"Line of Sight" Highline

Full Gallery: HERE

     Tuscon, Arizona held unexpected highline possibilities atop Mount Lemmon. We had heard there were some lines in the area, and completed three beautiful highlines, one even being a classic from Scott Balcom and Darrin Carter. After four days there, one might have thought we could continue on our journey feeling satisfied; yet the rocky, half emerged spires rising from the mountain sides were whispering to us, we needed to leave a new highline established in the area.
   Daily we scanned the steep hills, squinting our eyes trying to distinguish gaps from shadows, wondering how easy approaches could be, and figuring length as well. Ultimately however, scrambling to the actual rock is the only way to determine whether a highline is possible there. The last day we had the Hawks Bill highlines up, Jordan and I did scramble to a spot, trying to find a tower one could see from the distance. I headed downward, to look up at a gap, and Jordan scrambled atop some rocks and we agreed the spot was worthy of a highline.

Rigging in the wind.

     The next day we borrowed our friend Matt’s truck to drive up the long, winding road to the Windy Point on Mount Lemmon. The day was warm and sunny, but once atop it was clear that the wind was relentless. We scrambled to the gap, Jordan hopping up on the mushroom shaped boulder that would be one anchor, while Janek and I searched for the quickest, easiest climb up the other side. We found the shortest way on the other side, however as Janek climbed we soon realized it was not a route---but a chossy mix of square, fallen boulders with a few places for gear.
    I belayed while Janek ascended, soon he was out of sight and then he called out and I began climbing. It was not difficult, only sketchy because of bad quality rock. Once atop, we turned to view Jordan on the other rock; however it was clear that where he had bolted was at least a meter above our tower.
    It was disappointing, especially considering the beautiful exposure of the line. We argued for some time about ethics of establishing an unlevel line, but in the end with limited time we went for it. Jordan completed the bolting on one side, as we hucked over the rope, then Janek threw the rope to Jordan who tied it to the webbings, pulled them across with a backpack attached holding drill and gear.

Faith getting the first send on-sight, full babe in swami.

    Atop our tower the wind whipped around us, seemingly never pausing. I regretted leaving my jacket near the bottom. Soon I had drilled the three holes to be our anchors. Janek followed suit by blowing out the dust and hammering in the expansion bolt. This rock proved harder to drill into than some of our other locations. Blowing out the dust with a straw was like a joke for the wind as it powered the dust straight into our faces.

    The next step was setting up the anchor, and then attaching the pulley system, line grip to the backup webbing, and tensioning. We repeated the process with the other webbing, using Type-18 as a backup and threaded tubular as the main line. Janek taped, and I rappelled down to the other side. It was then that we batted around the first ascent, and I was allowed the opportunity for the line I spotted.

Jan sending on-sight full man in a swami

    There is nothing like strong, whipping winds to deter one from highlining. Our new line stretched with exposure on three sides, and the wind hit it from the side with force. I tied into a swami-belt and walked the line, fighting against the sideways wind as it wobbled the line. The beginning was a downhill walk, and after a breather on the other side I returned on the uphill journey. Jordan came next, also donning a swami and walking very stably crossed both directions on sight.

   Around this time Scott Turpin showed up, excited to see a new line in his home-highline area. We urged him to give it a try, and he scooted out and tried several times, walking solidly until near a boulder one could see out of their peripheral vision. After a few tries he took a break and Janek took his turn. His steps were slow and measured, his knees bent. Several times he stood so still I was speaking from below to “take a step!” yet; as usual Janek completed the line on-sight.

Scott Turpin

   Scott tried again after Janek, walking both directions. The day was successful, we all sent and the line was established. It was unlevel, but not tragically, and as it was on the highest point, the views were astounding. We took down the line as the sun set over Tuscon, and the golden lights of the city grew brighter and the sky grew darker.

    We had to leave the desert and continue to Texas, yet Mount Lemmon remains a worthy highline location to return to with endless possibilities for highlines, some probably involving long hikes but worthwhile.

