e Lost A . Later that sa idge in Pasad r e i i t n s , an bac ter e me yea rrow Sp They tr r (1983 na, where Sco d their climbi k with them t ire to th ied and o ) n t , Je t succe g ment e valley trie webbin ssfully or Cho rim, a s ff and Adam r g that n d to get acros w ngo a l i p k g a e g n s d e e , d i o b t t vowed he first f 55 fee ut the c and att to walk her were able t e h a , mpted ble wa ighline with a to get a the to walk stagger webbin cross. B s so different i a n g , and r Lost Arrow S c g able he t y this t pire ga ecruite choppy ime, ho o walk on com ight of 2890 p. He a d Darri wind p f w e par et. ev tt n Carte assing psycho r to hel empted the hi er, Scott Balco ed with regul throug logical a p g m r h with th h the v was ho limitat himsel e riggin line in 1984 f alley, co oked, a ions, S f to tra o g m nd r . t S bined w cott wa he first cott wa ining fo walk th s i t s t u i h m n v r e t a e h t r b h y w e half-m le to wa e Lost A is persist ith lk the l ent, bu ile of ex rrow Sp epic walk, an highlin i t n d p t i e h o r returne e in the . Howe e highl ver, in t sure and near e ine, on d in 19 world. the last 8 ly endl he next J W u 5 . l i y Scott B t decade 13, 1985 ess year he , the leg h only a few d a l c . more a o T m h d i edicate s is now was the ozen p end of nd mor d eople h the los e passi on an a t arrow aving w the most cove first person ev onate a nnual t spire co ted and er to a bout rip, and ntinues lked this line, highly humble many o slacklining. S r t e t d by th h o g e major a gr lacklin ther pe e lo ity of th rded the bar e Broth ow in popular ople fro e on thei st arrow line. m e i ty rs has a m ar i After S r low tr began t conting as people bec n cott’s h ound the wor ee lines o take u o e m n ld have t is e . Scott p the tr epic fis traveled that visits the showed toric walk, m eachero t walk, a s t n t p o hat any y other ire us task and in 1993 thing w slacklin Yosemite to b of high . Darrin trained to bec a e e s c r l o s possibl ining. D ome th ,C here th e, and m were inspired me arrin C e secon at Darr hongo Tucker a to raise ore and r t er beca dp in re and Sc has bee more p me very ott all r erson to walk e n one o turned to wal op motiva eturned the los k the sp f th ted by S le lines, a t arrow in 1995 ire with nd even e premier hig c ott’s spire, w for a ou hliners ap hich he betwee in the c t protection, b 10 year anniv n two b pearing on th d i d ersary w ountry eing th e show uilding the gre since h e first p alk. It w Ripley ’ s in Lo at slack i s fi erson t as s Believ ng Bea liners o o do so lowlini ch Cali e It or N rst walk, esta f this d . ng and D f b o a ot, epis l rn rrin ecade i highlin ode 20 ishing beautif ncludin ia, 12 stories a ing alik 1 u , l a b g n s o Dean P ew he walk e. otter, w ve the ground . It was ed untethered ho con tinue to Darrin who tra push th i e envel ope wit ned h
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nes l highli f u f i t u a d be ies o zing an , to the quarr a m a w e stralia l as ne ines ar l u l e l A w u f f s i o t a s eau ed, tack h and b er and longer develop , to the sea s g i e h b , o g t n , lo laya long tinue a e Hima of Utah o be made as ne con h i s t l r f e w o re to be nity, o w l u s o r s t t e e s t i h e i r t c u e a mu e des ontin 2008 icks on . From the gl y, to th ing com nited ining c g developed. l a b New tr k d w c l m r r i a l l o o c s in ein the he U the w fs of N cross t records e tricks are b itage among a ng around the great clif w s e e i t N i . er yc siv acklini sis h l s o n a s t e a g b , r e n f g y i M K l l a g . l s k a t U pe re ow por wee the and mo espite its com ainstream s d on a stand h helping with e e r r e h o s d i l n m b u m esta on’t dely , and as a rs is ing. D it is wi walked r for slacklin eople d kline Brothe cepted l c i p e t a r y n a e n u s a m e lin yea eco dm o so y Slac ue to d rangers, man eaking ing to b lacklining , an ning history, r l n i b g t g d n r u o r o c t t rec will on s . till s by s ackli ry, and encountered ple ask ing is s r restrictions er of sl t t o n n i p e l a u p k o h c e c c a sl som e ns o new first s the t line?” e and welcom When have ba tually is. In a n cities acros . a s s h i e t t t i a k l t t S ac wa gi eac tha ure do you hlining ize slacklinin redible sport r the p el the p y g e o i f f h h s u r W d o e “ y n l h . a ers lega that that s, ot e inc ion to r sport cting activity d as th ehind slacklin ebbing itself e h t o d r legislat nd recognize tives b achieve n the w ay in shape fo such an addi a o o e d b m p e e t e n t p a h s st nt , at c ou t is acce walk to her because i questio t isn’t until y eing th l life’s worries b e s l r f e p o k o e e o t I t p l o onl a me as a d sta nt?” till o