MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Fall 2017

but trees and rocks a hundred feet below, this is the longest highline in Ontario to date. With a western wind blowing at them, it didn’t stop them from rigging the one-inch-wide line and sending it. Henry Galas was the first to cross the distance. Fishell followed soon after, also sending it. Sitting on the limestone promontory, we watched as Keaton stepped out into the air. The sun was just setting, the wind was gusting, but Keaton stepped onto the line confidently. His first seven steps went smoothly, then as he tried to make his eighth step, his other foot slipped and he popped off the line dramatically, tumbling toward the treetops below. Which begs the obvious question: what happens when you fall? And the answer is not much. While pretty dramatic to watch, highliners are usually tethered to the line with a four-foot length of dynamic climbing rope. People who do this are well trained to grab the line as they fall past it, but in the off chance they don’t manage to do so, they’ll simply dangle about four feet below the line. They don’t scream or panic like the people spectating, they simply wrap their leg around the tether and scramble back up. The impressive part is when they sit cross legged on the line then work their way back up to a standing position without the use of hands. While Keaton didn’t manage to send the line that day he was still a treat to watch. So how do you get into a sport like this? “You have to practice first,” say Fishell. “Start with the two-inch line, one foot off the ground and then move up to longlining. Get a longline rig, and walk about 100 feet just above the ground, and go with experienced people. You yourself will not know how to check all the redundancies and that you’re not exceeding gear limits, unless you’re with someone that has done this for a while. You’ll learn the rigging from someone that wants to share that knowledge with you. And when it comes to highlining, use redundancies and don’t do it alone. Don’t exceed the working load limit of any piece of gear and always check your gear. Don’t take any chances.” For many, it’s difficult to get past thinking these guys are idiots with a death wish. But when you watch them rig the systems, prepare to get on the line and then see the focus required to walk along it, it’s obvious there is a ton of passion and concentration involved. “If I’m being fully honest here, it’s my Zen,” says Fishell. “It’s my religion. It’s the church I go to on Sunday. When I’m cruising along a 300-foot line and I’m in that locked zone, I am just beyond happy. Even though I may not have a fully smiling face, I’m beyond happy on the inside, because I am so in another world, that people don’t understand unless they’ve been there. It’s amazing. I live for that feeling. And that’s why I keep doing it.” —Colin Field 22 ML BLUE FALL 2017 They don’t scream or panic like the people spectating, they simply wrap their leg around the tether and scramble back up. Keaton McCallum demonstrates what happens when you fall. COLIN FIELD