MELANGE-Summer 2019

URBAN ADVENTURE
PROSE WENDY PITLICK // IMAGE LUKE ROSS
Balancing on a line a foot off the ground, or walking through thin air between
the highest peaks of Spearfish Canyon presents thrilling adventures in a sport
that is easy to set up and offers tremendous challenges.
Slacklining is the artful sport of walking,
balancing, or “tricking” on a webbed line tied
between two anchors. Set up between trees or
sturdy poles that are a minimum of 10 to 15 feet
apart, the sport closely resembles a tightrope
walk. But instead of being pulled tight, the flat
line allows for a bit of slack, which allows its
users more versatility in motion—and it has been
picking up momentum as an adventure almost
anyone can enjoy almost anywhere.
Closely linked to rock climbing—as it builds
balance, focus, and strength for the core and lower
muscles—it is a natural cross-over sport. Rapid
City rock climber Caleb Larimer started slacklining
while attending college in Sioux Falls, where the
plains left him homesick for the Hills. His brother,
Nehemiah—a slacklining pioneer and inspiration in
the Black Hills—had encouraged him to give it a try.
In slacklining, Larimer found a way to lose himself
in the focus and physical workout that he would
otherwise enjoy on a mountain. It is a unique
“connection to nature and a skill you can build on
your whole life,” Larimer observes. “You can do it
anywhere. A lot of the rock climbing community is
into it because you can just go out by yourself in
the city and get into the zone.”
Slackline users also employ the line to perform
tricks; strike poses to promote balance, jump,
and bounce. For beginners, an excellent place to
get started just walking the line is the Nehemiah
Memorial Slackline Park in Rapid City, located in the
southern portion of Sioux Park near the horseshoe
pits. This area features about a dozen slackline
anchors as well as permanent balancing fixtures.
It’s the ultimate urban adventure, with everincreasing
physical and mental challenges that
arise as the lines get higher and longer. “It’s
my favorite sport,” remarks Larimer, who has
established many slacklines, or highlines, that
are hundreds of feet above the ground and
usually between cliffs and granite towers in the
Black Hills. “I love it because of the flow state
I get into when I’m on it. I just stop thinking
completely. It’s like a moving meditation, where
you are focusing so much that all thoughts
stop.”
26 melangeblackhills.com | SUMMER 2019 MÉLANGE | a mix of Adventure fun 27