cus on ghtene eet in the air, fers. So e limit, and s the poi i f o f e s o ’ h t a g a a s n h a i s “W the ed, re i of f o th cklin gh, the d thousands is reach ce you are on hat sla urself t u t o n o y e e h v t Z g l t l y o n i i res or man crossing a vo f push peacefu ly matters on is manner, bu F o . A t . e n u n e i o l th en th y s t tru enjoym elp but slack lified in nd slackliner ially wh lt away benea nly thing tha p c e m h p i s s ’t E n e a ce, he o line. e me uld b one ca xperien ese are the ng the onsens nce instead. T zing if life co i e n k s l i g a h n t w i und ala ma ides e. Th while d surro ed on b It would be a cklining prov ver appreciat s n a u c s o e f l ep. l ne mes , sla troub next st ple wil fe beco owever o e i l h e h e. , t p d y l t e e e r s k t e o a na m e futur ot u t t h t clutt a t r e l h o n t b i F a e . t eac ke i nnot being inner p ntinue to ma at it ca n line is h a t s w i o h e kn ill co trut the sad t to the extrem history, and w de ke i ave ma who ta h o h w ers slacklin
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MOAB, Utah — He had learned this extreme form of tightrope walking from a homeless man who wrote books on quantum physics. But that was years ago, while goofing around on a flexible piece of nylon webbing tied close to the ground between a tree and the bumper of a Chevy van. This was something else entirely for Dean Potter, one of the world’s best climbers, barefoot in the dying sun last Friday, walking between ledges of a U-shaped rim above Hell Roaring Canyon, a 400-foot sheer sandstone wall on his right, a 900foot drop to a dry riverbed on his left. No leash tethered him to the rope. Nothing attached him to earth but the grip of his size-14 feet and the confident belief that, if needed, his parachute would open quickly and cleanly and not slam him into the canyon wall. At 6 feet 5 inches and 180 pounds, wirily strong, Potter dressed in jeans and blue T-shirt emblazoned with a hawk. He wore a wide headband over unruly hair, gaining the appearance of a less gaunt and reckless Keith Richards as Alpine daredevil. As Potter stepped onto the 180-foot rope — a strand of iridescent blue against desiccated canyon shades of brick and tan and coppery green — he was believed to be the first person to combine the adventure sports of highlining and BASE-jumping. He was also taking another stride toward his longing for avian flight, not as a birdman in a nylon wing suit or squirrel suit, which he had tried, but as a soloist who could jump off a cliff in a way that he did not yet understand, with a strength and concentration that he did not yet possess, and simply fly. Trance music pulsed from speakers on the canyon ledge with knowing lyrics: “Sometimes I think my dreams are wild.” Highlining was a high-wire version of slacklining, an extreme cousin of tightrope walking in which no pole was used for balance and the rope was elastic, allowing for various tricks involving walking, sitting, lying down, flipping, even spinning hula hoops. BASE-jumping was an acronym used to describe parachuting from objects like
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buildings, towers, bridges and cliffs. At 35, Potter had long stirred wonder as a climber. Six years ago, in Yosemite National Park, he became the first person to free climb El Capitan and Half Dome together in less than 24 hours, meaning he used ropes only for protection in case he fell, climbing only with his hands and feet for a vertical mile. It was an effort requiring remarkable concentration and speed that would be unthinkable for an average weekend climber, who would need gear and most or all of a two-week vacation to make a similar ascent. In 2001, Potter climbed the famous Nose route on El Capitan, a 3,000foot vertical wall with a fierce overhang, in 3 hours 24 minutes. It was a feat stunning in its economy, considering that, in 1958, the renowned climber Warren J. Harding led the first team up the route in 45 days. Often, Potter has climbed thousands of feet carrying no ropes at all, nothing to aid his grip but shoes and a bag of chalk. “Sport is all about being in the zone, when time and space stop and everything goes away,” said Beaver Theodosakis, the founder and president of prAna, the climbing apparel company that sponsors Potter. “Dean holds that zone for hours on end, when the mind can’t wander, when you can’t second-guess, when you have to be so confident and deliberate in your moves. Imagine in everyday life, if we could go to the office like that and not be distracted.” If he was awe-inspiring, Potter was also a polarizing figure in the climbing world. In 2006, he climbed Delicate Arch, the revered 60-foot sandstone structure located near here that is featured on Utah license plates. Technically, it was not an illegal ascent, but Potter came under ferocious criticism, accused by others of slicing grooves in the structure (which he denies) and of
