Festival Goers Take to Hazardous Heights to Get High

: Source: Balaz Mohai

Not the typical high you would assume at a festival. The Highline Meeting on Monte Piana is the biggest slackline festival in Italy, held in the Alps. Self-proclaimed “slackers” balance themselves on slack lines suspended hundreds of feet in the air for the majority of the days and nights of the festival.

: Source: AntiGravity Photography

Similar to tightrope walking except that the rope is flat versus rounded and of course has slack, meaning it can move side-to side or bounce. The altitude doesn’t affect any regular activities a grounded festival may have; there’s still a bar, nightly films, jam sessions and even Yoga workshops.

: Source: Sebastian Wahlhuetter

If you couldn’t already assume so, it’s classified as an extreme sport. Between hammock lounging, they walk across the ropes with extreme skill and bravery.

: Source: AntiGravity Photography

As beautiful as these mountains may be, they hold tales of a dark past with thousands of soldiers being killed during the First World War. The festival wants to embrace this historic place differently and says “we introduce the winter with happiness, teamwork and a big passion for the mountains. This meeting brings high liners and mountain passionate people from all over the world together.”