Arriving on the scene, the cranes looked incredibly huge and strong from a distance. We decided to go take a closer look, but none of us expected what we found. After climbing a five meter high ladder, there was a set of stairs running up completely along the internal tower up till the highest point. In theory, the best and safest way to get to a highline, but in reality there was danger all around. The crane was completely rusted through, and entire sections of stairs had fallen down completely. The plates to stand on had giant holes in them, many steps were missing and some others would have fallen down in case we had stepped on them. Climbing up on the beams also wouldn’t have been an option, since beams the size of my upper leg rusted through and disappeared.

After checking out both sides and discussing with the group for about three hours, we could not find a safe way to make it to the top of the cranes. In case of stairs, steps or beams breaking we could not only fall down ourselves, but also drop huge, heavy pieces of metal onto our friends below us. Often we get called daredevils or risk takers for what we do, but safety for ourselves and our environment is the most important standard in our sport. Highlining is our biggest passion, but when you get faced with these challenges you have to stay realistic and make the right choice. Deciding to walk away from what would have been a beautiful project is probably even more difficult than walking the line itself. If it can’t be done in a safe, responsible way it’s just not worth it.

To deal with this disappointment, we decided to eat a huge amount of Belgian fries. It was during this potato feast that we came with a new idea: One of us had spotted some old abandoned buildings close-by and we all felt like doing some urban exploring. After walking around a bit, Jonas and me decided to enter an old office to wander around. We made it to the dusty attic and when we looked through one of the small windows we saw a super obvious highline waiting to be established. We shortly checked through the room for anchor points, and there were plenty of solid wooden beams to anchor from. It took some time to access the other side of the building, but eventually we found a way in and spotted bomber anchor points as well.

We had to make a quick decision, whether to go home without doing anything, or establishing a really small new highline between these abandoned buildings. It didn’t take us long to decide we needed to do this to get our spirits high again, but also because establishing any new line is fun for me. It’s a great feeling to be in a space that no one has been in before. Walking a line for the first time also gives you a unique view of the scenery you are in, from an angle that no one has looked at it before. It would also be disappointing for the guys from Kassel to drive 600 kilometers just to look at two rusty cranes. After knocking out some windows and making a small plan, we were ready to start rigging finally!

50 meters of static rope provided for a safe, redundant anchor on one side, while Jonas equalized a few beams in the attic on the other side. We decided to skip the tensioning process, because at this length it just isn’t necessary. There’s something really calm in walking a highline without tension, and I am curious to find out what the limitations in length are for this type of highlines. We all walked the line both ways on the first try, and played around for a while before we decided to take it down. Funny thing is that while standing in exposure, you had a perfect look over the two old cranes towering out of the landscape.

This project wasn’t about a mental or physical challenge on the line, but more about redemption for some of the disappointments you have to deal with as a highliner. I’ve never spotted a line, to be standing on it an hour later. Seeing a project in such a location and realizing it immediately gives a different kind of satisfaction than getting a new personal record. In the end, the Kassel boys continued their trip to beautiful Freyr, while the Dreamwalkers started preparing for another project in the early morning next day, which turned out to be the Morning Glory line.

It’s always strange to drive right up to the spot where you will be highlining, because you normally need to hike for a long time with a heavy backpack. Guillaume, Remy and I got arrived at the bridge by car and went over our plan. We had already discussed that we would try to rig the longest line possible under the bridge, so we used Sam’s 105m Core2LS piece, and laid it out along the bridge, to tape it together with Remy’s Sonic 2.0 and checked the length of our project. 100m. Not a meter shorter. Perfect!

Immediately we started rigging. Everyone knew what to do. That’s the best thing about highlining with experienced people. Everything goes ten times faster! After some fun bridge climbing and mini-rig-ropeswing it was rigged. I had just installed the backup on the far-side and went out to highslide to the other side, where Guillaume, Remy and the leash were, to get ready for some heavy, loose highlining. I clipped in with my HangOver and gave the line a big tug, which shot me forward, out over the abyss. The moment I passed over the relative safety of the trees, a gap of 150m of direct exposure opened beneath me. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before. It definitely did not look this exposed from beside the line! I took a moment to enjoy the view, and then went over to the other side.

Guillaume went out first, and I think he had the same experience as I did. ‘Let’s check my knot once again’, he said, with a nervous smile. Then he stood up, and walked. The line was so calm, as were his movements. He got to the other side and back in no time. It looked incredible! He said it was way easier then he expected and above all… totally sendable! Being a natural skeptic, I went on the line without expecting too much from it. I stood up, and strangely enough, the line was incredibly controllable! I walked until halfway with a few catches , and then to the end without any catches. It WAS possible!

Guillaume was the first one to send it on his fourth crossing. Immediately after him I sent it on my second crossing, and after that Remy also on his fourth. We sat there, staring at the barely tensioned line (50-100kg of tension, at least 2m of sag without anyone on it) in disbelief. Did everyone really just send this line like it was nothing? At that moment the sun broke though (spoiler: corniness on the way) and some autumn leaves drifted past on the wind. Guillaume decided to name the line after this moment ‘Feuilles d’Automne’ which means literally ‘Autumn Leaves’ in English. An unforgettable moment in time. A big thanks to Remy, Guillaume, and Sam for making this all happen (so smoothly)!

Pictures by https://www.facebook.com/Sangledessusdess

Location: Undisclosed Time: 6.30 – 8.30 Line name: Morning glory Length of the line: 23m Text by Jonas In summer Tom and I spotted this location and we thought: ‘Wow, this is a perfect location to set a highline!’ But, the location was quite a tourist hotspot and the police are pretty strict in this area. So we decided to postpone this awesome project to a moment where we were really motivated to start rigging early. Peter Soetewey made these beautiful pictures. See http://www.petersoetewey.be/ for more awesome work of him.

In summer Tom and I spotted this location and thought: ‘Wow, this is a perfect location to set a highline!’ But, the location was quite a tourist hotspot and the police are pretty strict in this area. So we decided to postpone this awesome project to a moment where we were really motivated to start rigging early. So, some months went by until…

The evening before the project Tom, David and I were discussing the plan. Yuri couldn’t make it unfortunately, due to his study. We decided to start rigging early and go away before the day was started, because we didn’t want to be sent away. 

At six o clock in the morning my alarm went off. So, so early for a Sunday morning! I woke up the rest of the guys (not easy) and we went to the spot. We had already divided up the gear for each side into separate backpacks and pretaped the line so we we able to rig really fast. We were almost finished within 30 minutes, but David spotted a misaligned shackle. It was difficult to realign, because there was already a bit of tension on the line. At that moment our mission was in danger, de-tensioning meant we almost had to start over again. But with all of us, a hangover and a linegrip we were able to release the tension of the shackle and placed it correctly 🙂

When the sun rose I had the honour of the first attempt. I stood up and immediately felt super confident on the line. The walk towards the other side was short, but I enjoyed every moment! Halfway I started to smile, because I realised that we fulfilled our mission of the morning. Getting up so early with a dreamy mission is a really nice start of your Sunday. Especially when you’re already dreaming a couple of months about a project! 

Tom and David also had an awesome time on the line. David was walking so solid in his green flashy leggings. But when he walked back on his second full man a harbour boat sailed really close by. We realised that we were being spotted, took all the gear within 5 minutes down. We drove happily away and to a nice café for breakfast. When we arrived we high fived each other and went eating Sunday morning breakfast with croissants!