Here's a world record I didn't know needed breaking. Highlining legend Julien Roux has walked on a tightrope drawn between two hot air balloons nearly 14,000 feet up in the air – surpassing the previous best by half a mile in altitude.
We're actually more than a little late to this: the 28-year-old Frenchman completed the perilous crossing last November without a harness, in the western Swiss canton of Fribourg. I'll admit that a press release from drone maker DJI brought it to our attention – but that doesn't make this story any less extraordinary.
The stats work out at 13,959 ft (4,255 m) above the ground, a 0.7-in (2-cm) line stretched between two hot air balloons, 62 ft (19 m) apart. Swiss outlet RTS noted that Roux traversed the line successfully in the face of high winds and icy 6 °F (-14 °C) conditions, before parachuting down from the middle of the line to safety.
Highliners have suspended lines between hot air balloons in the past, and it was hardly what you'd call a walk in the park. This video from 2014 featuring acrobatics team Skyliners appears to be one of the first attempts (and it's understandably unsuccessful). One of the members, Tancrede Melet, tragically fell to his death attempting a similar subsequent stunt in 2016 at the age of 32.
Brazil's Raphael Bridi pulled it off in 2021 at a height of 6,236 ft (1,901 m); he was followed by several others, including Germany's Friedi Kühne and Lukas Irmler – both of whom managed walks 8,202 ft (1,901 m) above the ground in 2024, according to the International Slackline Association.
Roux has them beat handsomely by more than 5,758 ft (1,755 m). What sets his achievement apart even more is his journey to the top. The Frenchman picked up slacklining as a form of physical therapy after seriously injuring himself in a freestyle skiing accident at the age of 18. Roux also said he had vertigo.
A decade on, the highliner has set the bar extremely high in his sport – not just with his physical and mental ability, but also in setting up the feat with awfully challenging logistics. Drones have made it easier and vastly quicker to install highlines, and also to capture dramatic footage, but you've got to climb dizzying heights yourself.
Roux says he's got more tricks up his sleeve yet. I can't wait to see what he'll do next... but I'll have to remember not to look down.
Source: DJI blog