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betraying the soulfulness of climbing with selfpromoting news media attention. “Do what you want, but don’t make it a spectacle,” Cory Richards, a Moab photographer and climber, said. In the uproar, Potter lost his sponsorship with Patagonia, the environmentally sensitive clothing and apparel company. Still, he said he had no regrets about climbing Delicate Arch. “I know we totally respected that place,” he said. He continues to climb with ambition. At the same time, rock climbing has become so mainstream that gyms invite children to scale indoor walls at birthday parties. In the way surfers branched into skateboarding in the late 1950s, Potter was now pushing the envelope in the emerging sports of highlining and BASE-jumping. “I think that partly has been a motivator for Dean, to keep pushing into the unknown and getting a little more fringe as things are getting more homogenized,” Steph Davis, a top climber and Potter’s wife, said. Potter, an Army brat who grew up in New Hampshire, began slacklining in 1993 under the tutelage of a Yosemite character named Chongo, famous among climbers for his itinerant lifestyle and his obsessive musings on theoretical physics. On his Web site, chongonation.com, Chongo warned that even for rockclimbing experts and extreme sport professionals, a misstep while highlining could result in serious Newtonian consequences of action and equal and opposite reaction. Last Thursday at Hell Roaring Canyon, Potter believed he was finally ready to walk the 180foot rope while tethered to a leash around his waist. During a couple weeks of rehearsal, he had felt exposed on the rope, with a touch of vertigo. A parabola of sandstone curved off to his right, never more than 60 feet away. To his left, the gorge yawned a half-mile wide. Straight ahead, the rope was anchored to a narrow promontory that seemed to hover, drawing his vision a mile down the canyon. “When I get in the middle, an emptiness takes over,” Potter said. “I felt a little helpless.”
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On his first few attempts at sunset, the temperature dipping into the 30s, Potter straddled the rope as he fell, barrel-rolling into a sitting position and scooting back to the ledge. And then with impeccable balance and concentration, his arms waving in smooth, swooping motions, he reached midway and beyond. The rope was more taut than a regular slackline. Still, it gave about two feet in the middle and moved a foot from side to side. Potter kept his equilibrium. The leash’s metal ring dragged behind him, giving a reassuring scrape along the rope that was amplified by the canyon’s acoustics. He secured the rope between his two biggest toes, focusing on a yellow flag hanging from the outcropping at the end of the line. He grew more confident and his breathing became shallow and loud and when he covered the distance Potter let out a whoop. It was at times like this, full of calm and terror, Potter said, that he felt most connected to himself and his surroundings. “When there’s a death consequence, when you are doing things that if you mess up you die, I like the way it causes my senses to peak,” Potter said. “I can see more clearly. You can think much faster. You hear at a different level. Your foot contact on the line is accentuated. Your sense of balance is heightened. I don’t seem to feel that very often meditating.” From the time he was a boy, Potter said, he had a recurring dream. He was in the air and people were giving him instructions in high-pitched squeaks, teaching him how to fly. At the end of his dream, he began to fall, dropping toward a dead tree, and then he awakened. As a climber, he came to believe that he might be seeing his own death. But as a highliner and BASE-jumper, he said, he had come to view his dream as an affirmation of flight instead
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a portent of mortality. Potter’s whole career has been moving toward a moment of detachment, said a friend, Brad Lynch, a filmmaker who has spent two years on a film about him called “The Aerialist.” First, Potter climbed with ropes, then only with his fingers. Now he held on by the clutching of his feet. “How little can you be attached to the earth by?” Lynch said. “How thin you can you make the veil?” Last Friday morning at Hell Roaring Canyon, the sky was cloudless. The wind calmed as temperatures rose into the 50s. The leash was gone. Now Potter would rely on a parachute for safe passage to the ground. If he slipped off the highline, he would have four or five seconds to open the chute before he hit the broken rock below. It was imperative that he jump away from the sandstone wall so that he could float safely to a sandy wash on the canyon floor. The landing zone was marked with a circle on the river bed. A yellow flag signaled the wind direction. As Potter stepped onto the line, he seemed not yet comfortable with the 12 pounds of extra weight from the parachute. When he fell and straddled the rope, it became more difficult to roll back into a sitting position. His movements, fluid without the chute, were jerky now, less certain. After a few tries, he said he needed a break then changed his mind. He walked 15 feet or so along the line, lost his steadiness, stuck
