Highlining 500 Feet off the Desert Floor? Just a Walk in the Park on New Discovery+ Series “Pushing the Line”

“What is it like to walk on a line, hundreds of feet above the ground, on a 1-inch rope that’s thinner than your belt?”

Most of us would answer that question with words like “insane,” “terrifying,” or simply, “nope!” But to a small collection of thrill-seekers, that precarious stroll known as highlining is just another step pursuing new heights of adrenaline—literally.

Pushing the Line, a new series from discovery+ launching June 5, is documenting that pursuit alongside a collection of up-and-coming and well-known highliners who spend every day trying to outdo previously held records spanning dizzying heights and daunting distances.

Highlining, at its core, necessitates incredible balance, strength, stamina, and athleticism. “But you also must be strong mentally—even just to attempt getting on the line,” the show’s synopsis says.

Over the course of 30 days, discovery+ film crews captured some of the death-defying sport’s top participants, each of whom “live every day like it could be their last” as they battle it out to get their names etched in the record books.

Courtesy of discovery+

Episodes include highlining stunts in some of the West’s most stunning (and intimidating) destinations, such as Moab’s legendary—or infamous, depending on your perspective on heights—Fruit Bowl, where athletes run a slackline 500 feet over the desert floor. Other destinations include Utah’s 400-foot Castleton Tower as well as parts of the Colorado Rockies, where the group embarks on a relentless chase for the U.S. record for the highest kilometer highline walk.

Throughout the show, cameras aim to discover “what motivates these athletes to risk it all every day.” