“Greetings from Triglav’s northern wall, more than 1,000 metres above ground, where we set up two new lines,” shared the creators of the Sphynx highlining feat on their Facebook site after their successful adventure.

The idea had come from Miha Škof, a member of the Balansa slackline club, who invited his ropewalking friends from Germany and Austria for a “walk” along the 80-metre-long slack webbing tightened from the Sphynx.

To reach their goal, the mightiest wall in Slovenian mountains, the group had to trek up the mountain, set up the webbing, which took four hours, and also brave the weather, since Mount Triglav was wrapped in clouds and fog almost the entire time.

Walking virtually into the unknown did not bother all slackliners, especially not Julian from Germany, who walked the entire length without a fall, while two others only fell a few times. Miha did not manage the longer, 80-metre-long distance, since – as he put it – the weather factored in. “Very thick fog, clouds – I’ve never experienced anything like it. Far from ideal weather.” However, he did walk across the 20-metre slackline, which the group had also secured. As Miha emphasized, safety is well taken care of, since they have additional ropes that catch them in case they fall off the rope.

The group has already found inspiration for their next year’s adventure on Triglav. Julijan noticed about a 400-metre-long line. “It’s a difficult challenge, since even tightening the rope would not be easy.”

Slackliners had received permission for their incredible experience from the Triglav National Park, which showed trust and open-mindedness towards highlining as one of the activities in the mountainous world.

Slacklining also a sports activity
Highlining is not being practised in Slovenia much yet, says Miha, but he teaches those who would like to try walking the slackline much closer to the ground. He describes slacklining as a form of physical and mental activity, modelled upon the age-old ropewalking, which has become very popular. Both slacklining and highlining are not merely fun but also a form of competing with one’s self, adds Miha: “In addition to its many other advantages, I’ve also found I can compete with myself, trying to improve my skills, limitations and beliefs. To learn and master a useful mental activity and be able to use it someplace else, too, like engineering or dishwashing, is what makes this an even more fun game with interesting challenges.”

Dolores Subotić, MMC; translated by K. Z.