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his left leg out as a counterbalance, windmilled his left arm, then bounded on both feet off the rope, dropping into the canyon. He chute opened with a popping sound and he wafted toward the river bed, overshooting the landing zone in his bare feet, cutting his foot slightly on a rock. “It’s still intimidating” without a leash, Potter said after climbing back to the canyon rim. “There was no noise from that steel ring holding me onto the earth.” Still, he clearly relished the liberation of his brief free fall from the line. “I flew a little, oooh, yeah, pretty nice,” Potter said. At sunset, he gave it another try, but his second parachute was a pound or two heavier. Potter seemed tired and wobbly, sticking his left leg out for balance, then his right. Again he hopped off the rope, gliding toward the river bed, landing this time like a leaf on water. In a week, he thought he would be able to walk the entire line. Already, he felt one step closer to flying. “Part of me says it’s kind of crazy to think you can fly your human body,” Potter said. “Another part of me thinks all of us have had the dream that we can fly. Why not chase after it? Maybe it brings you to some other tangent. Chasing after the unattainable is the fun part.”
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A climbing partner of mine made a trip to Albarracin in October 2007 and was all praise for this fairly new bouldering area. His description was of a magical forest with huge, red boulder stones and giant roofs, which offered a wide variety of problems and still had near endless potential. So instead of visiting one of the usual bouldering haunts this Spring, I decided to give this area a try.
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Nestled in the Southern most region of the autonomous state of Aragon, the Sierra de Albarracin is a unique combination of winding valleys and jutting peaks, seamlessly intertwined with the Sierra de Cuenca. The town itself, situated at 1200m, is a magnet for tourists and has a rich history, including being an Islamic state and afterwards a Christian kingdom. This is reflected in the remaining castle walls and towers that line the hills just above the streets. The architecture of the town is charming and it offers a number of bars, restaurants, and hotels for relaxing during rest days. There is a post office and also a number of corner shops that offer limited supplies. Make sure to pop down into town and have a drink at the Molino del Gato, which opens at six (except on Wednesdays) and is often frequented by climbers. The town is unique in that it is placed in a very remote part of the state, yet still has good transport links and can easily reached through big cities. Low cost carriers fly to Madrid, Zaragoza and Valencia, and from these three cities one can get to Albarracin
in around 3-4 hours by car. It’s best to aim for the capital of the region, Teruel, and from there follow the signs for another 40km to the town. Teruel itself has a number of supermarkets, and as I’ve heard, also a handful of historic sites worth visiting. The bouldering area can be accessed by driving over the bridge in the middle of Albarracin and following the road until it splits to the right and winds its way up the valley. There are two main parking areas, and the second one even has partly sheltered parking slots. A number of people brought along tarps which they fastened above the wooden beams of the parking slots to create shelter from the rain. Some even used tents, but it should be pointed out that this is forbidden, and the mountain police do pass by to check. The forest is split into a number of sectors each with its own assortment of bouldering problems. According to the online topograph there are currently 10 in total. Sector Cabrerizo is just along the road after the first parking area, and has a handful of good problems, but isn’t well visited, meaning many of the boulders are hard to find. I can definitely recommend the Muro de piedra rock which contains the best problems of the sector and a very nice roof.
