“Practice everything that you can at home.”
Preparation
Episode 2 of 7
This is a free course shows you how to use a highline that is already set up. Our courses are A-Z content in blog format, glued together with an overarching blog we call a textbook. A blog format is easy to read, easy to update, and easy to translate. Be sure to begin at the TEXTBOOK and at the end of each episode we'll point you to the next.
If you are going to a highline festival or invited to a highline project, then you don’t want to waste that precious opportunity trying to figure out things you could have learned at home in the park. We make sure you have the right gear, know how to use it and can mount the line and stand up on it. There is a lot more to highlining than just the walking part and we observe “newbies” exerting a lot of energy on things they shouldn’t, wearing themselves out, limiting the amount of time they can enjoy the fun parts of highlining.
Some Preparation Tips:
Learn your harness before you need to use it
How to put it on
How tight it needs to be
If it is auto locking or requires double backing
Practice tying a figure 8 to your harness before going highlining
DON’T PRACTICE WALKING A SLACKLINE IN THE PARK WITH A LEASH. It could flip you upside down hitting your head on the ground. We need to fall feet first in the park and head first on highlines so this cannot be practiced in the park.
Practice climbing a leash in the park on either a slackline just above your head or tied around some monkey bars
Climb a leash by flipping upside down, putting a foot, thigh or shin on the leash, then reaching over to pull yourself up high enough to grab the highline
Practice mounting (going from underneath to on top) on a slackline that is high enough that you don’t hit your back on the ground when you hang underneath. Use your legs as counterweights to flip over to the top of the line
Practice line sliding in the park on a line high enough in the middle that your butt doesn’t rub against the ground. Please don’t walk on slacklines that are too high to fall off safely
Get comfortable going from one anchor to another
Gently test what happens when you aren’t straight so you can see how it rubs the edges of the webbing
Practice clipping and unclipping it while hanging on from underneath
Play with different keeper sling options (so you don’t drop it)
Practice slacklining in the park (obviously) but not just tight lines, practice loose lines as well as many highlines feel like that more often than tight park lines.
You CANNOT practice falling for highlining in the park. You must fall head first and do a flip each time you whip on a highline to not get thrashed around by your leash and this you can only visualize to prepare, or watch lots of highline videos
Prepare your backpack
You will need 2 liters of water on a normal day and 4 liters on a hot day
Bring snacks that sound delicious (and not just sugar) because after you have adrenaline in your system you won’t feel like eating
You may also need sunscreen, bug spray, toilet paper, camera, and something to contribute to the team
Bring empty space! Have a bag empty enough to help carry gear.
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