The Line of the Weekâ¨
Auburn, California
First Ascent Highline
As I finally touched down in Reno after being airborne and puddle jumping oceans for some 20+ hours I found myself extremely glad to had my feet fixed on the ground again. There’s a feeling you get when you’ve been off the deck for a while that feels a bit like that rocky sensation of being on a boat. It’s a loss of equilibrium. Rolling back into the Basin it was a baffling 50 degrees and hardly felt like anything that represents a ski season. As they say, “One man’s feast is another man’s famine”.
This feast belongs to Jerry Miszewski of the Balance Community (www.balancecommunity.com). Jerry has been walking lines for a few years now and if you have ever seen his style and poise on a highline you may think to yourself that this is one of those people who is more comfortable hovering above the ground.
I got the call that Jerry was putting up a new line in a gorgeous area in Auburn. I checked my blank schedule and busted down to snap some shots. The sun was scorching as I wound down the winding lowland roads. Upon my hike into the gorge, which my questionable directions led me to, I could here voices echoing off the granite walls. When I arrived into a full view of the gorge I could see the first sign of slacklines. There was a low line setup at the bottom of the gorge just above the water. I noticed a few people attempting to walk the line without falling into the icy waters. I heard a drill and followed the sounds.
Jerry and a small crew were fixing the highline. It is an art form to try and walk these lines and a completely different art form to set these lines up. It takes skill, precision and time. You want the line to be straight, untangled, and have the proper tension. You don’t want to be walking down hill especially when the line is a couple hundred feet long. They fixed anchors, walked the line across the gorge and set it up for it’s first ever ascent.
I watched from a perch above the gorge, a spot below the line and a vista across the way, as Jerry placed one foot in front of the next. His gazed was fixed on the far end as the line bobbed both up and down and side to side below his feet. At one point he paused in the middle as a breeze blew through the gorge. It’s amazing to see the effect of the wind on a slackline.
After about ten minutes of walking across the one-inch piece of webbing, a hundred or so feet in the air, Jerry had his feet back on solid ground. It was a completed first ascent and I believe the first line ever set up in this gorge. It goes to show that when the snow conditions suck it’s time to get creative and find some new outlets!
“Cosumnes River Gorge (CRG) is a hidden gem that is perfect for our sport of slacklining. The wide chasm of pure granite allows us to setup an enormous range of lengths of slacklines, which gives us the opportunity to build our skill level quite rapidly. Plus, the aesthetic appeal of CRG makes walking these lines that much more enjoyable. Not to mention there is an amazing waterline spot directly beneath our established highlines that makes this area the ultimate slackline playground.” – Jerry Miszewski
TO SEE THE ENTIRE – SLACKLINING PHOTO GALLERY
CLICK – Ryan Salm Photography – Slacklining Photo Gallery
The Line of the Week is a weekly photo piece by Ryan Salm featuring some of Tahoe’s finest athletes doing whatever we deem rad. We will be using the term “Line” loosely to describe anything resembling chutes, big airs, pointers or any general madness. All images are the property and copyright of Ryan Salm Photography. All images are only to be used in conjunction with the Line of the Week. Any other usage must be cleared in writing by Ryan Salm.