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Low-wire tightrope walking
by matthew wittmer

Last updated January 29, 2011


 
Walking amongst the onlooking trees.
January 16, 2012.


Content links for this page:

Tightrope / wire walking photos:..............................................Photos of a few walks.
Videos of rope walking.........................................Embedded videos on this webpage.
How I set up a tightrope:..............................................Photos and brief instructions.
Balance poles........................................................................................A few photos.
Making tightrope simulators.......................................Some photos and descriptions.
The Griphoist T-35 & TU-32..............Photos of the hoists I use to tension wire rope.
References...Resources I've consulted and links to all my videos posted on youtube.




The documentary MAN ON WIRE about Philippe Petit's high wire walk between the World Trade Center towers on a 3/4 inch diameter cable in 1974 inspired me to begin learning more about the art of tight rope walking. Learning how to tight rope walk has taken me into the world of knots, ropes, cable, tensioning, rigging, balance, and the rather cloistered history of high wire walking.





Tightrope / wire walking progress photos
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Below are various photos of and from my wire / tightrope walks, my rigging
and equipment all in chronological order. Event picture hightlights included are:
Aug 8, 2011 low-wire walker summit, Oct 1, 2010 parade performance,
& Aug 2010 class with Philippe Petit.
Click on any image for it to enlarge.



Videos of rope walking
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Below are a few embedded videos of my tightrope walks that I have posted on youtube. Links to all my videos are included in the references section of this page, or, they can be browsed on my youtube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sustainingtraces?feature=mhum








January 16, 2012
Click above for first walk of 2012: great clouds and there's a weird guy in some shots rolling on the ground.
(I recommend clicking the "480p" button beneath the video
for higher resolution and watching full screen)








December 4, 2011
 Click above to see camera perspective that reveals the cable's movement.
(I recommend clicking the "480p" button beneath the video
for higher resolution and watching full screen)











August 15, 2011
Click above to see a view looking downwards for an entire walk.
(I recommend clicking the "480p" button beneath the video
for higher resolution and watching full screen)













June 18, 2011
Click above to see my first pole cam footage.
(I recommend clicking the "480p" button beneath the video
for higher resolution and watching full screen)










May 29, 2011
Click above for two brief views from the cable.
(I recommend clicking the "480p" button beneath the video
for higher resolution and watching full screen)










May 8, 2011
Click above for montage of various angles from my 10.5' high, 130' cable walk.
(I recommend clicking the "480p" button beneath the video
for higher resolution and watching full screen)
Music is from an old tape recording of an even older album of music box recordings.











March 13, 2011
Click above for another 10' 6" high cable walk session w/more straight-on view
(I recommend clicking the "480p" button beneath the video
for higher resolution and watching full screen)











February 13, 2011
Click above to see first 10' 6" high cable walk + beneath shots...
(I recommend clicking the "480p" button beneath the video
for higher resolution and watching full screen)














October 1, 2010
Click above to see Laura Bamford's HD footage of my Founder's Day performance.
(I recommend clicking the "480p" button beneath the video
for higher resolution and watching full screen)











September 18, 2010
Click above to see walk on first 138 foot rigging!
(I recommend clicking the "480p" button beneath the video
for higher resolution and watching full screen)
Music by m.wittmer













September 6, 2010
Click above to see a festival of salutes and turns!
(I recommend clicking the "480p" button beneath the video
for higher resolution and watching full screen)
Music by m.wittmer












How I currently rig for low-wire tightrope walking
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The following photos are selections from various sessions that document
how I have been rigging for my usual cable walk since February 2011.



 
Some of my rigging supplies that I transport to and from my walk locations.
That is an 8-foot ladder.






These are the wooden support pieces that raise
my cable up to 10.5 feet high when assembled.






My 130 foot coil of 3/4 inch diameter cable for walking.







I pad each anchor tree with a six layered mat & towel wrap that I hand
stitched specifically to protect and wrap around the surface of my
two anchor trees.







I wrap a 7/8" diameter wire sling around the padding. The ends join in
a monster Crosby shackle and a Crosby weldless link is secured into the
shackle's pin.









The pin on the back of the Griphoist TU-32 is then threaded
through the weldless link.









I use cord to pack the sides and center each link.









 My hoist cable then clips into the end of the 130 foot walk cable.
My walk cable then runs over the top of one two part wooden
support that will raise one end of the walk cable up to
10.5 feet high.









Before I rolled out the walk cable, I first lay out a measuring
tape from anchor point to anchor point - this provides a
blueprint of where the cable and wood supports will be
positioned to raise the walk and hoist wires.









The opposite end of the walk cable is directly threaded into the
shackle that secures the wire sling around the other anchor tree.









