Their elevated line isn't beginner-friendly, but plenty of other slackliners populate parks and college campuses throughout central Ohio on lines that reach only a few feet off the ground. Leaver and Vargas - the main forces behind the Columbus Slacklining group page on Facebook - proceeded to take turns attempting to balance and walk across the clearing on a line with significantly less tension than that of a balance beam or tightrope. 'This is what I do for fun,' the East Side resident said. Strapping into a harness, Leaver laughed as he acknowledged that slacklining is an odd hobby for him, given his fear of heights. The humidity hung heavy in the air on the muggy Wednesday evening as Leaver, 23, led the way through woods, dry creek beds and a dark, unsettling tunnel to a remote area in a Dublin park where surrounding ridges reached an estimated 30 feet high.Īfter fastening a 90-foot-long line between two sturdy trees across the high clearing - a painstaking process that required ample climbing - Leaver and Vargas stood at the precipice admiring their work. Marshall Leaver would prefer not to share the location of his favorite slacklining spot.ĭiscretion was requested before Leaver agreed to lead The Dispatch last week to the secluded grove where he and friend Alex Vargas often rig a precarious-looking nylon line for crossing - a la a tightrope walker.

Little big adventure slackline