On 26 May 2020, famous tightrope walker Nathan Paulin (26) pushed the boundaries of his practice, by crossing, on a 2.5 cm strap, the 648 meters which separate the two banks of the Argentière glacier, in Haute-Savoie.
Above the Argentière glacier
On 26 May 2020, Nathan Paulin, a well-known French tightrope walker, took a breathtaking trip at 2,100 m (6,889 ft) above sea level, at the entrance to the Mont-Blanc massif. He crossed the glacier of Argentière, at the level of its impressive fall of terminal seracs.
In barely twenty-five minutes, Nathan Paulin covered, standing in balance on a 2.5 cm wide strap, the 648 meters separating the two banks of the second largest French glacier.
This is the first time in France that such a length has been achieved in high mountains, at 2,100 meters above sea level.
Hard preparations
Nathan Paulin came up with this idea some time ago, and the initial plan was to implement it in the winter season 2019/2020. However, because of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the operation was not possible until May 2020.
Almost 200 kilos of equipment, including 60 straps, had to be transported from the Chamonix valley. After part of the ascent by the Grands Montets cable car, graciously reopened for the operation by the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc, the small team continued to the edge of the glacier.
“Using a drone, we first stretched a fishing line to the other side between two rocks, then a wider wire and finally the strap that weighs more than 100 kilos", explains Bertrand Delapierre, the film director who accompanied Nathan.
The mid-day on May 26, after a day and a half of intense fieldwork with eight companions, the high line is finally ready, fixed between two huge blocks of granite on either side of the glacier.
"I had never experienced this, says the tightrope walker. When I'm on my strap, I feel everything tenfold all the more when the landscape is so beautiful. I could hear all the sounds of the glacier and I realized how moving it was. It was pretty unreal", explains Nathan.
Future performances
This crossing of the Argentière glacier was done in privacy. But on Saturday, June 20, Nathan Paulin will reconnect with the public with a different but equally amazing performance: crossing the village of Saint-Gervais on a tight rope, between the church tower and the Bettex gondola. "My job is also to put on shows and I am happy to resume after all the cancellations that I have suffered from the virus", explains Nathan.
The young man is expected to perform three demonstrations in the afternoon and evening. And the operation does not come completely out of nowhere since Nathan has a link with Saint-Gervais: "My grandmother is from the town, it's a bit like going back to basics".
Sources @Le Dauphine, Liberation.fr
About Nathan Paulin
Nathan Paulin is a French tightrope walker. He was born in 1994 and lives in the village of Le Reposoir in Haute-Savoie.
Passionate by mountain sports since he was a child, Nathan started slacklining in 2011. He finds true inner peace in this activity, which combines intense concentration and body control. This well-being during the practice makes him very quickly addicted, his progress is fast. He is one of the best in the world in this discipline from 2013.
Nathan holds about ten world records. Its longest crossing is a 1662m long highline 300m high in the Cirque de Navacelles on June 9, 2017. In favour of a French charity TV show, he covered the 670m distance between the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadero in Paris, thus achieving his most emblematic performance. Pushing the limits of this sport is one of the reasons why it is taking on longer and longer crossings. The search for new, unexplored places and the aesthetics of these sites is his main motivation.
Source @nathanpaulin.com
