'Glorious moment': Dare-devils walk slackline suspended at 8,202ft

A pair of German dare-devils walked across a slackline suspended between two hot air balloons, floating at 8,202 feet and created a new world record. 

Friedi Kuhne and Lukas Irmler achieved the feat in the skies over Riedering on November 9, 2024, breaking the previous record of 6,236ft that was registered in 2021. 

The duo faced some difficulties and had to restart a couple of times. Lukas, attempted the feat first but fell off the rope twice before managing to walk the slackline to the second balloon. With each fall, they had to restart and walk again, according to Guinness World Records. 

"The main attempt of breaking the world record was pretty difficult for me," said Lukas. 

“The pressure was really high. It was a great relief of pressure, and it was a glorious moment," he added. 

Freidi was the second to attempt the feat but before that, he watched Lukas' walk. 

“Watching Lukas struggle on the slackline was also very intimidating for me,” Friedi said.

The weather and the movement of the balloons presented themselves as obstacles when Friedi started to walk the slackline.

"Not only did the balloons spin the entire time, they also went up and down," he added. 

"At one point we were walking kind of downhill — the next minute uphill. The tension of the line was going up and down," Friedi said. 

He added that "Nothing could prepare us like that".