Rock Wall Climbing on Stilts!

Once again the wonderful amazes me with her "out of the box" thinking, I have rock wall climbed before....but never ever thought of doing it on stilts, truly magnificent is this feat...or shall I say, her feet! I tip my hat to her in respect for being the beautiful woman she is, and for doing amazing things like this over and over, again and again.

The Golden Gate Bridge, Jumper Stilts and Me.

During my travels down to San Fransisco my friend asked me if I ever thought of crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on my bio mechanical stilts, I asked how long it was and realized that it will be no problem. Little did I know what was going to happen on 9/11/2009 and how it would change my way of viewing what I do. I did some research and discovered that back in May 27th 1937 when they opened the bridge to the public, a person named Florentine Calegari crossed this bridge on stilts, both ways...so I was not able to discover if they were still alive, but did make a shirt with their name on it in honor of such an  accomplishment.

This video will show what happened when I decided to do the same thing but with my bio-mechanical stilts instead.

Australian Ambient Entertainment

Zoom Entertainment

ADAGIO, AERIAL, CIRCUS, FIRE ACTS, SPRUIKERS, MIME, STILT WALKERS !

Zoom Entertainment is a professional and cost effective ENTERTAINMENT booking solution that can offer you the worlds best PERFORMERS and also offer the cream of the crop in upcoming talent : many have performed with "CIRQUE DU SOLEIL" and or performed on Channel Sevens "Australia's got talent" amongst others. Their ARTISTS are from all around Australia and the world, many of their ARTISTS perform across the globe. They offer LIVE ENTERTAINMENT for any EVENT or venue, they will find you the best ARTISTS and ACTS to suit your needs. They feature superb ARTISTS for ROVING and SHOWS.

BUT THEIR STILT WALKERS -out of Sydney, Australia have a variety of Professional acts available with many themes such as clown - Dragon - Spider - 3 queen of hearts - 19th century lady - Court jester - Ringmaster - Techboy solo or Duo with reflective UV costumes - Geisha boy and girl and many more. May include juggle, flags, glow sticks, whips or magic. jumping stilts are also available.

HERE ARE THEIR FAIRGROUND FEMMES -out of Sydney

Good girls to heaven, Outrageous girls go everywhere... Anywhere and everywhere, these characters will find their place.

Designed to enjoy life and share their love of it with their audience, they are bright, bold and courageously fun!

Can make Balloon animals and other funny objects on request.

Click this link for their International Website and then click this one for their Australian Website

Fantastikals

    So every year at the Bristol Renaissance Faire which is a outdoor Renaissance and fantasy themed event on the Illinois/ Wisconsin border, there are a group of characters that people await to see, they are known as the Fantastikals.

    Apparently every year this group of highly creative individuals brings something new and exciting to the Faire, and the crowd adores them. Below is a saytr type creature that combines Velocity type stilts with the costume to give it a complete fantasy feel.

    Very inspiring, a nice effect all the way and gives me plenty of ideas and a new focus for projects yet to come. It is such a beautiful thing to see such great ideas come to a manifestation and to also know that there are others pressing forward with such projects.

From the Journal of Roy Lambeth

Let me introduce to you a cross country, extreme stilt walker that I have had the pleasure of recent correspondence, his name is Roy Lambeth, born 1948, and resides in Newcastle within the United Kingdom. He is a retired bus driver that has a wonderful passion for stilt walking, my correspondence began with him when I joined a online group called Stilting Dangers, simply amazed at what I absorbed as I read Roy's posts, below is a excerpt of Roy's journal with a video clip to go along for you to get an idea of what Roy does and IS currently doing.

