Re: tightrope walker at taft point

Went on a day hike to taft point this weekend and saw this.




Didn't stick around long enough to see if they made it all the way across on a later attempt, but it was fun to watch from so close. The rope walker said he could walk this same length of rope on the first try between two trees five feet off the ground. Something about a 1000 ft drop and an elevated heart rate which made Taft point more difficult.

Who needs that Walenda guy anyway!

---

"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams

Slacklining!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacklining

Or, I guess it looks like "high lining" in that case.

It would have been cooler if it was a zip line to the valley floor — or better yet — to the top of El Cap!

Not sure if these guys are there everyday, but it might be every weekend. Observed one of them for about 10-15 min during my south rim hike a month ago. It was extremely windy, and the guy lost his balance a few times. They are hooked into a couple of safety lines.

Did Dean Potter cross from Taft w/o safety? If so, that's nutsoid.

A lot of folks have crossed high lines without a safety line - several at Lost Arrow. It's a "free solo" slack line, like free solo rock climbing. Not sure about Potter at Taft.

An interview I saw with Potter said he is fully confident in his ability to catch the line if he falls.

Here he is crossing at Taft. I find his performance much more interesting and graceful compared to Walenda.




And here, across Yosemite Falls.

On one hand, I generally like to see the view without the touch of humans on it, on the other hand. WOW. Just WOW.

Thanks for posting that video! I'm amazed how much flailing of arms and legs he does, yet still no safety rope.

Lot's tougher without a balance pole.

Dealing with the wind must be extremely difficult. Hard enough to do it in calm conditions, but with gusty winds, just amazing.

.

I went by there last August, noticed some new-looking hardware, and wondered what it was for.






I don't remember the exact location but I think I'd passed most of the fissures and was getting close to Taft Point. Maybe someone can figure something out from this shot?

Those bolts are set in the granite to provide anchors for ropes used in rock climbing, and also potentially for slacklining. There are some at the Upper Yosemite Fall overlook, just beyond the railing, and all over the Park.

More on climbing bolts:
http://climbingcollective.com/2013/03/10/project-rebolt/

Thanks for the Climbing Collective article.Last September, someone had left a rope in place up the cliff wall not far from Oh My Gosh Point. It sounds like they were from another group doing very similar work. Here are a couple of pictures:





I take it that the bolts near Taft Point are multi-purpose and could originally have been put there by climbers or ropewalkers. I'd never noticed bolts in Yosemite before but then again, I don't spend that much time near the edges of climbable cliffs. Would SAR ever take the time and trouble to place bolts for a rescue? Use existing bolts like those? Use their own (non-bolt) equipment instead?

--------------------------------
Edited to add: I still can't tell for sure, but Dean Potter could very well have been using those same bolts.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/2013 01:05PM by gophersnake.

Guess I'll share one of mine. Don't think I got one with anybody actually walking across on it.

I am pretty sure my first step would be the one sending me flying through the air! I think I would rather take my chances floating on an inflatable pool lounge in the Emerald Pool!!