It takes most people 10-12 minutes to walk 1 kilometer, or two-thirds of a mile.
Now imagine traveling that same distance on a slackline, nearly 2,000 feet above the earth. That’s what professional slackliners Nathan Paulin and Danny Menšík did in the French Alps in mid-April.
The two daredevils set a new world record for walking the longest highline in history at 3,346.5 feet. Paulin broke his own record, doing it first in one hour and 15 minutes. On his third attempt, Menšík walked the same line in just 40 minutes.
“You need to stay concentrated all the way,” says Paulin. “The hardest part was the end. I thought I was so close, but I had [over 650 feet] to go.” (Red Bull)
The set up for the attempt was as impressive as the walk itself. Eight people helped over the course of two days. A 2.5 mile hike with over 1,600 feet in elevation gain and 175 pounds worth of equipment got the crew to a place where they could string a line high above the river La clue d’Aiglun in southeastern France.
Here’s the scary footage from their world record setting days:
