I recently traveled out to Fruita, Colorado where my friend Terry lives. His yard is FULL of slacklines/highlines and this 100 foot long, really burly chain that is one of the most difficult things I have ever tried to walk. Only about 10 people have ever walked it and now....I am one of them!!! About a year ago I spent a lot of time trying it and was only able to get about 20-30 steps. But this time I was so much more stable and I could really feel how much better I've gotten throughout the year. I walked it on my 4th try. Here is a little video I made of it. Enjoy!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Creek Line
The other day Josh and I rigged a line over a creek in Boulder, CO with some rad slackers from CU. It was pretty cold out so falling into the water would have been very unpleasant! Here are a few pics and a funny little video from one of their GoPro's ;-)
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Moving to Boulder
I've moved to Boulder!!! It's been only a few weeks now that I've been here, and I am LOVING it so far. I left Moab, Utah because I was starting to get the itch to go somewhere new and Boulder just felt right. So far I have met countless slackliner's that are super stoked on the sport, so I have a feeling I'll be fitting in just fine :) I've also starting working on a new program with Gibbon Slacklines. It's called the "Slackline Scholarship Challenge". I'm partnered with Josh Beaudoin, an amazing slackliner from Golden, CO and we will be traveling across the state of Colorado spreading the sport in high school's and colleges. As we tour the state, we will be spreading the sport and also getting kids excited and involved in 5 regional competitions in 2012. The top 3 competitors from each competition will be invited to a statewide competition for a chance to win a scholarship, sponsored by Adidas. I'm super excited to be involved in this program; I think slacklining has the potential to change many people's lives, they just need to be introduced to it!
Yesterday, Josh and I did our first event at Denver East High School. Here are a few pics! And if you are interested in getting involved, join the Slackline Scholarship Challenge Facebook Group
Yesterday, Josh and I did our first event at Denver East High School. Here are a few pics! And if you are interested in getting involved, join the Slackline Scholarship Challenge Facebook Group
I also just got back from Moab for a Thanksgiving highline festival. It was so rad!!! Slackers from around the world came, and there were 8 highlines up, maybe even more at one point. I walked my longest highline to date, it was 135 feet long and about 400 feet high. I was also able to attempt the first ever "Space Line" rigged by Alexander Schulz from Germany. He came up with the idea of having 3 highlines rigged over a gap, while connected at the center. So, when walking any 3 of the lines, you are walking into space!! Below are a few pics of it!
Most epic line EVER!!!! Anyway, below is a video of my best attempts on it. Enjoy!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Oct. 2011
hey guys!! it's been too long.....i need to post some of my most recent videos :) First is a video I made from the US National Slackline Competition in Dayton, Ohio.....it was such an amazing event. We had 16 competitors from across the US and a total prize purse of $ 2,750! I loved meeting everybody and seeing all the new tricks. I was so inspired to train and start working on my flips and my rotations for the next comp. The next event is in Boston and there will be a Men's AND Women's competition. I cannot wait!!! Anyway,here is the video:
Also, I have been competing in an online slackline competition called "Queen of Slackline". A trick is posted online every week and in order to advance, you must post a video of yourself performing the trick. Check out my videos on my youtube page!
MY YOUTUBE PAGE
That's about it that's new....although, I am moving to Boulder, CO next month!!!! I can't wait. I have loved living in Moab but it's time to move on....I can't wait to explore Boulder and all it has to offer. Stay tuned for more adventures and videos soon! -Emily
Also, I have been competing in an online slackline competition called "Queen of Slackline". A trick is posted online every week and in order to advance, you must post a video of yourself performing the trick. Check out my videos on my youtube page!
MY YOUTUBE PAGE
That's about it that's new....although, I am moving to Boulder, CO next month!!!! I can't wait. I have loved living in Moab but it's time to move on....I can't wait to explore Boulder and all it has to offer. Stay tuned for more adventures and videos soon! -Emily
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
News August 2011!
I haven't posted in a little while so I thought I'd include what I've been up to this past month!
First, is the trailer to Hayley Ashburn, Jill Kuzman and I's first film! We have decided to create a girls team combining the 3 sports of rock climbing, highlining, and BASE jumping. Below is a trailer to our first film! In the next couple of months it will be released :)
Next, is a video I created for Elli Schulte, female trickliner from Germany that came to visit for the Gibbon Games in Salt Lake, and she also came to Moab afterwards! It was great getting to know her and so inspiring to trickline with her! She walked her first highline, and taught me some new tricks.
