Tightrope walking has been around for thousands of years as a form of entertainment and amusement. In recent years, a new form of walking on a taunt rope has developed – slackline. Rock climbers used to walk on the cables and chains used by the National Park Service to stop the flow of traffic on trails or roads in the parks. This cable/chain walking provided the climbers with practice balancing and building of core strength when they were no on a rock face. In the 1980s two climbers, Adam Grosowsky and Jeff Ellington, who frequented Yosemite National Park started stringing the webbing used in climbing as their ‘rope’ to practice their balancing skills. With Yosemite being filled with climbers, the sport caught on like wildfire.
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