Today, I went to Kepier wood and found that the frost had gone overnight and so had the ice, this was replaced by an inch or so thick, yellow, clay-like mud. I was to find that this sort of mud can be worse than ice. I got down the tarred path into the wood and crossed the area where the ice had been. The path ahead was a dull yellow in colour but I did not expect what happened next. Walking normally I strode onto the yellow path and immediately went flat having almost done the splits. I sat there for a moment wondering "What the Hell!!!!". As I crawled to the nearest tree I found that this yellow path was slimy to the extreme. Having hauled myself vertical I moved cautiously back to the path, placing a stilt gingerly on the yellow. I brought the other stilt forward and placed it just a couple of inches in front and put my weight on it. As soon as I did, it started to slide sideways and I picked it up and replanted it on a slightly different patch, again put my weight on it and stiffening my muscles which managed to stop its attempt to slide from under me. I twisted my foot to try and secure the stilt then brought the other stilt forward and placed it again just a couple of inches in front and almost at once I went down again as both stilts launched sideways without warning. Having hauled myself upright again, I went back and tried again, this getting up and falling down continued for about 20 times. Then a man came along walking his dog and offered me a hand, but even with his support the stilts were sliding in all directions an several times I nearly flattened him also. We decided today was not THE DAY and he continued his walk while I took to the leafy and grassy side of the path and headed home. Even here I had to be very careful as there were hidden tree roots and patches of slimy mud under dead leaves. Back at the car I was very muddy all over, but nothing hurting and no damage done. Endurance about 2 hours with tons of adrenaline. Must try again tomorrow!!

Feb 3rd 2006

Went to the wood again this morning. After heavy overnight rain everywhere was quite muddy. Got to the yellow clay path with a little difficulty, with stilts sliding a little at every step before finding solid ground. I shortened my stride to just a few inches and stepped onto the yellow clay - nerves jangling. First few steps were no worse than the rest of the path with the stilts sliding gently but easily recoverable. I managed quite well for about 100 yards finding that the extra water rather than thawing mud slime was making the mud walkable with care. However the path was level. After the 100 yards, there is a fairly steep incline. I got up it fairly easily and continued on the level for another 200 odd yards, sliding often but recovering well. Got to the fence at the end of the wood and decided against stilting through the field full of cattle. I rested for a while, had a drink then set off back. Once again the path though slippery was walkable with care and I managed the 200 odd yards without any major problem but then came to the downward slope. Previous experience told me that going down hill is far more difficult than going up since you cannot see where you are planting the front peg when leaning back to maintain vertical balance. So how to do it? I decided on descending sideways so that I could see any obstacle or potential slippery bit. About halfway down the lower stilt launched without warning while the upper stilt was off the ground and I sank to my knees. Crawled back to the top and used a tree to get vertical again and tried the descent facing the other way. Again about halfway down I found myself on the ground having lost traction with both stilts at the same time. I repeated the process of getting vertical then tried going straight down having picked my route at the top. To my surprise I managed the descent without too much difficulty. Now brimming with confidence I set off back along the yellow mud. A bit too confident because as I lengthened my stride the mud took over and I took a heavy fall without warning. Hauling myself upright again, I was a bit shaken and with nerves jangling again and body shaking I gingerly stepped back onto the clay and very gently and with very short steps headed home without further mishap.I learned about too much confidence from this morning, no damage done and looking forward to next attempt.

Feb 24th 2006

After 3 weeks layoff due to horrible weather, I ventured into Kepier wood this afternoon. After nearly 3 weeks of almost continual rain the river was running very high and the footpaths were very slimy. I put on the 24inch pegs in the car park and set off for the wood again. I gingerly went down the fairly steep path which is tarred but covered with rotting leaves and a certain amount of mud. The stilts were sliding around but not more than a few inches each slide, so I had very little problem. I got to the yellow clay, stepped onto it with one stilt but could find no grip whatsoever. The stilt was sliding as though on ball bearings. So I turned round and headed for the alternative route which is lower down and closer to the river, and one which I have not tried as yet. I found the path quite narrow with the centre of the path several inches lower than the edges, once again with patches of yellow clay. With the 'U' shaped path, the stilts would only slide forwards or backwards unless I tried to plant one off-centre, then I found no grip at all. The path is fairly level for about 200yds then it climbs steeply for about 3 yds, over a rotting tree trunk and steeply down again. I managed the uphill quite well but the downhill was almost impossible with both stilts trying to slide forwards. After several almost but not quite' moments I was on the level again. Then I came to a flight of 6 uneven, slippery and narrow stone steps down to a stream bed with rushing water followed by another 8 similar steps up the other side. I paused and marked time while I examined the steps to decide the easiest or safest way down, not having tried to go down steps without assistance. When the time was 'now or never', I headed down the steps, one at a time and found that I managed quite well so long as I looked down and planted the stilt exactly where I wanted it. Going up the other side was no problem. I carried on for about another quarter of a mile until I came to the end of the wood, then sat on the stile for a rest. Distance in all about one mile. After a good rest I set off back but after about 300 yards a freak gust of wind caught me and to regain my balance I had to step off the path and promptly sank a full 2ft right up to my footplate. With one foot a full 2ft below the other foot, I was unable to recover and decided on a backwards fall onto the soft ground thus not sustaining any damage to my knees or muscles. I took the stilts off and had great difficulty in pulling the stilt out of the ground. Then walked back to the car since there was no-where near that I could use to put the stilts back on. An interesting day with lots of thrills and difficulties. Can't wait for my next trip.

