Getting Risky in Rishikesh

I think one of the best pieces of advice that i've ever received came from a Circus Oz rigger. We were 10m up in the truss above the stage, discussing equipment, safety and techniques of clipping on. My questions must have either been tiring or amusing, because after some time the rigger turned to me and said that yes, safety equipment was important, but; "Just don't let go".
I feel that i've carried this brave and possibly naive piece of advice well. When in dangerous situations, take all possible precautions against accident, but at the end of the day - just don't have one.

And so to the tightwire, a beautiful discipline of zen, fear and balance, neatly twined together like the silver strands of the wire itself. In February during the Tasmanian Circus Festival, a crew of riggers and wirewalkers set up an 8m high bush tightwire, between a begrudging tree and an eccentric tower made from twisted tripped out steel. Hamish McCormick from Carnival Cinema made a short video which you can see below;

Pretty cool stuff. I've been playing around on the tightwire since i started circus as a kid, but have started to get more serious about it in the last few years. Highwire walking has been one of my goals during this period of training and Tasmania was a great induction into how it feels. Wobbly! I took a few falls while walking in Tassie, onto a safety line that we'd prepared. Happily i found that i felt quite confident to catch myself as i fell and climb back up. Mostly i fell because i was chucking tricks. You can see my drunk step in the video above! Quite proud of that actually... :D

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Travel with me from Tasmania to India, my dear reader, north of Delhi the bustling capital and into Utterkhand, a natural state of fast flowing rivers, craggy yellow earth, and mountains launching themselves into the sky. Rishikesh, 7 hours from Delhi is well known as a centre for spiritual tourism, offering yoga, ashrams, meditation and so on to those looking for it. Straddling the banks of a picturesque valley over the Ganges river (Mamma Ganga to locals) the two sides of the town are connected by several high suspension bridges. As soon as i arrived in Rishikesh, the bridge at Laxman Jhula seemed to be calling me. Roughly 100m long, at least 30m above the river, and with fat cables outrigged from the pedestrian and motorcycle only bridge, i knew that i had to try walking it. Fuck yoga.

First i made a few forays at different times of the day to see how much the bridge moved in different circumstances, i.e. when there was the most people, the most wind, the quite times of day, the best light, the least police, the best access to the wire etc. Eventually i chose the Sunday morning before my departure from Rishikesh as the time to try it. Luckily in the days previously i befriended an excellent guy named Ballu who runs a rafting company. Discussing my plans with him, after enquiring about the depth of the river beneath the bridge and drinking some Indian whiskey together, he agreed to lend me a helmet, a lifejacket and his brother to take photographs. Very nice of him! At this early stage of the Ganges, the river is broad and swift with a seriously strong current. I felt nervous about the possibility of dropping into the river if i really really fell, but also knew that with the right attitude i could deal with it if need be. Which brings me back to my original advice that i mentioned above, adapted for the situation - Just Don't Fall Off!

I chose 5.30am as my starting point. Just before the sun rose, I crept out from my hotel and down to the bridge. Another wonderful pair of new friends from Scotland, Claire and Kern soon joined me. Kern brought his camera, which is lucky, because mine ran out of batteries and Ballu's brother lost interest and left! Kern (Jamieson) takes brilliant photos, check him out on Facebook. To start with i gave it a try on a section of the wire where it meets the cliffs, at a height of around 3-5 metres. The cliffs, covered partially by a large tree, then drop away quickly and the height of the wire is then around 30-40m above the river. I made it out over the cliff as the sun rose, battling the wind and the lack of tension in the wire, but i didn't quite have it in me to proceed onto the span over the river. There would be no turning back after that point. Strong gusts of wind coming down-river were the final factor.

Happy with my initial attempt, but still wanting to try something really high, with the possibility of opting out, i went to the centre of the bridge where the outrigged wire is closer, and climbed over the railings and lowered myself down onto it. Seriously wobbly, and fucking high! Yeehaa! I made 3 crosses along a 20m section of wire, tapping the bridge now and again as I went. Unlike westerners, Indian tourists liek to start early, and as i made these walks around 6.30, within minutes i had a group of Indians standing on the bridge near my head and looking down, so I decided to call it a day.

I didn't quite push myself quite as hard as i could have - i really would have liked to make the cross from the cliffs to the centre of the bridge, but coming in at over 60m i just wasn't sure if i could do it. Plus it looks like i'm going to get my visa to Iran after all, so i have much to look forward to. It's a good start at renegade highwire though - something that i hope to continue! See below for more photographs taken by the superb Kern Jamieson.

Sending everyone the good vibes from danger, adventure, excitement! YEEEHAAAA!
Love ya,
LIVE TO WIN!