Ostrov Highclass Sandstone Meeting

Ostrov Highclass Meeting

Something for everyone

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I  just got back from the Highclass Sandstone Gathering in Ostrov, Czech Republic, where about 40 people came to climb, highline, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.  The event was organized principally by Kwjet Oslaf, and everyone, from the beginners to the pros, had a really amazing time. 

People began to arrive on Thursday evening and, over cheap beer, began to catch up and celebrate at Pod Císařem. Unfortunately, the weather on thursday was miserable and that prevented me from hitchhiking until early Friday morning, but I was there in time to help the others finish up rigging the first four lines.

The Party.

On Saturday, Kwjet and Petr were still busy rigging, they wanted to get at least 4 more lines up by the end of the day, but the temptation to walk proved too strong and we were only able to get 3 more lines rigged.  All in all, there were 4 new lines, 9 lines total, and several spectacular moments.

Tired.

For many people, this was their first attempt to get on a highline, and it was wonderful to see everyone having so much success.  For others, it was the first festival of the season, and that means getting back into the feeling, warming up and starting to feel comfortable again.  There were some big surprises, with some people walking their first highlines onsight, and the New Flo coming back from a 2 year break to walk a 49m and a 47m onsight.  

Late in the day on Saturday

I had a good weekend, walking only in a swami, including the 47m onsight and half-man free solo.  Kwjet also managed some very beautiful onsight walks and even managed to walk 8 lines in one day!

Fabian takes the leap

After everyone had left, Kwjet, Christian and I decided to do a quick rig of a new project that Kwjet had been looking at. Kwjet and I left early in the morning to get started, while Christian helped the germans pack for their trip to Verdon.  When Kwjet and I reached the line, we were both wrecked from the weekend, we had walked a lot of lines, but this spot was something special, and we began to build anchors.

Once we had the anchors build and a tow line across, Christian came up with the pulleys and we began to tension.  Kwjet got the first ascent and thought it was too tight, and when Christian and I walked it we agreed, so we used Kwjet's new banana technology to loosen the line just a bit without any pulleys, and we each walked again, Kwjet in a mini-swami.

All over the place.

So, a wonderful weekend, thank you to everyone for all your help with rigging and supporting one another, hope to see you all next time!

The New Flo

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jordan