Highliners Travel South for Winter
I have been trying to highline as much as possible in the months leading up to December in the UK. I have had lots of great weekends but they were all plagued with cold, wind, rain, dark mornings and early nights. I wanted to enjoy my three week holiday somewhere warm and the south of Spain sounded like a good bet. I knew El Chorro was a great place for climbing and a few highlines have been done there already so this was where we decided to go.
When Sam and I arrived we went out looking for highline spots so we could start rigging the next day. We went to check out the gorge even though it was closed off because of the reconstruction of the Caminito del Ray. We went through the tunnels as the guards were not about and found some amazing gaps right at the top of the gorge but the reality that we might get shut down and aggravate the police against the climbing community made us decide to look for somewhere else. Luckily Tom had some ideas and showed us the next day.
We spend the next day rigging a line on the back of Frontales in the rain. After deciding where we wanted the line we could rig one side natural by threading a massive block and bolted the second side (Thanks to Tom for lending us the equipment and teaching me to bolt!). We decided not to tape the line while it was wet and waited for the next day to try the line. The next day was cold but not raining, we played on the line for most of the day but in between tries is was pretty freezing - this was not the sunny Spain I was looking for! The next day was raining again but we had fun on the line anyway.
Finally we got three days of sunny weather which made the line and chilling out much more fun! The line was rigged on SLACKTIVITY redTube with DMM 10mm static as backup. I really love this set up of loose, bouncy, nylon and I have being trying to walk 60m highlines like this for the last six months. To start with back in Adršpach in July I could hardly take a step on a line like this but I love the feeling of how the line moves in waves and the challenge of trying to control this volatile snake beneath my feet. I was trying quite hard to send the line this time and I had a lot of good tries walking about half of the line but usually from around the middle. The beginning for me is always the biggest challenge as seeing the line making waves in front of me and having all the weight there feels difficult and intimidating.
On the last day I had a few tries to walk and managed with just one catch in the middle, which felt amazing. The main thing for me was just to enjoy the line and have fun so I didn't get worked up about sending and we just played around detensioning the line to about 18m sag and trying to stand up in the middle and take some steps! The highline wasn't the most exposed but had a nice view and it was great to play around on a line for a few days to really get the feel of it, I often find it hard to get used to a line so this was nice. For this trip we wanted to put up a line as long as possible but at this spot there is potential for a really nice 40m line if anyone is interested....
Sam left after a week and I decide to stay at the Olive Branch for a few more days as Will and Becky had arrived and there was a really nice group of people working there that were a lot of fun to hang out with. We rigged the 35m highline on Las Encantadas, that Guy had bolted the year before for Will to try. It wasn't the best for an easy highline as the gap caught a lot of wind but it was a really nice spot looking down at the climbers, the hostel and the view across the valley. I had been waiting for a chance to sleep on a highline and this was it! I got a few people to come up with me for a night session but I was finding it pretty hard to walk with the wind and lack of seeing anything. The others had a few tries then headed back down to their warm beds. I packed all my sleeping stuff into a bivy bag - double sleeping bag as I was scared of getting cold! I had hung a rope under the line to act as a wind dampener but had not taped it up. I slid to the middle of the line, set up the hammock and tried to get comfortable but the wind was vibrating the line like crazy. I had to get out of the warmth and tape up the rope then only the hammock was blowing in the wind. It was a great place to sleep in a hammock for the first time. It wasn't the best sleep in the end but it was worth the experience. The next day I chilled in the sun and walked the line with double webbing, double rope, super loose. It was realy nice to control and I tried some blind walking, this line felt easy on my mind and body after the last week.
I got a few days of climbing in which was great after not climbing much in the past year. I was keen for multipitching and did an amazing 5 pitch trad route on the face of the gorge with Jimmy. I definitely felt more at home on a corner crack with trad gear on my harness then the bolted single pitch I was doing a few days before. I remembered why I also love climbing - the feeling of total involvement in the task and absorption is the movements. Christmas day was a highlight, highlining in the morning then 10 pitches all the way up to the top of Frontales with Will and Becky ending at the highline spot. Followed by an amazing Christmas dinner and party at the Olive Branch, what a great way to leave El Chorro! Thanks to everyone I met at the Olive Branch for the great time. On to the next adventure....
I was up at 5.30 to fly to Nice and met Dan at the airport. We hitchhiked to La Turbie a town just above Monaco where we were meeting people for highlining. We were the first ones there and didn't know where the cave was, after bad directions from some Czech climbers we found it - as good as a hotel for slackliners! As we didn't have any gear to start rigging we contacted Ugo who lives near Nice and hitched towards Saint-Jeannet to have a go on the 90m line he has rigged above his house. 40 minute hike up the mountain and you have an amazing view over Nice and out to sea with the Italian Alps popping up behind the hills. The double neon with rope backup was not as hard to control as I expected and I managed to walk a bit - last weeks training probably helped. We came up again the next day with Yuri, I could have spent quite a few days on this line too, I like the challenge of something difficult but La Turbie was calling. Thanks to Ugo for his hospitality I was so jealous of the place he lives with beautiful scenery and amazing possibility for highlines!
We headed back to La Turibie in the afternoon to meet the others who had spent the day rigging a 25 and 35m line. Me and Dan could not wait until the next day to try the lines so went out in the dark prepared with lights and music. Its an interesting exerience going on a line for the first time in the dark, although the lights of Monaco were shining on the yellow side of the Sonic webbing. Dan walking the line was impressive, he made it look so easy. I found it difficult trying to walk back to the anchor but when I walked towards the wall it went well. I walked most of the line whithout falling which felt amazing when you can hardly see what you are walking on but you can feel how the line and you body move so well. Getting off the line my body and mind felt so relaxed and peaceful. As the next day was my final day we got up early to session the lines again. Surprisingly I was walking much worse in the light than the night before but after a bit of time I was enjoying the line and enjoyed some good blind fold tries. Yuri, Guillaume and Ugo had rigged a 115m double webbing line right on the edge of the cliffs, such a cool exposed spot I had to have a go but caught my foot on the leash after standing up a couple of time and decided to call it a day......
Until dark at least when me, Dan and a few others went again to the 35m line. Here I had a crazy experience walking towards the wall as my gigantic shadow balanced in front of me. Someone flashed the head tourch which made my shadow disapear for a second and then reapear. I asked them to put the head torches on flashing so the three sat there did. As the torches were flashing at diffrent frequencies and from different angles I could see my shadow going crazy on the wall. I walked to the end and just stood there watching it, as I stood just barley moving my arm the shadow was dancing. My mind was blown by this experience, I felt totally in the zone; no thoughts or fears were in my head.
Again I woke up at 6.30 so I could pack and go on the line before I had to leave. The sunrise above Monaco was pink and beautiful - again an amazing way to leave a place! In just a 13 day trip I had so many mind blowing experiences, I pushed my mind and body, enjoyed the sun, met a lot of cool new people and enjoyed time with many friends. I hope to have adventures with you all again soon!
As highlining is so mentally involving it is hard not to learn something new about yourself on a trip like this. I always feel like i'm fighting and struggling with myself when i'm on the line - to get into the zone, to stay standing, to keep walking when I feel out of balance. These things limit me but so many times in the last few weeks I have felt in control, calm and fighting to the limit and each time i've come off the line with an amazing feeling which is what i'm looking for.