They Walked 2.8K Feet—While 1.6K Feet in the Air

Earlier this month, a group of 20 adventurers set a record for the longest highline ever to be walked in California. What that means: They walked 2,800 feet—while 1,600 feet in the air, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Bay Area brothers Moises and Daniel Monterrubio led the group, which spent six days rappelling from cliffs and hanging high in the air above Yosemite National Park to string the line from Taft Point across to a tree on an outcropping. They then spent four days walking the highline, which is a form of a slackline, not a tightrope. As NPR explains, that means the line will dip and sway, and walkers must maintain balance as that happens.

Most wear safety harnesses while they do so, including the 26- and 23-year-old brothers, both of whom fell during their first attempts. Ultimately, Moises and another member of the group, Eugen Cepoi, were able to make it across the nylon line, which was one to two inches wide and a few millimeters thick, without falling. It took Moises 37 minutes. Daniel says stringing the line, which they had approval from the park to do, was more dangerous than walking it. The record highline length for the entire US is 3,200 feet. The brothers, who are training to be rope-access technicians, per the AP, hope to one day break that record too. (More Yosemite National Park stories.)