Posts from the ‘Moab Monkeys’ Category

Oct 10

Rhythms of Rimba Environmental Conservation Gathering 2018

This year’s annual Rhythms of Rimba festival was hosted in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, where a gathering of conservation focused scientists, artists, musicians and activists came together to share ideas and passions about the changing planet. Environmental awareness and education was at the forefront of this event’s theme, where the public got to participate in all sorts of interactive outdoor experiences (such as the space net and slacklines) while also learning about important environmental issues and our human impact on the Earth’s biosphere.

We live in a complex world together and our future hinges on the ability to cultivate better balance with our surroundings and create more harmonious relationships with the diverse wildlife sharing this living space. The slackline is a great metaphor for this challenge, providing an opportunity to play outside, find our center, breath deeper and tread a little lighter. Fun is fun, and when people of all ages, religious backgrounds and different nationalities come together to smile, laugh, balance and enjoy the outdoors, a new language is communicated and something transcendent happens.

The space net similarly provided an experience for everyone to sit back, slow down and enjoy the natural beauty of a sunset with strangers. Ultimately our human net-worth is only as strong as our capacity to net-work with one another.

Thanks so much to Anton Ngui and Linn Yong for pouring so much blood, sweat and tears into this event year after year, it was an honor to be a part of your vision. A big bow of appreciation goes out to my main rigging and adventure partner Scott Rogers for joining in the epic adventure, it was surely one we’ll never forget. To Tree Net Willy for coming through with some desperately needed paracord and nets at the last minute. And finally to all the other participants, local bad asses, speakers, bus drivers, DJs, hotel staff, etc. who helped out in the process, you are greatly appreciated. This kind of collaboration doesn’t happen without a community who supports it.

-Brian Mosbaugh

Nov 26

Red Bull features the 8th and 9th Annual Turkey Boogie/GGBY Desert Gathering

Roughly 400 rag-tag dirt bags and silent heroes from across the globe gather in the sandstone cliffs outside of Moab during Thanksgiving 2015 for Gobble Gobble Bitches Yea and Turkey Boogie; two festivals that are dedicated to supporting each spark that engulfs the imagination and pushes the limits of human possibility. Within 10 days, 17 highlines were strung, two space nets suspended and one Russian BASE swing constructed in the middle of the desert by dreamers, inventors, and influential creators coming together to create an unstoppable community. “It’s a cool environment to do groundbreaking things with talented people. It always has been and will continue to be that way.” says Scott Rogers, Director of the upcoming Wingate Motion film “Sky Tribe”. This group creates an atmosphere only portrayed in the Hollywood blockbusters, like finding the magical wardrobe or taking the red pill; you feel like you’ve made it to Neverland.

The tight, red canyon walls drop more than 350 feet below leaving you standing at a precipice of possibilities. Everywhere you look you are surrounded by the world’s best of the best in extreme sports, and each one of them is here to collaborate with your inspiration. That is where Scott Rogers and Cody Tuttle, Co-Directors of Wingate Motion, come into play. Documenting such incredible feats was a no-brainer for these two alongside the help of Brian Mosbaugh, Corey McCarthy, and Sarah Taz. Scott and Brian are two of the original Moab Monkeys and have been a part of the festival since it started many years ago. “At the beginning, we were setting world records every year. At the very first GGBY we rigged a 135 foot highline with Terry Acomb called ‘A Walk In The Sun’ and that was a world record. Several years later, Andy Lewis walked a 330 foot line which was the first highline longer than 100 meters,” Scott remarked. While records never have been a priority at the festival, they tend to happen thanks to the creative, open, and energetic people who gather there year after year.

Photo: Cody Tuttle

It was only a matter of time before the world would find out about GGBY and the Turkey Boogie events held in Moab. In eight years, the GGBY event grew from a mere 15 people on a camping trip to 400 people choosing “the outlaws over their in-laws” as Scott describes. With the growing community, 2015 was the biggest event yet, with GGBY and the Turkey Boogie mashed together for the second year in a row. The Wingate Motion production team hung off cliff faces, climbed tall boulders, and bounced across 4WD desert roads to work with the most talented Wingsuiters, BASE jumpers, and Highliners in the world. Over the week we captured the first two-way wingsuit flight off of Castleton Tower, the longest human anchored highline, the rope swing to BASE and Russian swing to BASE, just to name a few. “The cool thing about the event is that it’s a collection of so many awesome people that are so creative and so open to expressing their creativity uninhibited, because it is such an open and welcoming environment that it’s conducive for doing new and cool things,” says Scott. And that’s exactly what Wingate was able to capture.

