命懸一“繩”——穿行于愛與瘋邊緣的走扁帶運(yùn)動(dòng)

One inch is the length of a blade of grass， a baby carrot， a toothpick. It is the 1）proverbial next to nothing.

But for 2）slackliners， this tiniest of measurements is the key to their sport.

First， a definition： Slacklining is not 3）tightrope walking. No offense to 4）Nik Wallenda and his recent 5）mammoth Niagara Falls and Grand Canyon crossings， but slacklining is a different discipline altogether. A tightrope， as the name implies， is a half-inch wire stretched 6）taut. There is no 7）give to the line， and the performer’s balance and center of gravity are 8）augmented by carrying a pole dozens of feet long.

Slacklining takes place on inch-wide stretchy webbing anchored across a gap.

Because it is 9）pliable， a slackline is responsive to the elements—in particular the wind and the movement of athletes as they walk across. While a tightrope just lies there， a slackline 10）oscillates， and walkers can end up clinging to a line that’s behaving like a jump rope whipped around by a sugar-fueled elementary school kid.

“Instead of controlling the line and walking it， you’re 11）along for the ride，” says Hayden Nickell， a 22-year-old professional slackliner from Nederland， Colorado. “You have to walk in these weird intervals. As the line goes up， you have moments where you can take eight steps. At the opposite， you’re out of control and you’re at the mercy of the line and the wind.”

Once 12）relegated to parks and beaches as a hobby of the 13）hippier-than-thou， slacklining is now branching out into professional disciplines： tricklining， where performers combine gymnastics and 14）choreography at competitions； urbanlining， which 15）eschews the chasms of nature for the canyons between buildings； and yogalining， which adds 16）asanas for those balancing on the line.

The most spectacular 17）incarnation， though， is highlining， where a slackline is 18）rigged hundreds of feet in the air， in awe-inspiring locations both natural and man-made—Yosemite National Park， Hell Roaring Canyon in Utah， the 19）Las Vegas Strip—bringing national attention to this 20）nascent 21）daredevil sport. Protected from falling by nothing more than a leash around the waist or ankle， slackliners constantly respond to the dynamic changes in balance underfoot.

“It’s like surfing，” Nickell says. “You wait for the good set to come in. You wait for the wind to die out and then you have a 15-to-20-minute window to go out there and do your thing. Then another set of wind will come in and you back off for a minute.”

The wind gives the highline an 22）ominous sound， an 23）eerie plucked bass note as the webbing 24）reverberates in between its anchors. When a walker looks ahead on a slackline， the brain can only register a certain amount of height through its 45 degrees of 25）peripheral vision—at more than 100 feet in the air， it’s pretty much a wash， Nickell says. Going up higher—300， 400， 500 feet—doesn’t create a 26）perceptible difference. But that’s when the chattering monkeys in your head start up.

“In your mind， you’re thinking ‘instant death’as opposed to only being merely mangled at the bottom，” Nickell says. “The highline is a direct reflection of how you’re feeling on the inside. If you’re nervous， if you’re thinking about anything， all of a sudden the line is all f*cked up and you’re like， ‘Ohhhh no！’ ”

For the sport’s 27）adherents， it’s this blend of acute concentration and life-or-death risk that makes the pursuit of slacklining a near-spiritual endeavor. Andy Lewis， 27， has a résumé that should be the envy of any athlete in a 28）niche sport： He holds multiple slackline world records： In October 2013， he set the urban highlining world record by walking a 360-foot-long line 480 feet up at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. He’s been the star of numerous slackline videos in gorgeous locales—he lives in Moab， Utah—and he performed alongside Madonna during the halftime show at the 2012 Super Bowl.

But， honestly， he couldn’t care less about all that.

“Why can’t I call slacklining a religion？”he asks. “The lifestyle behind slacklining has all the metaphors： One step at a time. Keep in balance. Control your fate. It directly translates to life.”

Lewis has the word “Slacklife” tattooed on his arm and earned the nickname 29）Sketchy Andy from his more 30）adrenalinefueled endeavors， including 31）base jumping off slacklines and 32）free-solo highlining， where he doesn’t wear a protective leash as he walks across lines hundreds of feet up. Lewis believes that pushing the limits is the essence of slacklining， and as the sport continues to grow， he will conquer longer， higher and more dazzling lines to feed his soul—even if it terrifies the public.

“People don’t want to watch you do things like that，” Lewis says. “But it’s horrible that today in life， there’s no respect for skill anymore. People are too afraid to take risks nowadays.”

一英寸，是一片草葉的長(zhǎng)度，也是一根小甘筍、一根牙簽的長(zhǎng)度。在眾人的口中，這“一英寸”根本就等同“無(wú)物”。

然而，對(duì)于走扁帶者來(lái)說(shuō)，這最細(xì)小的計(jì)量單位正是這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)的關(guān)鍵所在。

首先，我們來(lái)看一下定義：走扁帶與走鋼絲不同。這么說(shuō)對(duì)尼克·瓦倫達(dá)和他最近穿越尼亞加拉大瀑布和大峽谷的壯舉沒有半點(diǎn)冒犯之意，但是走扁帶遵循的是一套完全不同的規(guī)則。鋼絲，顧名思義，就是一條半英寸寬、被拉緊了的金屬絲。這根繩索沒有任何彈性，表演者通過(guò)拿著一根幾十英尺長(zhǎng)的平衡桿來(lái)增加平衡力，放大重心。