Now, Alpha Mike's first video that he edited of his 540 attempts. So funny! I love the way he put this together.
We also did a rope jump this month here in Moab and here is a video of Jan Kaeding, co - owner of Gibbon Slacklines!!
It's been a great month full of a lot of different adventures. Thanks for checking out my videos :) I'll post again soon as the month of September will be full of more projects!
First, is the trailer to Hayley Ashburn, Jill Kuzman and I's first film! We have decided to create a girls team combining the 3 sports of rock climbing, highlining, and BASE jumping. Below is a trailer to our first film! In the next couple of months it will be released :)
Next, is a video I created for Elli Schulte, female trickliner from Germany that came to visit for the Gibbon Games in Salt Lake, and she also came to Moab afterwards! It was great getting to know her and so inspiring to trickline with her! She walked her first highline, and taught me some new tricks.
Now, Alpha Mike's first video that he edited of his 540 attempts. So funny! I love the way he put this together.
We also did a rope jump this month here in Moab and here is a video of Jan Kaeding, co - owner of Gibbon Slacklines!!
It's been a great month full of a lot of different adventures. Thanks for checking out my videos :) I'll post again soon as the month of September will be full of more projects!
Monday, August 1, 2011
California!! Mt. Tam Highline & Taft Point Highline
I took a trip to California and had a great time seeing all my friends and family! First I went to San Jose to visit a good friend Julia from summer camp years ago :) We went to see Neon Tree's in the park and then I headed up to Lake Tahoe to meet up with Hayley Ashburn. We rigged two highlines in Cali, Mt. Tam Highline in the Bay Area and Taft Point in Yosemite. It's really empowering to be rigging lines with Hayley, us both being females in the sport. There are so few of us - it feels like we're doing things that really haven't been done before. We want to keep pushing our limits in as many ways as we can.
Mt. Tam has been a long standing project for me, I've been up there SO many times to try and walk it and this time I finally did. It was the best feeling to rig it AND walk it! I feel like I've progressed so much as a slackliner! Friends Jared, Bess and Layla joined us and Jared took some photos. Thanks so much to everyone who came out and helped us out. And congrats to everyone who got out on the line and gave it a try!! Here are some photos of Mt. Tam Highline - 115 feet long at the top of Mt. Tamalpais in Mill Valley, CA. Complete view of the San Francisco Bay from the top! One of the most picturesque lines I've walked.
And here are some photos from Taft Point in Yosemite.
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Thanks for reading! This past month has been really great for self improvement. I really needed to go on a trip and just explore.....I feel refreshed and ready to be back in Moab! Next on the list - theFirst Annual Gibbon Games in Salt Lake City!! I am competing in a co-ed competition and cannot wait to see slackers from all over the US and abroad! I'll be taking photos at the event so stay tuned :)
Mt. Tam has been a long standing project for me, I've been up there SO many times to try and walk it and this time I finally did. It was the best feeling to rig it AND walk it! I feel like I've progressed so much as a slackliner! Friends Jared, Bess and Layla joined us and Jared took some photos. Thanks so much to everyone who came out and helped us out. And congrats to everyone who got out on the line and gave it a try!! Here are some photos of Mt. Tam Highline - 115 feet long at the top of Mt. Tamalpais in Mill Valley, CA. Complete view of the San Francisco Bay from the top! One of the most picturesque lines I've walked.
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| Andrew Tysinger getting getting to get out onto the Mt. Tam Highline! |
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| Hayley Andrew and I enjoying the sunset. |
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| Damian Cooksey rockin' Mt. Tam! |
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| Me on my first send of Mt. Tam!! 115 feet long....such a challenge but I finally pulled it off. |
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| Hayley standin' up! |
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| Riggin' |
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| The crew that came out with us. Such a beautiful place! |
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| Hayley and I! |
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| Me sending :) |
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| Yahoo!! |
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| Beautiful Shot by Hay |
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| Hay in the splits! |
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| Bess!! This is her first highline send ever. I am so impressed! A yosemite highline is so exposed and she walked it on her 3rd try. Congrats!! |
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| Bess!! |
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| Hay in exposure |
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Going your own way
I found this on the web today and I think it says, in perfect words, what I am realizing lately.
"The principle of going your own way and doing your own thing is the principle of non-intervention. This principle is lived by those who have an enlightened consciousness. The principle is the principle of freedom. You are free from having to meddle with the affairs of others, and are free to live according to your own goals and agenda. Every man’s purpose is to follow his own path and only engage with the affairs of others where it intersects with his path. Always live in the center and never move off the center.