Photo: Cody Tuttle

Wingate’s “Sky Tribe” lives somewhere between the documentation of the rare extreme sports we all know and love, and the embrace of the friends and outlaws we love as family. This community is built upon striving for more as a whole, thus empowering the individual; making each world record event a group achievement, which can’t be explained better than witnessing the human anchored highline. “That’s why we are making this film, to not only document this amazing event, but to inspire other people and other communities to continue doing things that they are passionate about; to grow, to create, to inspire others who continue to increase the collective amount of good things that we still have as humans in this world and try to offset the bad.” Scott describes the passion behind the film project we all share at Wingate. This film will unveil a totally new world for anyone who has not experienced the BASE or Highlining community, creating the feeling of a world hidden in another reality. This is our family, our Sky Tribe, and we encourage you to share, join in the fun, and to hopefully be inspired to go out with your own tribe and discover the realm of human possibility.

Words: Tiffany Junge

UPDATE:
Check out how the 9th annual Turkey Boogie/GGBY gathering has grown in yet another Red Bull featured video below. A tribute to the slacklove that Terry Acomb has so graciously offered to the world of extreme sport athletes exploring the red rock wilderness of Moab, Utah.

Nov 7

Worlds First Jägermeister Ice Cold Gig in the Sky

A new evolution of space net rigging finds its way into the mainstream media as a worlds first music gig high in the sky above Queenstown, New Zealand. Sponsored by Jägermeister and featuring the UK sensation band Modestep, this was truly a project of epic proportions. The space net has now found another use outside of its extreme platform for sports such as BASE jumping, rope swings and highlining around the world, having been converted into a globe trotting suspended musical stage. Who would have thought, right? What a pleasure it was working with the wonderful staff at Jägermeister this past September in the beautifully scenic countryside of New Zealand, especially while getting to know the witty and talented musical duo of Modestep. Pat Lundy and Josh Friend, you two are legends!

There’s so much that takes place behind the scenes to make a project like this become a reality so I wanted to officially recognize the hard work and efforts of Secret Compass, who helped coordinate this event with me for 15 months leading up to the live gig itself. Tom McShane, Tom Bodkin and Dave Lucas you guys are amazing individuals who really worked your butts off to get this ball rolling and on time. To all the invaluable local New Zealand mountain guides: Hugh Barnard, Davie Robinson, Bruce Dowrick, Tarn Pilkington and Tony McCutheon, without you all we would have been lost in the cold wilderness for a long time. To AJ Sutherland, Donna Allen, Tim Reid and Tim Pierce your audio and visual expertise allowed us to have real sound in real nature. Tony Young, thanks for creating all the stunning aerial drone shots that made for a beautiful cinematic touch. Geoff Ellis, you persevered in working around the clock to create the necessary perspex platforms for all the instruments and band. Heli Glenorchy, your piloting skills in the backcountry are top notch and nothing short of perfection. Sherwood Queenstown thanks for looking after us and providing ample flat whites for our caffeine needs every morning. Last but not least, my main rigging hand and long time adventure partner, Scott Rogers, you’re such an incredibly talented professional to have at my side when undertaking these big commercial stunts. Your thoroughness and diligence in all these impressive endeavors with the Moab Monkeys never goes unnoticed. The same can be said of Cody Tuttle, of Wingate Motion, who was one of the principal shooters for the main feature and ‘behind the scenes’ video seen below. Your artistic eye and fierce courage to get the shot in the toughest of circumstances is truly inspiring. A lot more could be elaborated about the trials and tribulations of this crazy project but I’ll simply let the videos speak for themselves. Thanks everyone for all the hard work and enthusiasm on this breathtaking worlds first live music gig high in the sky. Cheers!

~Brian Mosbaugh

Jan 25

“Global Gladiators” New Reality TV Show, African Adventures and a Space Net-Rope Swing Challenge

The e-mails volleyed back and forth for a couple of weeks. Digital communication across separate continents discussing the details of a new German television series in the making. Think American Ninja Warrior meets Survivor. The premise being that two teams of German celebrities will explore the vast wilderness of Southern Africa, competing in a series of outdoor obstacle courses over water, land and air. The competitors will travel over 2,500 miles distance through rugged environments in a windowless freight container, stopping only to compete against one another in a succession of impressive outdoor challenges across some of Namibia’s most breathtaking sceneries. They’ll jump from helicopters into water, rope swing out of one of our patented space nets and free fall hundreds of feet above the ground, among many other exciting physical and mental tests.

SPIDERNET-BOULE VIDEO LINK (chapter 4, part 2)

The new rigging assignment was to build a space net that would be suspended somewhere in the desert of Namibia, as part of a new adventure reality television show called Global Gladiators. Our objective was to prepare a new net that would have a rope swing component out of it, something we’ve only prepared in the home comforts of Moab. The game plot was designed so that the contestants would cross a long horizontal rope (tyrollean-traverse) hung in the middle of a canyon to access our suspended net, scramble around on the large hammock surface to find a hidden hand-held bocci ball, free fall out of the net into a large pendulum rope swing and attempt to throw their ball at a fixed target below. Basically a very extreme game show version of bocci ball. Easy enough, right? Well, from a rigging stand point Scott Rogers, Tiffany Junge and I knew this was going be an extremely technical rigging task in a very harsh desert environment. We naturally smiled at the new challenge and began devising a plan. With no time to waste we started brainstorming innovative ideas together, drawing up design diagrams and making important calculations.

Before knowing all the details of the job ahead we needed to first do a reconnaissance trip to Southern Africa. Global Gladiators sent Scott Rogers out to Fish River Canyon, which happens to be the largest canyon system on the continent of Africa, located in southern Namibia, to find the perfect space for our proposed rigging challenge. Upon returning to Moab, he reported that the most promising gap he could find was 400 feet across, at its smallest span, and the rock quality ranged from very bad to pretty solid. A geological mixture of optimism with a hint of spiciness. We knew this big budget project was going to be full of new obstacles and the scouting trip confirmed this to be true. Amenities, available gear and human support, we were told ahead of time, were going to be scarce so our pre-expedition logistical planning would have to be extremely precise for everything to be executed flawlessly. In addition to our homework, we were given a second assignment to create another challenge for the show that would take place at a totally different location in Swakopmund, immediately following our de-rig schedule. The expedition was shaping up to be jam packed with lots of excitement and hundreds of miles to be traveled across vast parts of the African desert, in the midst of their hot summer season. This was a job that would require military precision, effective team communication and impressive rigging expertise. With next to no shade available in the canyons, temperatures were forecasted to be hovering around 115 degrees fahrenheit and we would only have access to a very small rigging team at our side. Considering all the facts on the table, we smiled once again, realizing that our decades of accumulative rigging experience, desert acclimatization in Moab and unique climbing/rigging skills made us the most qualified and only professional team in the world capable of completing such a task, with crew safety always at the forefront of our minds.

Fast forwarding a month, after a mirage of logistical planning and flying half way around the world to a new desert environment, we all found ourselves gathered in a small studio apartment in Windhoek, Namibia with extreme jet lag. We unloaded our massive coils of ropes, metal bolts, steel carabiners and remaining gear on the floor to begin prepping. The following days would consist of meeting parts of the Global Gladiator’s production team, sourcing more ropes and materials in town and then eventually heading out across the desert expanse to confront a multitude of rigging tests ahead.