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Sector Parking is just next to the second parking spot and has a number of easy problems. However the area is not that great as there is a lot of rubbish and waste lying around. But since you only need to walk about a minute to the first problems, it is worth checking
I didn’t manage to find Sector Sol and Sector Masia, but a friend said they contained a variety of good problems especially in the upper 7’s. Sector Sol is very exposed, meaning it dries quickly when the sun is out, or when there are strong winds. I also did not visit Sector Tierra Media, but I heard mixed opinions on it. As there is no topograph for the sector, finding the area is difficult (40 min walk), let alone the problems themselves. The two best sectors for me were Sector Arrastradero and Techos. Arrastradero has a huge variety of problems, both easy and hard, and contains some of the best test-pieces of the forest. There are a number of slab problems, as well as very physical roofs including some hard mantels. Check out boulder number 23, El Varano (8a), which is a stunning line along a huge nose. Sectore Techos (roofs in Spanish) contains some of the biggest roofs I’ve ever seen. The amount of quality lines here is staggering, including some massive high-balls. However, the rock is prone to seepage and does not dry as quickly as other sectors when there is rainfall. If you’ve trained a lot indoors, this place will be the ultimate playground for you. Since 2007 the Sectors Madriles, Psikokiller and Valle de la Madera are off limits during January through August due to bird nesting, so we did not climb in these area, but they are said to have some good routes. So as a whole, how does the area hold up? Quite good in my opinion. What there is at the moment provides some excellent climbing with perfect rock conditions.
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You’ll have to do a bit of exploring though as many of the problems are not featured in the topograph. While the potential here is truly endless (there are thousands of rocks in the forest), there a very few marked problems in the lower grades (4-5), and you’ll have to brush things clear yourself to find routes to warm up on. There are a lot of problems weighing in at 6a to 6c, and also a good variety throughout the 7’s. Be wary of the brittle sandstone on some problems. There are a lot of routes with loose holds, and I would not trust some of the wafer thin flakes. The forest itself is beautiful and the surroundings could hardly be better for a vacation. My guess is that as the area becomes more famous, the development of the sectors will pick up. A proper topograph would certainly help make the area more appealing to the casual climber. As it stands Albarracin offers a truly different experience to places like Fontainebleau and Annot, with its own unique brand of red sandstone bouldering mixed with Spanish flair. While I find the title of “Spain’s Fontainebleau” slightly exaggerated, there is no denying the charm of the area. I am positive that, with the right attention, it will become, if not already, Spain’s premier destination for bouldering aficionados.
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This a of fo rticle fo o c footw twork: m usses o n as co ork, and aximizin the mo s g forc unterpre agility. M weigh t basic e e on t l hand ssure an ore adv on feet, ements a q d s, ar e no maxim nced to uiet pi iz t add ress ing dire cs, such ed. ction of
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Effective footwork is the key to enjoyable progress in Rock Climbing. Most (if not all) books and articles on the subject of rock climbing technique make this point effectively. My personal experience is that small improvements in footwork have provided me with large improvements in my ability to progress in technical difficulty. Better footwork has also improved my overall climbing endurance, since I’m using my forearms less and flowing smoothly and quickly up the rock or wall. This has improved my onsight ability, since I have more “gas” to spare figuring out crux moves in real time. This article focuses on the most basic elements of footwork: maximizing weight on the feet, quiet footwork, and agility. More advanced topics, such as counterpressure and maximizing direction of force on hand holds, are not addressed.
The first step in improvement is to set up a “feedback loop”: you have to be aware of your footwork so that you can make adjustments. Climbing is a very complex movement centered sport. Your climbing on a particular day is affected by your mood, your energy level, your skill at the specific type of rock and movements required of a climb, etc., etc. The key to increasing awareness is to set up exercises that reduce or eliminate other factors so that there is a very direct relationship between your footwork and your climbing. Here are a few that work for me. Some of these I have discovered on my own, and some I have learned from fellow climbers or read in books. I encourage you to purchase and read as many books on technique as possible!
