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Walking is the hard part By Becka Cremer mer@kansan.com
An easy guide to setting up a slackline
It may look as if they're tightrope walking, but the barefoot students you see walking about four feet off the ground are practicing another sport entirely: slacklining. A few carabiners and about 100 feet of nylon webbing is all it takes to set up a slackline. With this handy guide and a few days of practice, you'll be ready to show off your skills.
What you need
—Three climbing carabiners ($10 each). The self-locking type are the safest, says Noah Hoel-sher; rock climbing expert at Sunflower Outdoor and Bike, 804 Massachusetts St.
— 60 to 80 feet of 1-inch climbing webbing ($24-$32)
— Two 10-foot pieces of climbing webbing ($12). Hoelscher recommends two-inch webbing for the shorter pieces, which are used to anchor the line to two trees. The wider webbing is more difficult to find, he says, but is gentler on tree bark than one-inch webbing.
Choose some trees
Find two sturdy trees or similar objects about 30 to 40 feet a part. The shorter your slackline, the more stable it will be and the easier it will be to walk on, Hoelscher says.
Figure 1
Set the anchors
Each of the 10-foot pieces of webbing will anchor one side of the slack-line to a tree.
1. Tie an overhand knot on a bight at each end of each of the 10-foot pieces of webbing (see Figure 1). This will create a loop on each end of each anchor piece
2. Wrap one of the anchor pieces around a tree and thread one loop through the other (see Figure 2).
3. Hook a carabiner to the empty loop (see Figure 2).
4. Repeat on the other tree.
Figure 2
Hook the line to one tree
The long piece of one-inch climbing webbing will form the part of the slackline you walk on.
1. Tie an overhand knot on a bight at one end of the line.
2. Clip the loop from that knot onto one of the anchor carabiners. Close the carabiner.
Set up tightening device
1. Walk toward the other tree, holding the webbing. Make sure it's not twisted. When you're about 10 feet from the other tree, use a clove hitch to hook the third carabiner to the line (see Figure 3).
Figure 3
2. Feed the excess webbing through the carabiner on the free anchor.
3. Loop the webbing through the carabiner attached to the line.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3, tracking the line under the previous loops so it will stay in place (see Figure 4).
Tighten the line
1. Make sure your slackline is about four feet off the ground.
2. Pull on the loose end of the webbing until the line is tight. There is not a set rule for how tight the line should be, Hoelscher says, but generally, a tighter line is easiest to walk on.
Graphics by Becka Cremer
Hop on
Some expert slackliners can perform back flips and 360-degree spins on the line, but everyone starts the same way: by standing up. Kick off your shoes and ask a friend to sit on the line behind where you want to get on. Hoelscher says. Your friend will help keep the line stable and make standing up easier. Then, focus on a spot that isn't moving so you don't lose your balance.
"If you look at the line when it's moving, shaking back and forth, you'll fall." Hoelscher says. "And if you look at your foot you'll fall."
Some beginning slackliners put crash pads under the line to break their falls, says Mark Perry, the outdoor pursuits graduate assistant at the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center.
Don't get discouraged if you can't walk on your slackline right away. Keep practicing. Hoelscher says.
"Most people can stand on one foot and take a couple of steps in a couple of afternoons," he says. "It seems to be pretty intuitive." JMP
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February 5,2009