Manage fear on a highline, 3 important tips

Why is highlining so scary? We know how to slackline, we can do it for hours, and our technique is on point. So why is it so difficult to do in the sky? Well, there’s only one thing that a slackline can’t prepare us for, and that’s fear. Let’s explore 3 ways to manage fear on a highline.

1.Trust the gear

Yes, we’ve all heard this one before. This is probably the most common advice we’ll hear when we start to highline. To trust the gear, we have to figure out why we DON’T trust the gear. For me, there are two reasons.

// I don't trust the people who are in charge of gear (the riggers)

Personally, I’m more comfortable getting on the line when I’m not involved in the rigging. I simply have faith that the riggers did a proper job. After all, ignorance is bliss. Think about it. Why do we happily get on a rollercoaster without asking who designed it, how often it’s maintained, when it was last serviced, what is the likelihood of failure etc. Well, it’s because we believe that it must be safe seeing as it’s open to the public. It’s the same for other things like shark cage diving, skydiving or bungee jumping.

“either you can get involved in the rigging process yourself, or you should know the riggers well”

Ok, so what if you’re not like me, ignorance is not bliss and you don’t have faith in the riggers? Well, either you can get involved in the rigging process yourself, or you should know the riggers well. Do you trust them, are they competent, do they prefer small or large safety margins, ask them how and why they rigged the way they did.

// I have limited knowledge of the gear

Ok so now we trust that the riggers did a proper job, or we were involved in rigging and know for sure that we did a proper job. But are you sure that soft shackle will hold? And what if my harness breaks? Oh and what if those bolts pop out? So here we have fear from a lack of knowledge of the gear. We’ve written a separate article that explains that highline gear is super safe. Check it out if you want to get to know your gear so that you can trust it 100%.

2. Leave your fear behind or turn it into excitement

I have to give my friend, Laurence Garrett, creds for this tip. This one is self explanatory and there’s not much to elaborate on, so I’ll give you an anecdote. Laurence scooted out onto the line and I think I remarked on how scary it looked, and he replied “good thing I left my fear behind”. I loved that and it’s stuck with me ever since. I imagine fear as something tangible that I can either put in my pocket and bring with me onto the line, or I can choose to leave at the anchor. Once I’ve consciously decided to leave it behind, that’s where it stays.

“I imagine fear as something tangible that I can either put in my pocket and bring with me onto the line, or I can choose to leave at the anchor”

But what if you forgot to leave it at the anchor? You checked your pockets for phones, wallets, keys etc but you didn’t spot the fear and now it’s out on the line with you. Again in the words of Laurence, turn your fear into excitement. Laurence is one of those guys who’s always super stoked to be there and get on the line. He’s the first to volunteer to get on, he has multiple sessions, he’s cheering after he falls and grinning from ear to ear while he walks. It wasn’t fair. How on earth isn’t he scared, why is it so easy for him, why can’t I be like that? Spending more time with Loz, chatting to him and overhearing his conversations, I realized that he feels exactly the same as me. I learnt that when he feels fear, he chooses to think of it as excitement instead. Change the knots in your stomach into butterflies, the shaking into buzzing, the sweating into glowing, the doubts into possibilities. Take that fear and consciously choose to turn it into excitement!

3. Five minutes of fear

I’ve watched my friends cross monster lines within 10 minutes but I can easily spend hours on a short line. Sound familiar? Obviously they are more experienced and their technique is better, but the point is that it is possible to walk a long distance within a short time.

“the quicker you do it, the quicker it’ll be done”

I say a little sentence to myself over and over when I sit on the line which goes “The quicker you do it, the quicker it’ll be done.” Just think about it for a second, it’s so true. Once I’ve said that to myself, I’m ready to take my line buggy off, get in chonga pose, lift my leg on and either fall or take a few steps. Then it’s done. Boom. 5 minutes. The other option is to sit on the line for 10 minutes before even unclipping your buggy, another 10 minutes to get into a starting position, another 10 minutes to psyche yourself up to try stand and… REPEAT (because often we get to the last step and then back out and start the process all over again). That means you can easily spend over 30 minutes doing, well, nothing really. Plus the longer you spend psyching yourself up, you’re also psyching yourself out.

Something I also like to imagine is what could I be doing in those 5 minutes? That’s the same amount of time as making a cup of coffee, going to the toilet or parking your car. Basically, it’s just a blip of time compared to the rest of your daily routine. When I think of it this way, I’m like “Oh yeah, it’s such a short amount of time to be fearful of.”