Next, I raise the cable on top of my 8-foot ladder, then position one set of my
bolted 2x4 wood supports under the cable and then remove the ladder. I
temporarily tie the cable around the top of the wood to prevent the
wood supports from falling over in either direction.










To ensure the 2x4s do not do slide apart suddenly, I tie a rope to the
small cable that will eventually link the two boards together. I use
the rope to pull the cable (and one wooden board) toward the other
board where the small cable will attach.











I repeat this process for the second 2x4 wooden support.  Both
wooden supports have that small cable at their base, keeping
their feet from spreading. The walkcable, as you can see
above, hangs slack at this point.








It's a magical moment when the cable lies dormant, it's
height only caused by the wooden supports...








The handle on the griphoist now is cranked back and forth to pull the cable
slowly through the Griphoist.








Once the cable and wooden 2x4 supports are centered and aligned, I position
a central 4x4 post under the cable andbehind each set of 2x4s.  Since my
griphoist can tension the cable to over three tons, the function of the
4x4 is to take the brunt of the downward force that is
applied to the cable.











I secure my walk cable with two guylines. Above is one half of one guyline - I
use a clove hitch to secure the middle of the guyline to the cable and I
use sheep shank knots to connect various lengths together.








The clove hitch.









Both guy lines are attached to the slack walk wire.








Longer view of the slack walk wire with guy lines...









The hoist is cranked until the walk wire is tensioned.
This raises the griphoist unit.









The opposite end tightens...






 


For back up, I tie a 4000 lb poly rope sling into the end of the
walk cable and secure it to the monster shackle.  Should the
hoist fail, the poly rope would provide a back up catch.








I position objects beneath the Griphoist to reduce the bouncing and
concurrent vibrations the hoist will causes by my walking if not secured.









Guylines are then tensioned tightly on each end (4 ends), which helps to
secure the walk cable from moving left and right.








I tension guylines by creating a bowline knot several feet from where the rope is
anchored (left side). Then I loop the rope end around the anchor (fence),
back through the bowline loop - this is where I pull the slack out. Then I
use a half hitch to secure the tension (middle) and finally a clove hitch
to tie off the end (right side).








The whole rigging from the ground level hoist end perspective.









View of the cable from the side and end...









Once the cable and guylines are tensioned, I tie each 4x4 to the bolted 2x4s and
then secure the wood supports to the cable itself by going back and forth
between the cable under the wood 2x4s. This is to ensure the wood
support does not move when walked upon.
You can also see the padding applied under the cable that I employ
to protect the cable.









The cable can now be walked on and is around 11 feet high at the wood
support ends and 10.5 feet high at the cable's midspan
(guyline tension brings the walk cable down those few inches as does both
the cable and the walker's weight).










 Top view of the inclined end I walk up to the first support.
This is called a "death walk."








The cable's natural cantenary curvature is amplified and further
abstracted by the tensioned guy lines.










Top view of the finished and tensioned walk cable at 10' 8" high.






Balance poles
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I make all of my balance poles and use various materials for each one. Usually
each pole has an outer pipe and one or more inner pipes that help join
shorter poles to make the long pole.



Two current balance poles, each with different construction.
January 9, 2011.






Centers of balance poles.
January 9, 2011.






Detail of one of my current
balance poles disassembled.
December 21, 2010




About to perform a 180 degree turn.
August 22, 2010.







My first true balance pole.
August 22, 2010.








First construction diagram.
March 2010.








End of my first design pole.
March 2010.






One of two joint sections secured with tape.  
March 2010.







Making tightrope simulators
(for indoor practice)
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In October 2009 I mounted conduit pipe on top of a wooden
platform for simulated rope walking. The pipe is 11/16" in
diameter. This simulator enables instantaneous
practice for balance and helps condition the
soles of my feet.








Walking on the practice pipe. This
contraption saves me time from setting
up a rope outside and provides more
instantaneous practice for the rope sessions.
October 2009.







 Simulator that disassembles as pictured above for easy transport.  
November 2009.





Transport simulator assembled. Its base board is narrower
for travel but the pipe is the same diameter.
November 2009







4' simulator.
November 2010






Tiny transport "travel - stander"
for light & fast packing.
March 2011.






Two 12' simulators next to a 6' and 4' one.
Created for the Cirque School, LA, CA.
September 5, 2011






16' simulator next to a 10' one.
October 6, 2011







The Griphoist T-35 and TU-32
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This is a Griphoist TU-35 (top - out of production but the
same type Philippe used in his WTC and Sydney crossings)
and the TU-32 (bottom).



Front ends where cable exits.
  


 


A special 5/8" diameter cable the is made for these hoists
is cranked through the unit by levering the large handle back
and forth.  This cable has to withstand the clenching force of
the hoistthat is equal to the amount of resistance
being pulled.







Using the Griphoist T-35. 
July 2010.




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