Full Gallery: Here

Story by
Faith Dickey

Hawks Bill Highlines

Full gallery: HERE

 After the amazingly beautiful "Old Man" Highline, it was time to send some more lines. In short, we walked 4 highlines in 4 days, tricklined, climbed and had a blast with Tucson crew (special thanks goes to Quinn Carrasco, Matthew Donahue and Scott Turpin)!
 We went to set up the two Hawks Bill lines with the Tucson crew. The shorter one was 50' and the  longer measured in at around 150' long. Both lines are around 200' - 300' above the ground with mind-blowing exposure and beautiful view of Tucson.
 The idea at the begging was to rig and walk both lines during one day but, as always, it took a bit longer in reality. We got both lines rigged during one day and the three of us sent the shorter line. Everyone had great time on the line. Scott did really nice and smooth walk in a swami, Quinn through up some nice trick and was super solid on the line all the time, impressing all of us and Matt got some goo tries.

Matt being epic

Janek got second free-solo in Tucson which is highest leash-less send so far. Just before the sunset Jordan walked the 150' OS&FM. That was really cool send to watch and our new rig (mantra + type18 back-up) seemed to work pretty well.

Janek sending 150'

 On the second day we installed some crazy system to get some nice and smooth highline shots. We left only one bolt and rigged the rest of the anchor work with spansets and camalots. After watching the footage - it was 100% worth it! The footage could be better but we learned a lot and continue to improve, a never ending learning process. Faith and Janek both got OW send although Faith almost send other way but the wind and the sun decided other way. Janek had a pleasure to make friends with few bees on the way to the other anchor. Something went wrong and after an attack he ran away like a sissy.

Crazy instalation

  The movie should come up in a while. You have our word - it should be pretty amazing! For now, check out photo gallery from Jordan and the movie from Scott, Quinn and Hayden putting up the FA of the longer Hawks Bill line. The post from our 4th line on Mt. Lemmon is coming soon!

Full gallery: HERE

Peace & SlackOn!
Janek

Old Man Highline

Scott pulling  up the lines.

So after LA, we travelled to Tucson, Arizona to meet up with Quinn Carrasco and Scott Turpin to repeat some spectacular lines on Windy Point, Mt. Lemmon.

See the full gallery HERE

Jan free solo

The first, Old Man, was established by Scott Balcom and Darren Carter, if you've never heard these names before, shame on you :)
because these are the original gangsters of highlining.  This was one of the lines that they were using to practice for the spire, seeing as it's almost exactly the same length.  They were trying out different rigs, seeing what was most comfortable and safe, it's really cool to have been one of only a few people to walk this classic but virtually unknown line.  

 
You can see a video made about Darren that Scott made here:
 (it's a pretty awesome video, by the way.  check to see how much slack he has in his line.  also, take a look at 'slackdaddytools' channel on youtube, there are lots of amazing old videos)

Quinn is a badass.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SlackDaddytools#p/a/u/1/QD-KJpHAGDE



Just a quick history recap, Scott Balcom rigged and walked the first highline ever on the spire, and before that under a freeway overpass in Pasadena.  Darren was the first person to free solo the Lost Arrow Spire and was a huge influence on the sport as it was developing in the late 80s and early 90s.  Both of them were out there highlining before there was any sort of research or knowledge about what would happen, and for that we give a huge amount of respect.

Faith free solo

Over the years, the bolts on the one side of the cliff had gotten old, and with the original rigging, the line was completely unlevel.  So the line was re-bolted by Quinn and Scott Turpin who are also further developing the area.

We were also able to bolt a new line, about 35m at the very top of Windy Point, pics coming soon!

Scott completing the full-man

Jan and Faith both added another free solo to their resume, impressive and inspiring for the others to watch. 
More stories and pictures from highlining at Mt. Lemmon coming soon!

See the full gallery HERE

Jordan

New Old Picture Galleries

Hey everyone,

just playing a little catch up, getting some old galleries up on the website, so here they are:

Austin

Moab

Ghost town

jordan

Robot Vs. Dinosaur [New 30m Highline]

ROBOT VS. DINOSAUR

Full Gallery: Here

God. Damn. Canadians.

     As our last adventure in Mexico, we were finally able to set up a line in Cataviña.
    After many hours of searching, which was funny because we were sweating without tshirts on and our mexican friend Nathan was in heavy jeans, a flannel and with a jacket wrapped around his waist.

     But we walked for an entire day, in three different locations before we actually found the line.  Everyone had pretty much given up and took a siesta to eat something, but jordan had seen a possibility right at the entrance to the last location, and went back to check it out.