This is a very basic exercise I recommend for beginning climbers. Stand, feet shoulder width apart, facing a wall and place both palms flat on the wall as if “under arrest.” Do not clench hand holds. Now lift either foot as if to place it on a higher foot hold. Obviously, if you have your hips centered between your feet you cannot lift a foot without some help from your hands. If you cannot get enough friction from your palms on the wall, you will fall. To lift your foot with confidence, you have to shift your hips so that your weight is on the stationary foot before unweighting the foot you intend to move. Very simple, no? Yet, when most climbers are climbing, they do not shift their weight onto the stationary foot before moving the other foot. The result is that they must “hang” from their hands while they move their feet. It’s a small amount of effort, but it adds up with every step.
This exercise is the natural progression from “Assume the Position!”. Pick a climb well within your abilities. Whenever you move a foot from one foothold to another, first lift it and find a static, stationary position with the foot “flagging”--not on any foothold. Jockey around and feel for the balance point where your weight is fully on the stationary foot. Take your time and really strive to put the least weight on your hands. You are working towards a fluid climbing style where you shift your hips before lifting a foot, and you do such a good job that there is no need to move your weight around once the foot is “flagging,” because you have automatically moved to the balance point before lifting your foot. Note that as you progress, this exercise is still useful. Your movement and balance changes from front on climbing to back steps, to lay backs, to twist locks on overhangs... The Patriot is an excellent warm up activity.
Agile feet know many different ways to help you climb. Improving your footwork agility is as simple as trying to discover many new ways to use your feet to progress. Here are a few: On a straightforward face climb, try it three times in succession. On the first climb, face your body to the left, using the inside edge of your left foot and the outside edge of the right foot. On the second climb, face your body to the right and use the inside edge of your right foot and the outside edge off your left foot. On the final climb, face the wall and use the tips of your toes to climb. This can be strenuous for beginners, but it’s the fastest way to strengthen your foot muscles and your technique at the same time.  This is a game that can be played alone, or in a group. An easy climb or bouldering wall traverse with many options for feet and hands is needed. The first climber simply climbs the route. The first climber should not make an extreme effort to use a difficult sequence: the journey from easy to difficult is the point of the exercise. Note which holds are used for feet and count them. The next climber must use exactly one fewer foothold. If holds were used for both feet and for hands, the next climber may still use them all for hands, but one hold that was used for feet must be eliminated.
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Having extremely “quiet feet” is an important component of good footwork. What are quiet feet? Feet that don’t scrabble around looking for their final resting place on a hold and feet that keep movement on a hold down to a minimum. In many cases, quiet feet alight on exactly the right place on a hold in exactly the right “attitude” and do not move until they move to another hold. Quiet feet do not smack into the wall and then slide down onto a foothold. Quiet feet do not slouch on a hold, rolling about and leaving rubber smeared everywhere. Quiet feet do not slam into a hold, regardless of how much precision is used to direct them. The alight on a hold like a hummingbird hovering to drink nectar. Quiet feet are often accompanied by an active climber who looks the feet onto each hold with precision, who scans the climb ahead with as much attention to where the feet will be placed as to what the hands will grasp. Try to exagerate your quiet feet as much as possible, especially on a warm up climb. On a climb with relatively straightforward footwork, try for any of the following exagerations: Silent footwork: try climbing while making absolutely no noise with your feet. Tip toe! One touch: when you place your foot on a hold, do not move it around. If you need to change its position on the hold, castigate yourself and then lift it off the hold and replace it in the new position. Strive to eliminate even this crutch in favour of finding a position that would serve your movement onto and off of the hold. Soft shoes: wear the softest slippers you can find. Old shoes that have their soles worn paper thin are perfect for this. Climb, feeling every hold with your feet and toes.
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Don’t watch the your feet or the webbing, focus your eyes on something eye level near the end of the webbing and let your balance tell you where to put your feet.
Relax.
Don’t lock your knees. Keep them at least partially bent and keep your arms out. To really improve plan on twenty minutes as a bare minimum time for a slack session.
HAVE FUN. Don’t concentrate too hard or get frustrated. Just keep trying and have fun. At first, just trying to stand up on the line can be daunting enough. Sometimes it’s wise to have a bit of help during that very first little bit. Ideally, two spotters on each side, holding their hands is best. Some other things that we can recommended: a hand hold rope over head high on the line, balancing pole like tight rope walkers, support sticks kind of like trekking poles (avoid sharp pointy things though). Being barefoot helps, or at least wear tight fitting shoes that won’t let your feet slip side to side. If you do wear shoes, make sure they are tightly laced and won’t wobble side to side. If you wear shoes, thin soled shoes give you the most feedback and avoid aggressive tread that catches and can trip you. Climbing shoes work ok, so do various thin soled shoes (skate shoes are best). You may find shoes let you spin easier for turns and jump with less pain, but barefoot lets you grip better since your foot will contour around the line.
