Faith Dickey

Womens' World Record Holder

Lonline: 220 meters

Highline 85 meters

Highline free solo: 26 meters

http://www.slacklinemotion.blogspot.com

 

There is a good reason no one can agree on the definition of Slackline. Is it a sport, an Art or an exercise? Maybe it is all of them, for me it is a lifestyle. What began as a summer activity in the Park of my hometown has turned into a life-changing, mind-altering addiction.

 

A year after beginning slackline, I came to Europe to travel and met Jan Galek and Jordan Tybon, among others, who were taking slackline to the next level: Longlining and Highlining. So far it is a limitless endeavor; Longlining requires intense focus for extended amounts of time, endurance and control against the elements. When other thoughts invade the focused mind, balance becomes more difficult. I began on a fifty-meter longline, barely walking half. Now, I have sent a one hundred and fifty meter longline first try both ways. It is not only physical progress, but also mental development.

Highlining took everything I thought I knew about fear and threw it into the sky. To stand on one inch webbing stretched across a void, with all exposure penetrating your vision and unhinging your brain, every iota of your being is telling you not to be there. This is fear and each step across that line pushes it slowly away. This is not a place you can build castles in the air, one can only think about breathing slowly, controlling the movement of your body and the line. It is a self-made rhythm few experience in life. You conquer the line and also yourself. A highline puts a human in the open void where only birds have been before. What makes Highlining extreme is not only the level of fear, but the approach and rigging usually involved and the extreme elements one encounters. The majority of most highlines are in the mountains, between rocky outcroppings or partway down vertical faces. It is a mix of Alpinism, Dirtbagging, creativity and balance.

There are mental training tools such as the swami-belt or ankle leash which also prepare one for Free-Solo; the ultimate test of one's skills and mind. As each level of fear is pushed away, my limits move further away from me. I never knew it was possible to have a passionate affair with balance, however now I see that something so simple can also put other aspects of your life into perspective. This lifestyle takes you around the world, exposes you to beautiful places, interesting people, and gives you purpose. Most of all, I believe it allows an open mind. Now, enough deep conversation! Let's go Slackline!