Faith sending in the ankle leash

The line was not extraordinarily high, but still quite exposed and just a lot of fun to walk.

    Late in the day, Janek managed up the effort to make the free solo,

Walking the ankle, preparing for the free solo

so Janek has a new free solo personal best at 30m.
Huge congratulations go out to him.

Faith sending Onsight in an Ankle Leash

Charlie Long was also able to walk the line without too much difficulty.  this is impressive seeing as how he has only successfully completed one line before this, and even that was only 7m.  So also a lot of respect to charlie.
     He and Thomas are still raging in Mexico, they established 3 lines since we left, the most recent over a waterfall.
We'll post a link to their pics as soon as we get them.

That's it for now, tomorrow we leave for Tuscon and possibly Flagstaff, then to Cathedral Rock and then back into Texas. Keep checking in to see the new projects!

Jan Getting the First Send

Full Gallery: Here

Thanks for reading.

Jordan

GGBY Video

Hello again,
Well, after about 25 hours and 5 upload attempts, the most frustrating of which reached 99% with only 2mb left before the internet died, the GGBY3 video is finally uploaded and ready!!  Jordan spent 12 hours a day for 3 days plus collecting and converting video from the ancient camera.

 But here for your hedonistic pleasure, we have turkey slaughter, guns, and nudity, all from the infamous GGBY gathering in Moab, Utah each Thanksgiving.   Oh, and there were also a couple of new highlines.


To read more about GGBY III gathering click HERE

Jordan

Mexico Trip [Trailer] MOVIE

  Another movie trailer, this time from our latest adventures in Mexico. Full movie coming soon!



Highliners:


Faith Dickey,
Jordan Tybon,
Jan Gałek,
Charlie Long,
Thomas Sloss


Footage: Jordan Tybon, Faith Dickey, Jan Gałek, Charlie Long, Thomas Sloss
Music: Instituto Mexicano Del Sonido (El Microfono)
Edit: Jan Gałek

Big thanks to Nathan from Mexico and Thomas and Charlie for help with taking the footage! See you soon!!

Peace & SlackOn!
Janek

Joshua Tree [Trailer] MOVIE

  Short preview of our dirtbag adventure in Joshua Tree. Full movie coming up soon. Stay tuned!



Highliners & Climbers:


Faith Dickey
Jordan Tybon
Jan Galek
Thomas Sloss
Charlie Long
Jono Armstrong
Dave Meyers


Music: Blackalicious
Footage: Jordan Tybon, Faith Dickey , Jan Galek
Eidt: Jan Galek

HD version coming up soon on our vimeo account!

More stories from Joshua Tree: HERE

Peace & SlackOn!
Janek

Rest Days

After the first new line, 'Las Desgracia de Coches,' we were pretty beat up. The car had broken down (count them) a total of 4 times, the line was a beast and pretty much kicked our asses, and basically we were just really dirty and tired and needed a break.

Full Gallery: Here

So on the way from Parque Nacional Sierra San Pedro Martir to Cataviña, we stopped for two days on a beach just outside of San Quintin, where we met Fidel and stayed at his place. He was an incredible guy, he gave us free firewood, lent us his surfboard, and came to hang out for an hour or two every morning; he also enjoyed the pornography the canadians had bought to use as bribes for police officers. Thankfully we didn't have to use them, so we got to enjoy them for the duration of the trip.

So here are some pictures from the beach, we set up a trickline between the cars and had some good times hunting clams with only a bit of success.

Thomas broke his head with the surfboard, when will the canadians ever learn that they will never be cool surfers like americans? Then again, they did bring the Playboy...

Full Gallery: Here
Jordan

Ghost Town Gas Station

While staying in Cataviña, we had noticed an old, abandoned gas station just sitting there with nothing to do.  So we decided to rig up a couple of lines for the locals who had been so nice to us, and to get some nice pictures at sunset.

Full gallery: Here

We had stopped to help a group of women who's car had overheated, who happened to be travelling to Cataviña as well.  It turns out that they had a hole in the radiator and had to go back to the next town to have it repaired, but the eldest needed to get to her family, so we took her along with us.