Welcome to the beginning of a love affair that is sure to last a long time. The Charger 40 is the best seller of all of the Freeflow Lines and is sure to meet all your expectations. This 40 foot line is the perfect size for learning and can be set up extremely tight or as loose as you’d like. The system comes with our custom-made tensioning ratchet that is outfitted with ultra strong pre-sewn 2” webbing for unsurpassed strength and toughness. The rubberized extra long handle is comfortable and easy to use providing excellent leverage for really cranking down those lines. The kit also comes with our selfequalizing tension buckle for getting the line as tight as you want.
Pick up a stretch of flat one-inch nylon line, find two fixed anchor points, set up your rope, and you’re on your way to counting yourself among the growing legion of slackliners: essentially do-it yourself wilderness tightrope walkers. Making use of a loose, elastic band like line rather than a tight metal wire, and a harness rather than a net, slacklining is a bouncier, more mobile version of its circus bound cousin. The sport got its start in the early 1980’s in California’s Yosemite Valley, where climbers began setting up slack tightropes to kill time in bad weather. In 1985, 22-year-old climber Scott Balcom successfully walked the 55-foot rope highline of the park’s Lost Arrow Spire, 2,900 feet above the valley floor, and pushed the sport to a new level. “I’ve never been so scared in my life,” he days. “But it’s addictive.” Today, freestyle slackliners on waist lines perform one-footed 360-degree spins and backflip dismounts, while highline masters walk, untethered, 90- to 120-foot ropes stretched across chasms several hundred feet deep. Gyms in California, Florida, and Iowa are offering beginner classes; West coast surfers are setting up lines on the beach; teenagers in Telluride, Colorado, are learning slacklining in school; and in California, boyscouts are earning merit badges for achievement in the sport. Three years ago, slackliner Ric Phiegh cofounded the sport’s first information and retail Website, slackline.com. His next move: setting up a competitive course on his land near Joshua Tree, California. “It’s gaining momentum,” says Balcim. “Once people see it, they want to try it.”
900 feet of nothingness below me and the only thing separating me from the sharp talus below, is a slackline. This is my first highline and I’ve never been more terrified in my life. The sun’s setting over the central valley and it calms the wind stilling the air. For a moment time stands still as I stand up and begin walking, not knowing how far I would get. Suddenly I feel the pull of gravity on my left side and start to lose my balance. I desperately try to regain my center but only get further away as I dive into space praying that I catch the line. The Rostrum is located in the lower canyon tucked between Elephant Rock and Pulpit Rock on the south side. Peregrine Falcons nest there for most of the year and its closed to climbing and slacklining, but it opens in the fall which is the best time to be there. National Park Service has guidelines for highlines so check the Camp 4 information board first.
The summit can be reached by parking in the dirt turnout after the long rock wall ends while driving south on Hwy 41. After hiking down the dirt trail, turn right and traverse the cliff. Climbing skills are required to rig the longer lines but the shortest line is accessible on both sides. All of the anchors are fixed but a backup is wise. The ease of the summit access combined with the amazing exposure makes this location a popular spot for first time highliners. I’ve witnessed many “first steps” at the Rostrum, mine included and I’m sure there’ll be many more to come Lost Arrow spire, located just right of upper Yosemite Falls, is 2,800 feet off the valley floor. The exposure is so intense you almost get dizzy when you first approach the edge. The rigging process includes a 275 foot rappel and three pitches of A2. There’s a campsite near the spire and Yosemite creek flows almost year round. Bears are prominent in the area so get some bear canisters and your backcountry Permits at the Wilderness Center. Approaching from the valley is four miles uphill. From porcupine flat on Hwy.120 its six but almost all downhill. This is one of my favorite places in Yosemite and it will continue to cast a shadow over the valley tempting every generation of slackliners. It was August ‘05 marking the twentieth anniversary of the first slackline crossing of Lost Arrow. I hiked down from Porcupine The enormous haul bag on my back pulled on my shoulders urging me to stop for a moment to take everything in. I could see the valley below and all the familiar places but from an airplane’s view. The feeling I had was different than any other. Probably the way an astronaut feels when he looks at earth from space. We had decided earlier that Damian (who I had just met) and I would climb the spire on the first day and he would lead. My goal for the trip was to camp one night, walk the spire on the second day and hike down