THAI-lining!

Well, I'm off to southern Thailand to develop new THAI-lines and explore the world of deep water soloing with an amazing group of 11 US highliners/climbers, and my loving girlfriend Alli. Braden Mayfield will be hosting this group of monkeys at his home on the island of Koh Yao Noi, about an hour and a half distance from the infamous limestone walls of Ton Sai, for the next 7 weeks where many adventures are sure to be had! I will be documenting the trip as the designated videographer while the talented photographer Jared Alden will capture it through his lenses as part of a business agreement with Balance Community (balancecommunity.com), the leading slackline supplier and innovator of slackline gear based out of California. The owner, and great friend, Jerry Miszewski was so kind as to donate a combined length of 750' of webbing for this expedition, so much thanks to the support and love Jerry.... Be on the lookout for the new Thai-lining sponsored video and photos which will tell of the story's trip accomplishments and experiences sometime after we return in mid-April.

Slackline Goes to the Super Bowl!

Slacklining has officially been exposed to the mainstream media/society in a BIG way via Andy Lewis's most recent accomplishment as a professional slackliner at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. It is said that over 114 million viewers were witness to Andy's acrobatic toga act which came with a smooch from Madonna herself! Props my friend, this is sure to be a first for any slacker throughout the world... Undoubtedly this will bring a greater awareness and wider audience to the sport of tricklining, and of course slacklining, as a whole.

Another great addition to Grant Thompson's ever expanding list of highline shorts. They seem to get better and better with time and experience around the slacklife. I am so incredibly psyched to support such vision, especially coming from such a driven and inspiring friend, and there will certainly be more to come from this young and talented videographer/highliner. Best to you Grant and thanks for sharing your vision with us all!

A Glimpse of J Tree

This video was filmed and edited by Christen Hepuakoa Marquez who by a chance happening stumbled upon the sight that is J Tree when highliners have invaded during the new years time. This short film documents the general feel of this unique desert environment to the serenading music of Grant Thompson. The featured highliners are Grant Thompson himself and Brian Mosbaugh.

Humboldt Slackers

The psyche continues to grow and the vision is spreading with Owen Roth's short film about the Humboldt slackline scene... This brings great joy to my heart for my fellow slackers in the moment and the next generation of balanced athletes to come.

Gobble Gobble 2011

An awesome montage of footage from the most recent desert gathering in Moab, Utah. Grant Thompson continues to spread his beautiful images intertwined with his musical talents in a way that only he could... Sit back and enjoy these glimpses of the desert landscape and the amazing balance athletes that dance above its glory and give praise to life.

Monkey Business

The newest and sickest lines in Meteora, Greece brought to you by the ever so talented Somewhereelseland crew. Awesome work and accomplishment guys! This was additionally featured on the Daily Planet section of Discovery Channel.

Cherish and Cultivate the Stoke

Introduction from Grant Thompson, editor and filmmaker of the upcoming movie Highliners:

About four months ago, I didn't know anybody who highlined or even slacklined. I spent hours watching highlining videos, and started messaging every single person who had good videos for advice and help regarding how to get into this sport. Brian Mosbaugh (vimeo.com/​19515101) responded very positively to my message, and invited me to come meet him and his friends around Smith Rock, Oregon. About three months ago, after walking my first highlines at Smith Rock, I emailed Jerry Miszewski saying that I wanted to make a full length highlining film.

He was stoked.

We hit the ground running, and planned out projects to shoot every week. It has been an incredible experience and I am looking forward to more.

Jerry is truly a renaissance man of the slackline world. He shares the world record for longest slackline walked (1260 ft) with Chris Rigby, and shares the record for longest highline walked (375) with Alexander Schulz. He also created own of the most highly revered slackline businesses, Balance Community. He designs tools and webbings that have pushed the sport forward. On the line and off, Jerry reminds us of what is possible in life if you care about something and dedicate yourself to it. He lives with his wonderful wife, Susan, in Davis, California. Go to balancecommunity.com to see more of what Jerry does.

This edit is a sneak peak into the footage we have been getting, what I am going for with my film, and why I believe this sport and the people who practice it are special.

Big thank you to John Bowman for recording this interview, and to Erik Butts (vimeo.com/​etb) for providing me with this editing software and helping me navigate through it. Thank you so much to Jerry and Susan Miszewski for sharing so much with me. And thanks to Chris Rigby, Luke, Atticus, and everyone who has hung out and helped out throughout our various trips.

Cherish, cultivate, and share your stoke. This space we share is sacred, and it is our responsibility to nurture ourselves, each other, and the world we live in.

Music by the Album Leaf

Trailers to Inspire the Human Spirit

The epitomy of epic followed by more epitomy!... Props to all involved in this amazing showing of human potentials.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

Recent thoughts on life captured by the magical words of Dr. Seuss. His descriptions not only represent a metaphor on life philosophy but also ring true for the highlife of climbers and highliners alike...

Scott Bennett on his on-sight
free solo ascent of Zebra Zion
(Photo copyright by Brian Mosbaugh)

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.

No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So… be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So… get on your way!

Inspirational Short

So, I enjoy eating Cliff Bars but I definitely love this advertisement even more. It captures in such a simple and fantastic way the essence of our lives in the moment. When words are lacking and that timeless feeling of being alive burns so intensely inside, sometimes a short montage of incredible people doing incredible things is enough to convey such experiences... I also appreciate the brief Smith Rock clips :)

Yosemite bound...

The title says it all... The footage to come will be epic!