走扁帶則是在一條固定在一個(gè)間隙的兩端、只有一英寸寬的具彈性的帶子上進(jìn)行的。

由于扁帶具有柔韌性，因此會(huì)受環(huán)境因素影響——尤其是風(fēng)及運(yùn)動(dòng)員走扁帶時(shí)的動(dòng)作。鋼絲是乖乖地定在那里的，而扁帶卻會(huì)擺動(dòng)，并可能最終導(dǎo)致走扁帶者必須死死抓住帶子，而它就像是飽食糖果的小學(xué)生亂甩的跳繩那樣晃著。

“你無(wú)法通過(guò)控制這根帶子來(lái)走完它，你只能順應(yīng)環(huán)境，”22歲的海登·尼克爾如是說(shuō)，他是一名來(lái)自科羅拉多州尼德蘭的職業(yè)走扁帶者?！坝龅竭@些奇怪的時(shí)段，你也得繼續(xù)走。帶子上升，你有足夠往前走八步的時(shí)間。反之，你會(huì)失去控制，聽‘帶’、聽‘風(fēng)’由命了。”

走扁帶曾一度被視為公園沙灘閑人的消遣，嬉皮一族自感優(yōu)越的玩意兒，如今其正發(fā)展出不同的職業(yè)分支：花式走扁帶（表演者將體操和舞蹈藝術(shù)融入競(jìng)賽當(dāng)中）、城市走扁帶（遠(yuǎn)離自然形成的鴻溝，選擇樓宇之間的峽谷）和瑜伽走扁帶（行走時(shí)加入各種瑜伽動(dòng)作以在扁帶上取得平衡）。

然而，最壯觀的變式要數(shù)高空走扁帶，扁帶在令人驚嘆的自然和人造地點(diǎn)中被安置在幾百英尺高的空中——比如美國(guó)約塞米蒂國(guó)家公園、猶他州的“鬼嘯谷”、拉斯維加斯商業(yè)街——為這個(gè)剛剛興起的玩命運(yùn)動(dòng)帶來(lái)了全國(guó)性的關(guān)注。走扁帶者僅僅依靠系在腰間或腳踝的繩索防止跌落，不斷應(yīng)對(duì)著腳下動(dòng)態(tài)變化著的平衡點(diǎn)。

“它就像沖浪一樣，”尼克爾說(shuō)。“你得等待適當(dāng)?shù)臅r(shí)機(jī)到來(lái)。等到風(fēng)停了，你就能有15到20分鐘的空檔可以出去走扁帶。接著，另一股風(fēng)又將吹來(lái)，你又得停上一會(huì)了?！?/p>

風(fēng)吹過(guò)來(lái)，扁帶在兩個(gè)固定點(diǎn)之間隨風(fēng)動(dòng)蕩，發(fā)出一種不詳?shù)穆曇?，一種像彈撥貝斯一樣的奇怪調(diào)子。當(dāng)表演者看著前方的扁帶時(shí)，他的大腦只能通過(guò)45度角的周邊視覺感知一部分的高度——身處100多英尺的高空，那幾乎是白茫茫一片，尼克爾說(shuō)。上到更高的地方——300、400或者500英尺——基本沒有太大區(qū)別。不過(guò)，在那個(gè)高度，你的腦袋也會(huì)開始上演“大鬧天宮”了。

“在你的大腦里，你會(huì)想到‘即時(shí)死亡’，而不只是摔倒受傷，”尼克爾說(shuō)?！案呖毡鈳悄阈牡赘惺艿闹苯臃从?。如果你感到緊張，如果你在想著什么事情，帶子就會(huì)突然搗亂，那時(shí)你的下場(chǎng)只有‘啊——不要！’了?！?/p>

對(duì)于這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)的追隨者來(lái)說(shuō)，正是這種高度專注和生死攸關(guān)的危險(xiǎn)相結(jié)合的特性，讓走扁帶這種追求變得跟宗教體驗(yàn)般神圣。27歲的安迪·劉易斯擁有的履歷足以讓任何一位玩特色運(yùn)動(dòng)的運(yùn)動(dòng)員羨慕：他保持著多項(xiàng)走扁帶的世界紀(jì)錄：2013年10月，他走過(guò)了一條架設(shè)在拉斯維加斯曼德勒海灣上480英尺高空、長(zhǎng)360英尺的扁帶，創(chuàng)下了城市高空走扁帶的世界紀(jì)錄。他雖生活在猶他州的莫阿布，卻是許多部取景于多個(gè)秀麗景點(diǎn)的走扁帶視頻中的明星；在2012年的超級(jí)碗大賽中，他還和麥當(dāng)娜在中場(chǎng)休息表演中同臺(tái)演出。

可是，坦白地說(shuō)，他根本不在乎那些。

“為什么我不能把走扁帶稱為一種宗教信仰？”他問道?！白弑鈳П澈蟮纳罘绞接兄须[喻：一步一個(gè)腳印。保持平衡。掌握自己的命運(yùn)。可以直接化為對(duì)生活的信念?！?/p>

劉易斯在自己的手臂上文上了“為扁帶而生”幾個(gè)字，被人稱之為“二貨安迪”，全因他那些更像是被腎上腺素刺激而做的壯舉，包括在走扁帶時(shí)做定點(diǎn)跳傘和無(wú)保護(hù)高空走扁帶——即在走過(guò)位處幾百英尺高空的扁帶時(shí)，不佩戴任何保護(hù)繩索。劉易斯相信，挑戰(zhàn)極限才是走扁帶的精髓所在，而隨著這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)的發(fā)展壯大，他會(huì)征服更長(zhǎng)、更高、更讓人頭暈?zāi)垦５谋鈳В责嬜约旱撵`魂——就算這會(huì)引起公眾恐慌。

“人們不想看到你做這樣的事情，”劉易斯說(shuō)?！暗窃诮駮r(shí)今日的生活里，技藝不再受到尊重，真的很可怕。人們?nèi)缃裉ε旅半U(xiǎn)了?！?/p>