The video above is the eye-popping result of 200 hours of work, serious hand-eye coordination, and a complete lack of fear of heights. Specifically, at the center of it is 1,000 feet of slacklines, threaded across Onomea Stream on Hawaii, and a pair of adrenaline-seeking daredevils who dare to cross them. The “slackladder” in question was constructed by three-time world-record holder Sketchy Andy Lewis and Alex Mason, with support from their sponsor Red Bull. It’s made of nylon, polyester, and exotic fibers like dynema and vectran.
What makes us say wow here—aside from the beauty of the surroundings—are the gravity-defying acrobatics of Mason, a 19-year-old pro slackliner from El Cerrito, California. What could possibly go wrong 50 feet in the air? Well, aside from the obvious. Each slackline has between 1 and 2 tons of tension at either end, so if an anchor rock comes loose—or the line frays—Mason could suddenly find himself down with the Tahitian prawns and goby fish in the stream.
Upon finishing (sorry for the spoiler), Mason ends up surveying the course, and his feat, from a capacious “space net” at the top of the ladder. From there, we imagine, he has to somehow get back down.