She was extremely nice, and introduced us to Nathan, a local who had some knowledge of climbing and nature.  He was also an amazing photographer, you can check out his website here:
http://nathanvelasco.tumblr.com
and we were also allowed to camp on their property for free!  We stayed amongst a sea of dead cars and tractors, but with plenty of space and plenty of firewood.

A huge thanks to Nathan and the people at the cafe in Cataviña, we will see you again soon!

Now for some pictures:

Full gallery: Here
Jordan

Speak Up!

  It is really nice to get positive feedback and opinions from our followers. We are really happy that people seem to enjoy what we do and the way we are trying to capture our adventures. We will be happy to hear all the constructive opinions. All the advices are welcome too! If you want to join our e-mail list and get more info and extra stories e-mail your data to jgalek@www.somewhereelseland.com . Down below you can find our favourite quote from Steve:

"You guys are amazing. I seriously contemplated quitting my job and embarking on some grand journey after watching your videos"

Thanks Steve!

Peace & SlackOn!
Janek

Mexico Trip

  Two days ago we came back from our 12 days long trip to Baja in Mexico. Together with our two Canadian friends Thomas Sloss and Charlie Long we shared some amazing moments, laughs and highlines.

  It was a big adventure which costed us a bit more money than we thought. Apparently Mexico is not so cheap as we imagined. Our car "Rambo" seemed to be not co-operating with us. We could enjoy our trip after 'Micky-Mousing" the ignition switch, putting new gas pump inside the car and overheating because of the fuse failure. Not to mention we just rebuilt the car engine before going to Mexico.

Towing car preparation

  We managed to put up two highlines in different parts of Baja. Our first line was about 54m long and 25m up high "Las Desgracia de Coches" (eng. car misfortune) Highline. Jordan got the first send, which is probably the first highline in Mexico. Faith got the only full walk on the line and name it afterwards. Jordan and Janek sent the line only one way although had some good tries on the way back. Thomas and Charlie had some nice attempts and got some cool experience on such a big line.

Charlie Long on the line

  We stopped on the beach to rest before next project in Cataviña. We got tent and Thomas extra cut on his had thanks to surfing board. We were ready to go back to the desert after nice slackline session on the beach.

  Because of helping women on the side of the road standing next to broken car we got to meet Nathan - locals from Cataviña village. This young man is really nice guy, great photographer and son of the Cafe's owner. We were allowed to camp for free on the junk-yard behind their place. Cataviña is insanely similar to Joshua Tree. Although there is no Joshua Trees but bunch of cactuses and other spiky stuff and ... no rangers. Unfortunately the rocks are much smaller then rock in J. Tree. The rock quality is pretty bad although there is a lot of good bouldering (definitely needs metal brush to clean some holds). It was hard to find the spot, but Jordan managed to find really nice one. Faith and Janek sent the line with the ankle leash and Jordan in a belt-loop swami. Janek got the first ascent and and later on walked 100' long 30' high line leash-less FM. The line was named by Jordan "Robot vs. Dinosaur" Highline. Thomas and Charlie sent the line OS-OW and FM. We were really happy for both of them but especially for Charlie. It was his second highline send after the "Chongo Gap". It is a big jump! Congratulations dude, well done!

Jan Gałek sending

  We spent the last day tricklining and enjoying time together slacklining with some locals. Nathan sent both lines (Gibbon and 1" tubular)! Jordan got some amazing photos and it was a good 'chill out' day. We were pretty tired. Really hard sun, the dust and Jordan being sick made the three of us willing to come back to US. We said good bye to our good friends Thomas, Charlie and Nathan, left our Jibline for Nathan and started 15 hours drive back to LA.

  After 'only' three military check-points, two border check-points including searching our car by the drugs sniffing dog, being stopped on the highway by police officer without any reason and than had to ask him to jump our car after the battery died we were back in LA.

  Dirty, tired but happy we rest right now and soon we will share more photos, full story and the movie from our adventure. We just have to go through 33GB of video footage and bunch of photos (big thanks to GoPro and Thomas and Charlie for help with filming). We miss our friends and Mexican food. We will come back one day ...

Big fire

Faith being badass

Here is the LINK to the full photo-gallery from "Las Desgracia de Coches" Highline on our website.

Peace & SlackOn!
Janek