Seek to relate with those who can best fulfill your life purpose. You have no business to relate with everyone in the world. Successful people are the ones who concentrate on their goals and harness all their resources towards the accomplishment of their aims. This might be the selfish way to live, but it is selfishness with wisdom. Everything is done for the Higher Self, and the Higher Self leads you by desires within yourself. No matter how noble something seems, it never feels right when it is not your life path."
Thursday, June 30, 2011
I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." - Henry David Thoreau
I've decided that it's time to focus on myself. I've been in and out of relationships for so long (since highschool!) that I really just need some time to be ME. To not worry about anything but learning more about myself and what I stand for. I feel like I have a pretty solid idea, but there are definitely some things missing. For a month and a half, I am going to be on my own. 2 weeks in Moab, 2 weeks in San Francisco/Tahoe, 1 week in Yosemite National Park, and then to the first annual Gibbon Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is going to be an experiment in self discovery that I am thrilled to begin. I can't wait to find peace and solidarity; not depending on anyone or anything for happiness, but only myself. I am so grateful to have had such a great boyfriend that is allowing me the time to do this. Mike is a truly kind, understanding, and wise person that sometimes I'm not even sure he's real! He is more supportive of my decision to take this time than anyone could possibly be. He's been there, at this point: where I know I NEED this. Some things I plan to do on my trip are:
- Rig and walk Mt. Tam Highline (115 feet) in Marin, California. A line that has defeated me about 5 times previously.
- Wakeboard and Waterski at Hayley's family's house in Tahoe, CA (for the first time since Camp in Maine 4 years ago! I used to be a waterski instructor there, but once I left.....I never got the chance to do it!)
- See old friends and family in San Francisco (Andrew, Damian, Gail, Nick, Julia, and my Aunt Lane and Uncle Tom along with my Grandmother who has just moved into a home there).
- Wander the city of San Francisco, ALONE.
- Rig Taft Point Highline in Yosemite -115 ft. along with the Rostrum lines -20 ft. and 70 ft. and possibly the Yosemite Falls Line - 128 ft. (we'll see).
- Place in the top 3 at the Gibbon Games.....I better start training.
There are many more things that I want to do, but these are on top! Here are some recent pictures of my life:
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| "Twin Arches" in the Fiery Furnace, Arches National Park |
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| A Keyhole I found |
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| Me on our Canyoneering trip through the Fiery Furnace |
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| Bess Rappeling |
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| Canyon whipping on Lead, Ryan's Route on Potash Road (5.12 - 5.13) |
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Life goals
It's been a while since I've taken the time to write about my life. I've been busy focusing on improving myself and the way that I look at life. I'm sure I'm not the only one that often finds myself coasting along, each day being just another day rather than the most beautiful gift we've been given. It's hard to look at life like that all the time, but I want to try. I want to be filled with joy and gratitude for being alive rather than forgetting how lucky I am to have the opportunity. When live becomes mundane and repetitive I lose my passion, and so I've been trying to include a lot of different things into my day. Such as : good food, taking photograph's, listening to my favorite music, spending time with my dog, laughing, actually getting to know someone, and driving around town with the windows down and music blasting.....right now mostly Florence and the Machine and Grace Potter ;-) I know these things help me see the beauty in the world.....I just need to remember to do them!
I have some goals as well that I really want to accomplish by the end of the summer. I want to beat my highline and longline personal records. I want to walk AT LEAST a150 foot highline (for me, this is really difficult.....I just need to relax while I'm out there, the longer the line is the longer you have to maintain focus.....and so far I've gotten out to the middle of the 150 and lost my focus and fell). For longline, I want to walk AT LEAST a 500 footer. Right now I've walked 413, and I know I can keep pushing.
Some other goals are: to make it into the top 3 at the first annual Gibbon Games at Outdoor Retailer. I know that I can do this....I just need to start training ;-) Also, I am saving up for a van that I can start traveling in. It's time. I am so ready to get out there and start living day to day in completely new places with new people and new experiences. I've been dreaming of this for a long time, so now it's just a matter of saving up the money.
Anyway! Thanks for reading. I've included a few pics I've taken recently (and a couple taken of me) that I LOVE. I'll write again soon and hopefully by then I'll have reached some of my goals :)
I have some goals as well that I really want to accomplish by the end of the summer. I want to beat my highline and longline personal records. I want to walk AT LEAST a150 foot highline (for me, this is really difficult.....I just need to relax while I'm out there, the longer the line is the longer you have to maintain focus.....and so far I've gotten out to the middle of the 150 and lost my focus and fell). For longline, I want to walk AT LEAST a 500 footer. Right now I've walked 413, and I know I can keep pushing.
