March - June '17 update

It's been awhile!  Here is a rundown of the last 3 months, with links, in roughly chronological order (most recent at the bottom):

📷SlacklineXX 1) I started making slackline-related posts daily to my Instagram account: @30microns - of which most of the links below are linked!2) I bought a second-hand Drone (DJI Vision 2 Plus), and attached a (second-hand) GoPro to start getting some aerial footage!3) I helped rig and establish (I believe to be) the longest longline in Houston (500') after a business trip.4) I put in a lot of hours on the backyard highline. Highlights include: two slackers at once on the line; walking after a fresh snowfall; my daughter's first highline mantle (Dad-assisted), which she has had the opportunity to practice at Seldom Seen, now, too.5) I had the opportunity to rig, play, and send a 160' indoor longline at the local climbing gym, Ascend Pittsburgh, as part of initial planning for a "slackline club" meetup6) I had some fun at a new (to me) slackline spot at Herr's Island (Washington's Landing).  Huge shoutout to Wade and Rachel for establishing this great alternative to (the now prohibited) Point State Park.  An added benefit: a few highline opportunities.  Stay tuned...7) I established Pittsburgh's longest highline (250' long) at Emerald View Park, spanning the gap created by a 2014 landslide.  Overlooking downtown Pittsburgh, this line has been on my mind for over a year, and I consider this rig the capstone of my personal highlining apprenticeship.  I've been able to go back and rig this a second time, with drone supporting video, thanks to @michaelthenomad!  8) I co-founded (with nine others; the group is now eleven-strong) Steel City Slackers - a coalition of the highline-oriented Pittsburgh-area slackliners I have had the opportunity to learn and grow with over the last year.  Initially, our goal is to spread awareness of, and advocate for slacklining in Pittsburgh.  The slackline meetup at Ascend (point 5, above) was our first public event.  Lots more to come out of this group - workshops, outings, etc.  9)  Seldom Seen has blown up and become the center of the Pittsburgh slackline movement, at least through the Steel City Slackers group.  In the last three months, I have seen a bunch of local slackers get their first highline experiences: everything from just zipping out there, to stands and steps, to splits, and crazy backwards mounts!  Wade (Steel City Slacker) took on bolting the first bolted anchor in Pittsburgh, and thereby establishing (and on-site sending) the "Sugar Snap 65'" highline.  Also at Seldom, I was able to get some below-freezing (20F) highlining sessions.  10) I rigged the first feasible Alleghey River waterline of the season, wearing a wetsuit, at the Market Street Pier, a 140' waterline I established last summer.  11) I had my first tandem send on a slackline, with my 4 year old daughter!  Proud Dad, right here.12). I rigged my first rodeo line, and went big: 50' high anchors, 125' long line.  I was only able to manage two steps, but had a blast swinging and "hammocking".  I used a single-rope arborist climbing anchor technique to set the 50' high anchors without climbing the trees.  II'll make a separate post about this technique later.  13. A World's First (!?): I stood up on a highline wearing hockey-skates (in honor of playoffs hockey in Pittsburgh).14.  Steel City Slackers put on a sold-out slackline workshop (and our second event) at ASCEND.  I was on the longline station, and had a blast teaching others to mantle longlines.  I also had an onsite send of the 225' longline we rigged (anyone know of any longer indoor lines on the East Coast?).  Huge Shoutout to Aaron for putting together this rad recap!15.  I surfed my first rodeo line at Seldom Seen.  Huge thanks to Wade, who went on a bolting frenzy to establish a ton of line options!  Wade is the reason Seldom Seen is now the Mecca of Pittsburgh slacklining, in my opinion!16.  My Charlie Horse-Slackliner persona won the local rock radio station's "Xpose the X" photo contest, and the Grand Prize of a pair of tickets to seventeen different concerts this summer in the Pittsburgh area.  The winning photo, of course, involved slacklining.      I'm busy with lots of other slackline projects, so there will be much more to come in future monthly updates!