The design of the space net to rope swing challenge (titled “Spidernet-Boule”) was that each contestant would manually pull themselves across 400 foot long horizontal ropes (tyrollean-traverse) to the center of the canyon, while hanging 120 feet above the rocky ground from a climbing harness. Once positioned above the suspended space net we would lower them into our colorful net, attach them to a new leash system and they would begin scrambling about the perimeter of the webbing, searching through a series of dangling black bags to find a specific colored hand-held bocci ball. Once found, I would attach them to a separate 100 foot long rope swing, already secured to the edge of the net, so that they would plummet toward the ground at high speeds and attempt to toss their bocci ball at a tree target below at the apex of their swing. To conclude the game, we would lower them carefully to the ground from the swing ropes and they would be judged based on their ball accuracy to the target and time taken during the challenge. Depending on how close the ball landed to this target determined how many points they would accumulate as a team and as individual competitors. At the end of the game, the losing team would be forced to pick a team member to leave the television program and thus no longer be in the running for winning money or being crowned the Global Gladiators champion.

Working 16-20 hour days to prepare this stunt, 5 consecutive days in a row with no more than 4 hours of rest per night, we accomplished our rigging goal and provided an extremely adventurous experience for the German contestants. Despite the long hours of work in very harsh desert conditions, temperatures hovering around 114 degrees most of the day, we kept each other safe and focused as a team. Our effective ability to take care of one another in the high stress environment, while maintaining safety as our primary objective throughout the experience, was noted by the production crew and they left with a tremendous amount of respect for our professional rigging abilities. What we created and coordinated as a cohesive team unit was nothing short of world-class rigging with an awe inspiring outcome for the Global Gladiators television program.

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First rope swing and space net rigged in Namibia

After wrapping up production with the 8 German celebrities and spending the following morning de-rigging the net, we barely had enough time to breath or celebrate before setting off on a 14 hour drive to our next set location of Swakopmund. Read more

Oct 4

Rhythms of Rimba Rainforest Celebration

I just got back from the humid jungles of Borneo, where myself and other members of the Moab Monkey crew installed a new custom space net in celebration of preserving biodiversity. We spent the past week enjoying the sights and sounds of Sandakan, Borneo, rigging a colorful “Jungle Nest” above a beautiful lake at the Rainforest Discovery Centre. This was all coordinated as part of an amazing annual festival to celebrate, preserve and teach about the immediate need to protect our rapidly disappearing jungle environments. Over a two day period, hundreds of professional artists, educators and musicians gathered at the 2015 Rhythms of Rimba celebration to share their thoughts, concerns and plans to slow the destruction of their surrounding jungle. During the event it was our duty to facilitate over 200 people from the general public, getting in and out of the suspended net (with a huge amount of help from local Bornean climbers), to enjoy a new perspective of the canopy life around them. Although our role may not have been as educational as the professional lectures given, it offered attendees the opportunity to push themselves past comfort levels in their beautiful home and see new perspectives along the way. We also took advantage of this time to rig several slacklines in the area to teach the general public how to walk again. This gave them a greater appreciation for their own personal balance and mind power, which empowers humans for life.

One of the biggest steps in preserving the rapidly disappearing jungles, due to expanding palm oil plantations and other forms of corporate exploitation, is the simple act of educating people on the importance of protecting biodiversity as a whole. If you don’t understand the fragility of your own home or wildlife, you’re less likely to take a stand against its destruction. Similarly, if you don’t value its natural presence then you won’t see the absolute need for its existence. This is why the festival was created, to make a positive impact on the surrounding communities and take a stand against the decimation of our own biodiversity.

Orangutans in rehabiliation

Sun Bears in rehabilitation

By deforesting our rainforests in the name of human greed we simultaneously destroy all fragile ecosystems, plants and animals that require them to live, including ourselves. Borneo supports over 15,000 different plant species alone, which rivals that of the entire African continent, and may well represent the highest level of over all plant diversity on planet Earth. A lot of this vegetation remains endemic to the unique island of Borneo, so when rampant deforestation and wildfires takes place, as a direct result of the growing palm oil industry, this precious life disappears forever. When you take into account that many endangered species are already struggling to live on this large island (the thirds largest in the world after Greenland and New Guinea), such as the colugo flying squirrels, pygmy elephants, Sumatran rhinos, orangutans, clouded leopards, gibbons and sun bears, you realize many changes need to be made in regard to our human behaviors and priorities for this biodiversity to continue existing. If drastic changes aren’t made more life will be lost and our future generations will be deprived of a more diverse world to live in.

