Estonian daredevil Jaan Roose offers us a bird’s eye view of Dubai with his latest death-defying stunt: a 330-ft stroll between two of its skyscrapers with a 700-ft drop beneath him.
The trendy younger sibling to tightrope walking, Slacklining involves brave types crossing a flat band suspended between two points. Roose is a major name in the scene and has won the Slackline World Championship three times, plus he has stuntman credits to his name in movies like Assassin’s Creed and Wonder Woman 1984.
Designed by Hazel Wong and completed in 1999, the Emirates Towers rise to a height of 355 m (1,164 ft) and 309 m (1,013 ft), respectively. They are located next to the Museum of the Future and the taller building is an office tower, while its smaller counterpart is a hotel.
This stunt was particularly challenging because the slackline had to be anchored at different points on each tower, meaning that Roose had to walk up and down a slope as he crossed from one side to the other and then back again. The line measured 100 m (328 ft) in length and was suspended at a height of 224 m (374 ft) above the Dubai streets.
Naim Chidiac/Red Bull Content Pool
“The technical setup itself was something we really had to look at because although both buildings of the Emirates Towers are similar in terms of design, they are very different in height so to find the right spots to anchor the highlines was challenging,” explains the Estonian daredevil. “What we ended up with is one side is at a higher anchor point so I’m walking uphill here and then also walking back downhill.”
The stunt was carried out under the Red Bull banner for the United Arab Emirates’ 1 Billion Followers media summit, which was held on January 11. Roose has also tackled a number of similar feats, including a walk between the Katara Towers and an unsuccessful attempt at crossing from mainland Italy to Sicily.
Source: Red Bull
