Walking the Line

The Princeton community is experiencing an increase in slackers.

Three or four days a week, they can be found in front of Foulke Hall, traversing inch-wide nylon webbing lines between two trees 20 to 30 feet apart.

A small, dedicated contingent and some others have set up an informal group that take a nice day, a few trees and nylon webbing and make it into what Denali Barron '09 calls "a social, mildly athletic activity" — slacklining.

Slackliners walk across and perform tricks on a band of nylon webbing strung between two anchors. It differs from tightrope walking because the web is not pulled taut. It has plenty of give and bounce to it.

The boom of the semi-organized campus "slacking" movement began with the creation in early September of the "Princeton Slackers" facebook.com group by Hannah Grimm '09. Grimm discovered slacklining in spring 2007 when her friends, Barron and Sam Borchard '09, set up a slackline outside Witherspoon Hall and began an impromptu week-long slacking festival.

The three, all Outdoor Action trip leaders, are among the driving forces behind the growing Princeton slacklining community. They also all work at the OA Rock Climbing Wall. "Denali, Sam and I are all rock climbers, so we are trained in tying knots, making top rope anchors and using carabineers, which is all you need to set up a slackline," Grimm said.

The correlation between rock climbers and slackliners on the Princeton campus is no coincidence. The modern slacklining movement is considered to have started in the early 1980s when two rock climbers from Yosemite Valley, Calif., began to walk on strung-up climbing web in parking lots.

The Facebook group functions to alert its members as to when and where slacklines will be set up. Robert McGibbon '11, also a rock climber, is the most advanced and skilled slackliner of the group, Grimm and Barron said.

Basic tricks in slacklining include standing on the line, walking, turning and bouncing. More complicated tricks include sitting down on the line, lying down and jumping on it. McGibbon, who began slacklining as a sophomore in high school, can perform complex combinations of these tricks.

But the group isn't competitive, McGibbon said. "We are supportive. There are a lot more tricks left to be done, and we congratulate each other when we accomplish something new. Hopefully more people will come out because the more people there are, it's more likely to have someone who can do something awesome."

Students have been slacklining on campus sporadically for the last 10 years, but this is the first time that there has been an organized group, said Jim Consolloy, grounds manager for the Grounds and Building Maintenance Department. He has worked with the slackliners to establish guidelines for preventing damage to the trees used as anchors.

"We do not want to hurt the trees in any way," Barron said. The slackliners follow the guiding OA ethic of "leave no trace."

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To not damage the bark, where tree circulation occurs, the slackliners wrap cardboard around the section where the webbing anchors are tied.

"We'll do whatever the grounds people say. No one wants to disobey. We are not out to make enemies," McGibbon said.

The slackliners have also been asked not to use the oldest trees in the historical part of campus or the trees that have been memorialized, namely those on Cannon Green. They are also not to use the newly transplanted trees in Whitman College because those trees do not have secure root systems to act as anchors.

There has been some discussion about turning the slackers into a legitimate student organization. Some members are hesitant to do so, as they want the activity to maintain its spontaneous, informal nature.

"It's just supposed to be super fun and super chill," Barron said.

Other members think it would be nice to be recognized. Currently there are no plans to move forward with the idea.

"It wouldn't be hard to do," Grimm said. "It's just a matter of people asking for it."

For now, the slackliners just want to have a good time. Group members say that anyone can learn to slackline, and they love to encourage curious onlookers to give it a try.

"Chances are if you walk by us slacklining and stare for more than five seconds, we will yell at you to come join us," Grimm said. "If it's your first time on, we will have people stand on either side of you and hold your hand while you walk across."

Ultimately, the slackliners are just looking for something fun to do when they need a break, McGibbon said.

"It's a good change of pace because it's easy to get cooped up in your room. It's nice to get outside on a beautiful day and see the sun, not artificial basement light. We are definitely about having fun and hanging out with a really fun group of people."