Desert Towers, Epic Highlines and BASE Jumping Oh My!
The privilege of being surround by so many inspiring and gifted people in this outdoor community is a constant reminder that life is continually progressing toward greater happiness through new adventurous pursuits and achievements that we all get to share with one another. As a quick summary of events; Andy Lewis was able to gather the monkey resources of psyche, community and gear to get everyone assembled at the base of four desert towers in Hell Roaring Canyon to challenge many adventure skill sets ranging from difficult rock climbing, rigging, highlining and BASE jumping that ultimately allowed us to mature from the experience through new success and struggle.
All in all, four separate desert towers were summited (The Warlock, The Cauldrons and The Witch), two beautiful tower highlines established and four new BASE jumping exits opened. As far as logistics go, it took a solid 3-4 days of hot exposed adventure rigging/climbing to gain access to all these points in order to prepare for the accomplishments ahead. With two new highlines established; Demonix (51 meters/167 feet long) and Diabolix (67 meters/220 feet long) many visiting slackliners saw new personal bests go down while Andy himself was able to span both lines on his first attempts after many long days of raging through the trying desert conditions. Seeing so many people struggle through fear, apprehension and difficult circumstances, while having success in the end, is always an inspiring note to end on. Scott Rogers, recovering from a very serious tib/fib fracture only six months ago, successfully walked both highlines (setting a new PR) and even joined Andy and I on a BASE jump from the summit of The Warlock tower, which hasn’t happened in what seems a long time. Sharing these types of adventures together as a group of friends and athletes always brings us closer and I love seeing the elated smile of my friends after landing a canopy. It’s a precious moment that I lack words to describe its excellence.
Watching my personal heroes overcome huge life obstacles and come out on top as wiser better people reminds me that I’m surrounded by the right crowd and instills pride in my heart. This community has always inspired me to improve my focus and balance and this past adventure helped stoke the fire even more as the summer heat kicks in and the desert adventures continue on. It was a pleasure sharing this experience with everyone involved (Faith Dickey, J.R. Racine, Ray Diaz, Daniel Albrecht, Monica Beck,Parker Gales, Dan Krauss, Aleta Edinger, Andy Lewis, and Scott Rogers) and I know we’ve all stepped away from the experience as better people with a bigger smile on our face and new stories to someday share with the grandchildren. Last of all, I look forward to sharing the upcoming video edits with everyone in a few weeks as Scott and I will be editing and publishing soon. Until then, I hope everyone continues to love life, push themselves in new directions and share amazing experiences with the precious people they’re surrounded by. Slack on!
Source: http://www.slacklinemedia.com