Heather Larsen, one of the top female highliners in the world, crisscrossed her way over layers of history in an epic tightrope feat at the Tower of David this morning (May 2, 2016).
“Jerusalem is a place I never thought I would be visiting. I am excited to come to see and experience a culture so rich with history, ” Larsen said. “When I think of crossing over the layers and layers of history, I feel very grateful. I have heard of these places growing up and it is an honor to be able to walk a line in the same locations I learned about as a child.”
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Larsen rigged her own lines at the Jerusalem museum.
The slackline reaching from one tower — built by King Herod some 2000 years ago — to another tower — built by Suleiman the Magnificent close to 500 years ago — was 30 meters high and 20 meters long.
Another line crossing the courtyard of the Tower of David was 34 meters long and 20+ meters high.
“I’ve always enjoyed traveling outside of the US to gain a better understanding of the world, to connect with people who have a different background than me, and to soak up a culture I’ve never experienced before. I know there is diverse landscape in the area as well and I am always open to an outdoor adventure to explore somewhere unique, ” Larsen said.
The Jerusalem feat was the biggest highlining event in the Old City since Philippe Petit in 1987.
Larsen’s first visit to Israel was timed to coincide with the filming of a promotional film. Her walk over Jerusalem will be seen in Israeli-Swiss company Koala-Gear‘s Kickstarter campaign for its first product, the Joey backpack.
“We have fundamentally changed countless features of conventional backpacks and pursued a minimalist approach when designing our little masterpiece. As you probably know yourself, all backpacks out there somehow serve their purpose. However, the problem is that you always have to choose between a backpack that is either functional or aesthetic. Many companies have tried to master the fusion, but we feel that they are just not good enough. Our approach was to take sophisticated technologies from travel gear and bring them to everyday life. Joey is on point – well balanced and perfectly tailored to the human body, ” says the team at Koala-Gear.
Larsen also posted some photos to Twitter of practice lines in Tel Aviv.