the trail to the valley by the second night. On top of that, cinematographer Cyrus Sutton was planning to meet me to film my first walk and needed to leave at the same time as us. If the spire didn’t get rigged on the second day, everyone would be forced to stay. We took our time climbing the spire because my leader only had a little aid climbing experience. I had just met my new climbing partner and had no idea what to expect. Every piece he placed got thoroughly bounce tested making every move twice as long. In the middle of the second pitch the sun sank behind the mountains and it quickly became dark. We had one headlamp between us and a long way to go either way. We fixed our high point and rapped into the notch in total darkness. Once I reached the top, I ran back to camp to find everyone in their tents asleep. I awoke before sunrise and walked out to Yosemite point to watch the golden light pour into the valley. I was refreshing and gave me a lift after the epic day I had climbing the spire. Everyone slept in and had a big breakfast not yet knowing of my time constraints. Corbin and Clay summited the spire around noon and hot the first line between the flake and the spire. After a few minor complications, the slackline was pulled tight and
ready to walk. I rappelled down to the flake which is located about a quarter of the way down to the notch and felt incredibly relaxed and calm as I dangled my legs thousands of feet above the ground. Everything was ready but the real challenge was yet to come. The line looked shorter than the line I had been practicing on but definitely higher. Corbin and Clay soon joined me and got ready to walk. Corbin wanted to walk first and was going for and onsite send. He walked out to the spire onsite and celebrated by walking back without falling as well. Next it was my turn. I could see Cyrus in position on the rim with multiple cameras pointing towards the spire. The sky was beginning to turn orange and I could tell that time was running out. Clay checked me as I tied into the leash that connected me to the slackline incase I fell and didn’t catch the line. I sat there thinking as quickly as possible bouncing the line under my foot trying to feel its tension. After a short goodbye to my girlfriend and daughter on the radio, I was ready. T I ran as fast as physically possible to catch up with Blair and Makaya while trying to reach them on the radio. I found them resting on a rock on the side of the trail in total darkness bundled in blankets and hats without a care and in perfect heath. I was grateful as Sam was kind enough to drive us back up to our cars at Porcupine Flat so everyone could get where they needed to be the next day. The trip was a success and wouldn’t have been possible without anyone I mentioned. All that for 43 steps on a slackline. There’s a strong slackline presence in the valley year round which fuels the highline progression in the summer months. You can usually find a slackline somewhere but most likely you’ll find four or five if you know where to look. The valley lines helped me become the slackliner I am today by offering me the hardest and most diverse scenarios all mixed in with the famous bouldering circuit of Yosemite. Consecutive days of intense slacklining and hard climbing will prepare anyone for the balance and focus needed for highlining. When a highline is up, everyone knows. It doesn’t take long to find out when there’s a highline because it draws a lot of interest through being so visible from the valley. Once you’ve spotted a line, the next step is to find out who’s it is via the Cafeteria or Camp 4. Someone is always present in one of these places who knows what’s going on. Certain people have very protective attitudes about their highlines and who walks them, so always be respectful and don’t walk a line if you don’t know who’s it is.The webbing cuts into my naked arm pit and arrests my fall swinging me side to side against my will 900 feet above the river. My heart pounds so loud I can hear it in my temples throbbing with blood. I’m shaken but not beaten. I‘ll try at least ten more times before I can really say I cant do it. It takes a lot to get comfortable enough up there to actually walk across a line and I know its possible, but just not yet. I can walk lines longer that this in Camp 4 but for some reason its different. The only way to prepare for a highline is to walk other highlines and after today, I’m on a mission to defeat the fears that limit me and cross the Rostrum. ”
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Slacklining
is a balance sport which utilizes tubular nylon webbing stretched tight between two anchor points. Slacklining is distinct from tightrope walking in that the line is not held rigidly taut; it is instead dynamic, stretching and bouncing like a large rubber band. The line’s tension can be adjusted to suit the user. The line itself is flat, due to the nature of the webbin, thus keeping the slackler’s footing from rolling as would be the case of the ordinary rope. The dynamic nature of the line allows for impressive tricks and stunts.