Sep 16

Around the World in 3 Weeks

For every story they say there is a beginning, middle and end. For this story there is a stop in Thailand, Poland and Switzerland. During a 3 week circumnavigation around the globe, Scott Rogers and myself spent about a weeks time in each country playing with gravity and doing a little “work” along the way. It was a trip of many firsts for me where I experienced my first (B)uilding B.A.S.E. jump, rigged a new world record urban highline 600′ above Bangkok’s busy city life, committed to my first terminal tracking BASE jumps in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, and saw so much more along the way. I attempted to capture some moments on the blazing trail and here are a few glimpses of the beauty and diversity of the sights, sounds and people we got to play and smile with. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter One: Worlds Longest Urban Highline (Bangkok, Thailand)

First stop on the world adventure travel tour is Bangkok, Thailand. Scott Rogers, Andy Lewis and I got busy right off the airplane rigging a 560 foot long highline 600 feet above the urban sprawl of the hot humid city environment. This was all part of a deodorant commercial in collaboration with Gibbon Slacklines. Thanks Jan Kaeding for the amazing invite and excellent memories.

The new world record length urban highline has finally been rigged after waiting on the vectran to pass through customs. It weighs in at 170 meters long (557′) and 160 meters high (524′)… Andy made his first attempts on the line in the middle of the night at 3:00 AM. He was able to walk the last 30′ or so successfully but we’re waiting on daylight to really get the rig dialed in… One of the most impressive lines I’ve seen to date! So much thanks goes out to everyone who has been a part of this effort and project that is finally just starting: Paul Amornwet of tab Agency, Jan Karl Alexander Kaeding of Gibbon Slacklines, Balance Community: Slackline Outfitters, Scott Rogers for all the rigging assistance and as well a big shout out to our support team of Thai climbers that have been such a big help!

Chapter Two: The 6th Annual Urban Highline Festival (Lublin, Poland)

Slackliners from around the world have been gathering in the quaint historical town of Lublin, Poland, for the past six years rigging dozens of highlines in this amazing urban setting. Thanks to the efforts of Jan Galek, Faith Dickey, Jordan Tybon, Wojtek Kozakiewicz and so many more, this gathering continues to grow in attendees as the slack scene becomes globally widespread and more individuals discover the benefits of being better balanced people. This celebration takes place alongside a massive gathering of Carnival arts comprised of mimes, aerial silk performers, contortionists and other acrobats. The vibe is so much different than Bangkok and it was an incredible experience to see so many familiar old and new faces in the community of modern slacklining. Officially the Europeans have been pushing the sport in a huge way with monumental advances in the lengths of highlines walked and exploring new environments to establish lines in space. Without a doubt, the two church highlines were my favorite to walk at this gathering. If I could share one bit of advice concerning this event it would be to attend every year if you have the chance!

Chapter Three: The Valley of Death or Glory (Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland)

Welcome to the world of 2,000 foot tall limestone cliffs amidst the most beautiful alpine mountain environment you’ve ever imagined. With gondola services that take you to the top of either side of the valley with countless world-class BASE exits. This magical place is either a Disneyland paradise for talented wingsuit pilots and trackers to test their skills or The Valley of Death if you make any mistake. Taking anywhere between 8-15 second free fall delays, before pitching your pilot chute and being under an inflated canopy, you can leap from these great heights and fly like superman. After landing in a soft grassy field you’re only a 15 minute walk to the nearest local pub and cuisine. For those more adventurous types, a couple gondola rides plus a 3 hour hike in the mountains can get you to the top of the infamous North Face Eiger Wall. This place absolutely blew my mind in terms of how outrageously scenic it was and the gravity of having to perform every jump with flawless execution. It seemed everyday someone was having a cliff strike, landing in the tall trees or worse, which added to the commitment level of every action I took. I’ve made it a goal to spend time in this magical place every year, as long as I’m current in my flying skills. Thanks so much to Andy Lewis, Scott Rogers and Jimmy Peterson for being there on my first long free fall delays, you brothers will always be near and dear to my heart!