"Where Swallows Fly" highline complete

Here are some shots of the two lines I recently established, rigged and walked between Red Wall and Picnic Lunch Wall at Smith Rock. Chuck Williams cruises the newest Smith mid-line getting the second full man send of "Wizards Cap" while I work my way across the newest highline, "Where Swallows Fly." In the past four days I've hiked heavy loads, bolted two new lines and walked them both full-man with quick work. I feel in great physical and mental shape and am psychologically getting ready for some bigger Yosemite hikes and highlines. Another incredible day finished in central Oregon with a double rainbow at sunset and a big box just received in the mail... It contains 800' of Man-tra webbing and more goodies to match... Go big or go home!

All photos taken by Brian Mosbaugh

"Wizards Cap" Established

New line bolted, rigged and walked today. Around 35 feet long and 25 feet above the deck, it's a great beginners line and reasonable introduciton to slacklining off the ground with a harness and leash. "Wizards Cap" was a line I wanted to establish as a starting point for other slackliners interested in bridging the gap into highlining. It's located above Redwall and spans to the delicate arch feature with two visible holes in the rock. A very aesthetic position for the line with little exposure but great scenic views of the Marsupial cliffs. I'm Headed back in the next couple of days to rig the long Redwall highline I recently bolted, so stay tuned for more photos and footage. The theme now is do something new, be something new, be the first...

Windy Daze Teaser

The newest highline addition to Smith Rock State Park in beautiful Central Oregon. This is now the sixth established highline at the park (my third FA contribution) with many more on the way... I shot this line with the help of generous friends (much thanks to Thomas Sloss, Jesse Brown, Greg Garretson, Dearric Winchester and Mike Volk in particular) using 4 GoPros and a ground camera to capture the long zoom shots. My great friend Thomas Sloss was crucial in realizing this highline, helping to bolt this project and also getting the second crossing while he was visiting. Here is a brief teaser of the line with more detailed footage to come in the fall with the release of the outdoor adventure series The Outsiders. This is a video project that Mike Volk and I are currently collaborating on which will document, with a 13 part series, the spirit of non-motorized outdoor adventure sports. There will be a published episode focusing on the essence of the highline lifestyle, the beauty of Smith Rock and the new FAs I am currently establishing... Enjoy the timelapse footage!

Filmed and Edited by Brian Mosbaugh

Mike Volk (Executive Producer of Outback Media Group) website: www.outbackchannel.com

Musical Artist: http://greenbuttonmusic.com/, "Deans Struggle"

Progression in the Vertical World

BD athlete Adam Ondra making the first ascent of Chaxi Raxi (9b) at Oliana, Spain from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.

Crushing at a new standard!

Publications

share

The Gazzette Times frontpage for Mother's Day of 2011 featured a story on Thomas Sloss and I highlining at Smith Rock. Check out the "share" link above to read the full article and see the published photos. Thanks goes out to Bennett Hall and the wonderful Scobel Wiggins for taking an interest in something a little outside the box.

~B

Lensed Beauty: Sightings

http://tylerroemer.blogspot.com/2011/05/sightings.html

Check out a professional view of the newest Smith Rock highline "Windy Daze". Tyler Roemer's lensed perspectives are sure to stimulate the senses and leave you thinking.

"Windy Daze"

A newly established highline ("Windy Daze") on the backside of Smith Rock has been walked by Thomas Sloss and Brian Mosbaugh today. It was first sent by Brian Mosbaugh (FA full-man) with an Onsight in one direction and then by Thomas Sloss onsight one way. There has yet to be an official measure of the line but our educated guess was around 130 feet in length. We placed 4 mega 5/8 inch bolts (Type 18 Terry style) for each anchor and used stainless steel chain links in place of hangers. The beauty of this rig is that the bolts are easily disguised so as to not obstruct the view and are only accessible if you are willing to climb/solo up vertical terrain and crumbly rock. As a side note, atop one of the formations Jesse Brown found a very old yellow Kodak film canister under a rock that contained a note from the first recorded ascents of the tower back in 1961 and 1969. It's an interesting thought that this time capsule is now 50 years old, a great testament to the history of rock climbers and their continuing exploration of the vertical world. In the end, this line was a pretty tricky send that constantly battled the ripping wind with momentary lapses of calm. Despite the intimidating conditions we pulled out the first crossings and are very proud of the final product. Positioned over an alcove like feature, between two lichened covered rock towers, it parallels the beautiful Cascade mountains and Crooked River in addition to walking directly toward the iconic Monkey Face. A written description doesn't do justice to the postcard view so video will be posted at a later date... More bolts to be placed, more lines to be walked!

~B

Photo taken by/of Brian Mosbaugh

New Highlines at Smith Rock!

As of today Charlie Long, Joel Sprenger, and Jesse Brown bolted a new highline that spans the awl feature on the backside of Smith Rock (just right of Asteriks Pass as you are Monkey bound). They all got the first walks/FAs and Jesse was able to send his second highline!... It's positioned in an aesthetic location facing the river and seems fitting for a first Smith Rock highline since its not as overwhelmingly exposed as many other lines here. Weighing in at about 30 feet it's a very fun angled line... In addition, Thomas and I also bolted a new highline that spans a 130' gap on the backside as well (just down from the awl heading toward the Monkey). It parallels the Crooked River and Cascade Mountains while walking (in one direction) directly toward the epic and iconic Monkey Face. We're heading back to rig the line proper tomorrow and we're all very excited to put up a new FA (First Ascent/Across). I'll make sure to get some good footage of the line and publish some pictures as they're documented. Until then... keep it slack!

~B