Tightrope Walking

Patrick Donnelly · 01-14-2010, 06:49 PM

Does anyone know where to find any information on tightrope walking, particularly with regards to setting up the line? I've grown fond of slacklining lately and would like to give the wire a go. Unfortunately, all of my searches for info have led me to books and articles about sociology (such as "Social Work and Child Abuse: Still walking the tightrope?" by Dave Merrick), which isn't very helpful at all. So, if anyone possibly knows a resource for this sort of info, please let me know.

Also, "Man on Wire" was an awesome documentary, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.

Garrett Smith · 01-15-2010, 04:16 AM

Have you looked up "circus" groups in your area?

For example, here's the folks in my area:
http://tucsoncircusarts.com/

No tightrope walkers, but they would likely know where to find the info...

Rick Deckart · 01-15-2010, 07:28 AM

Have a look at this site---lots of material in chapter 3.

James Evans · 01-15-2010, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Puetz

Have a look at this site---lots of material in chapter 3.

Peter, I hope you're not trying any of this jackassery. You're too old for circus tricks!

Eyes on the prize, eh?

Patrick Donnelly · 01-15-2010, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Puetz

Have a look at this site---lots of material in chapter 3.

Wow, that is great stuff. How in the world did you find that site?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garrett Smith

Have you looked up "circus" groups in your area?

For example, here's the folks in my area:
http://tucsoncircusarts.com/

No tightrope walkers, but they would likely know where to find the info...

That made it surprisingly easy. Took about 30 seconds on Google to find a club in north VA (after having already spend 2-3hrs looking for general info), about an hour away, and one that even does tightrope stuff. I'll shoot them an email to see if I can get some specifics answered, and maybe even stop by for a visit.

Patrick Donnelly · 01-18-2010, 02:02 PM

Hm, tightwire walking is starting to seem less and less feasible, due to the requirements of the anchors. In order to hold the wire taut without much of a drop in the middle, it takes a few thousand pounds of force (and mathematically, as the sag goes to zero, the tension goes to infinity). The easiest riggings for tightropes are small free-standing things, which wouldn't make for anything flashy. This'll require some more thought.

Kelly White · 01-21-2010, 09:15 AM

Just wait until you can do a backflip on the slack line.

I bet if you had a short run with some pulleys and turn buckles you could get it tight enough. To mess with.

Loose stuff is much more fun anyway

Patrick Donnelly · 01-21-2010, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kelly White

Just wait until you can do a backflip on the slack line.

That would be sweet, but it's a long way off.

I just started messing around with slackroping in the past few days. (See this, this, and this for examples of experienced walkers, though the second two use wires rather than rope.) That's one hell of a challenge. There's a lot more side-to-side wobbling, which was the hardest part of slacklining, and the changing angle in the rope more than makes up for the lack of vertical bounce. It was extremely easy to set-up too, even easier than a slackline (which constantly needs to be retightened, regardless of how tight you pull the line).

I'll keep messing around with the slackrope for a while, and see how that goes and what can be done with it.

Kelly White · 01-21-2010, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick Donnelly

That would be sweet, but it's a long way off.

I just started messing around with slackroping in the past few days. (See this, this, and this for examples of experienced walkers, though the second two use wires rather than rope.) That's one hell of a challenge. There's a lot more side-to-side wobbling, which was the hardest part of slacklining, and the changing angle in the rope more than makes up for the lack of vertical bounce. It was extremely easy to set-up too, even easier than a slackline (which constantly needs to be retightened, regardless of how tight you pull the line).

I'll keep messing around with the slackrope for a while, and see how that goes and what can be done with it.

Wow. I just want to swing around on that high one.

What are you using for the line?

Patrick Donnelly · 01-26-2010, 05:39 AM

About 40ft of 3/4" manila rope. Simply walk it around the base of a tree, flick the rope up a few times to get it over head-height, tie it off with a timber hitch, and repeat on another tree 12-18ft away. Like I said, it's much less work than a slackline.

Also, be prepared for some sore feet at first. You might want to try wearing a soft-soled shoe unless you already have very hard feet.