Oct 21st 2007
Just a note to keep you up to date. Early Thursday morning I went stilting for the first time for a couple of weeks. I was wanting to try out the new stilt feet made from mountain bike tyre which I fixed fore and aft on the stilt foot. I had a great time at Bowlees and found the new feet gave me much more confidence (maybe too much!) than with just the toe-stops. I went to the Muggleswick 2nd path I know where I have not dared to go before due to its being so very steep and made from yellow clay. I found this new path fairly difficult but with several near disasters I managed to get to the bottom without mishap. Coming back up was much easier, so I tried going down again and managed a little more easily this time, on Friday morning I went out again and went to the same new steep path. There had been a little rain overnight and quite a heavy dew. As usual, I checked my route before mounting the stilts and all seemed fine if just a little greasy, so I noted that I would have to be a little more careful today! Once on the stilts, I went down the old path first and had no problem so I went to the new path. WOW - it was very slippery. I set off very gently going down sideways and had several minor launching. I had got about half way down when suddenly the lower (left) stilt just took off with me and slid about 2ft down hill. I could not recover and headed for the ground backwards. I attempted to twist round to my knees but only managed about half a turn landing heavily on my left hip and lower ribs. I lay there for a while before crawling to a nearby tree and hauled myself upright. I was quite sore and when I set off again I had a pronounced limp and I was shaking with the adrenalin rush. I decided I would not try the site of my fall again today as the shakes would not allow me to plan each step carefully and the clay was so very greasy, so headed back up the hill. This time going up was very difficult with several slips and slides back down the hill and a lot of recovery work needed to stay vertical. For once I was actually relieved to get back to the top. Today I am still stiff and sore. This is the worst fall I have had for several years, but I cannot wait until I am fit again so I can go back and master this most difficult of hills. I am planning to change the stilt feet again and this time put the bike tyre across the stilt foot side to side, on top of the fore & aft tyre to see if it will increase my safety and restrict the sliding and launching that I get when going downhill sideways. What do you think? Still enjoying my adventures!



Dec 27th 2007
I have just been back to my old hill at Muggleswick where I fell heavily around 2 months ago. Having been attempting to stilt on ice first(see posting under ICE)where I had to use my quad-skate toe-stops to enable my staying vertical at all, I arrived at the hill with the quad-skate toe stops on he feet. I found while walking my route the frost had made the path surface hard but with sticky mud just under the surface. I put on the stilts and set off down this very steepest of hills, finding the grip quite good with only very gentle attempted launching. I got to the point of my heavy fall 2 months ago and the adrenalin started pumping and apprehension set in. Very gently I placed the stilts going down sideways as before as it is far too steep to try going down forwards. Suddenly the lower stilt launched down the hill and I staggered, arms flailing wildly to try and stay upright, but I was unable to control the slide and had to drop onto my knees. Using a nearby tree, I got vertical again and continued down the hill avoiding the place where I fell. With heart pumping hard and whole body shaking gently, placing the stilts safely was very difficult. After several more "nearly but not quite" moments I reached the bottom, and set off back up the hill. All went well until I reached the spot where I fell and I found that the spot was actually so steep that it was unstiltable and placing a stilt anywhere on the path was causing a launching. So I avoided the area and went up the grass, then back onto the path and back to the top. A great day at 2 different sites with 2 different obstacles. I really enjoyed the adventures. Total time up high about 2 hours. 6 falls but no injury. I cannot wait to go back and try again. Watch this space....