Some other goals are: to make it into the top 3 at the first annual Gibbon Games at Outdoor Retailer. I know that I can do this....I just need to start training ;-) Also, I am saving up for a van that I can start traveling in. It's time. I am so ready to get out there and start living day to day in completely new places with new people and new experiences. I've been dreaming of this for a long time, so now it's just a matter of saving up the money.
Anyway! Thanks for reading. I've included a few pics I've taken recently (and a couple taken of me) that I LOVE. I'll write again soon and hopefully by then I'll have reached some of my goals :)
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| Me working on the 150 footer (i fell in the middle and then tried to get back up and walk back) |
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| Ryan Matson working on a 5.13 in Mill Creek. This is after his recent ankle injury ( he's killin it!) |
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| Some flowers that I love. |
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| Mike sending the 150 like a champ ;-) |
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| Me again on one of my attempts. |
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| Bouldering at Big Bend :) |
Friday, June 10, 2011
Why do we slackline?
I recently took the time to take a poll on facebook....Why do we slackline? I know why I slackline, but honestly I think that hearing it from upwards of 20 different people explains it a lot better than I ever could. Here are some of the responses that I got! Enjoy them. and feel free to add your own reason in the comments section!
Sam Salwei A wonderful tool that cuts away all the crap allowing you to see your true essence....instantly!Yesterday at 10:42am · · 1 person
Brenden Gebhart I feel how life should be when I'm on the line.Yesterday at 10:43am ·
Gabriel Aglio I don't know, I just love!Yesterday at 10:46am · · 1 person
Tony Sukiennik Slacklining has allowed me to continue to stretch my limits even though my aging joints continue to try to limit me... But more important than physical balance, being able to mentally balance wanting to accomplish a goal without wanting it so much that you can't function at your peak is why I am enthusiastic to be a Slackliner...Yesterday at 11:17am ·
Julia Gebhardt it´s kind of space.Yesterday at 11:17am ·
Stevie Greenwald Slackling is everything. It instills a sense of wonder yet anyone can learn it. It can be as simple as some webbing and some trees or as complex as a doubly redundant highline deep in the mountains. It is as relaxed as yoga or as intense as skating a half pipe. It's the one think anyone would need while stranded on a desert island.Yesterday at 11:19am ·
Emily Sukiennik i am loving these!!! keep 'em comin :)Yesterday at 11:23am ·
Megan Drewyor Calms the mind and scults the bodyYesterday at 11:40am ·
Philipp Freudigmann Since I started slacklining my family has just grown so much! Luv it!Yesterday at 12:19pm · · 1 person
Cody Peterson When ur on the line its feels like everything that's wrong in ur life doesn't matter anymore!Yesterday at 12:32pm ·
Paris Slack turn out ur brain for few intens minutes!!!Yesterday at 12:40pm ·
Thomas Sloss Balance.22 hours ago ·
Jordan Tybon money and bitches.22 hours ago ·
Dylan Buffington I'm with Jordan! and . . . everyone else!22 hours ago ·
James Gallerani Jr Because everyone's just walking around on their damn cellphones now. It's nice to relax, get on the line, and socialize. Often it stops passers by in their tracks.20 hours ago ·
Thibaut Zwolinski just feel the balance of life i think... all is about balance. Slackline show it.20 hours ago ·
Jono Armstrong Babes, chicks, ladies, and hoes.20 hours ago · · 1 person
Brent Cain because it added BALANCE and ZEN LIKE FOCUS to my life like nothing i have ever seen or experienced!16 hours ago ·
Emily Hodgethat's a good question. I ask myself that sometimes. why the heck do I love slacklining?? I think because it constantly challenges me, forces me to set goals, cures my boredom, makes me overcome my fears, makes me focus on breathing. It can...See More16 hours ago · · 1 person
Jeremy Louis Because you can be active and lazy at the same time!14 hours ago · · 2 people
Andrew Tysinger Because it can be as relaxing or intense as you want, depending on how you feel. It also trains a physical attribute we use every day.14 hours ago ·
Ross John Miller to keep from being a square.12 hours ago ·- Emily Sukiennik i love all these responses guys, thanks so much!a few seconds ago ·
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