Jan 20th 2008
Yesterday morning I went out to my favourite steep hill at Muggleswick. Inspecting my route as I always do before stilting, I found that the overnight heavy rain had made the path quite slimy. I chose my 20 inch pegs, kitted up and set off. The level path was a bit unpredictable with every step producing a small slide. When I arrived at the hill, I chose my intended path, placed one stilt on the slope and immediately did the splits as the lower peg launched down the path at speed. I hovered at the point of no return for a few moments fighting balance and trying to find a secure position for this lower stilt before dropping to my knees. Oh dear! Just too slippery to contemplate today. So I packed up and drove the 12 miles to Bowlees in Teesdale. The sloping car park is covered with dead slimy leaves and the footpath over to the flight of steps is a mixture of mud and smooth flat rock. Once again I chose my 20inch pegs and wandered round the car park finding plenty of grip with the mountain bike tyre feet. I then set off along the path and found the mud squelchy and slippery and the rock wet and slimy. After several "nearly but not quite" heart stopping moments I got to the steps only to find they were under repair with some sheets of wood covering the treads. I stepped up onto the first step and promptly fell! The wood covering was slimy to the extreme and totally unstiltable. Having got vertical again I made my way back to the car park and headed home for breakfast. Duration about 1 hour up high, 2 falls, no injuries, and I looking forward to my next escapade.

Michelle Rainbow Dave Frost

So some years ago I did a 13.5 mile marathon on wooden "Chinese pole" stilts for the Hope and Healing foundation, a wonderful breast cancer foundation that helps curb some of the needs of those with this particular cancer. But what does this have to do with Michele you may ask? Well, it warms my soul to learn of other stilt walkers that use their talents for purposes such as this and this brings us to Michele, I found Michele via Facebook and I am glad our cyber paths have crossed. Here is her story~

Residing out of Kempston, United Kingdom she got the news that she was offered a charity place for the London Marathon. It was a spur of the moment idea for her to email the charity to see if they had spaces going, and now they got back to her saying some of their runners had dropped out. So she decided to do it...... on stilts!!!

She was running for Reach, a charity that looks after children born with upper limb deficiencies and needed to raise a minimum of £750 for the charity and event. The plan is to do the marathon on 4ft poles, and to be wearing bright clothing on which would be the names of everyone who donated towards this!


Well, yes she did the London Marathon April 2008, and with it's completion found herself officially in the Guinness Book of World records 2009 edition for completing the fastest marathon on stilts in 8hours and 25minutes!




So with last years marathon under her belt she has decided to do the 2009, and you may help her with donations if you click this link "Help Michelle!"it will take you to the proper page and you may donate what you can to help her on her path. Kudos to you my dear! And I am happy to say your inspiration awakened a part of me that has been a sleep for a bit of time, thank you my dear.

Below is a image of me and one of the founders of the foundation I walked, now it was only 13.5 miles and I completed it in 5hrs and 15minutes, and then Michelle informed me recently that she had to do a half marathon before the real thing (13.1 miles) and that it took her 4 hours all of them on 4ft pegs. Way to go my dear!

So my fellow readers, if there is a will there is definitely a way, and giving is well worth the receiving. I hope this inspires others to use their skills in ways to better the world as a whole than just for themselves.

Mr Alexander Böck

We have to thank Mr Alexander Böck for the invention of these stilts. Very little is known about the inventor himself but it is said that the jumping stilts were created based on his in-depth research into the walking and running movements of the kangaroo, the stilt was developed and evolved over time to mimic this and now offers the end-user boundless possibilities. It is widely recognized within the sport that once mastered you can run faster than 20mph and jump 7ft high!

The biggest exposure the stilts saw was when the jumping stilts were featured in an advert for Zurich with the slogan "Because change happens" in which it asks "What if your product goes global?

Luckily for Mr Böck his stilts have gone global and are now protected by a patent in most countries. One of his patent images can be seen below and surprisingly it was originally patented as "A Device for helping a person to walk!"

The brand that Mr Böck created and now sells himself is called "Powerskip". These stilts are regarded as the best and are used mainly by professional performing artists such as "Swebounce" whom you can view in their promo video below!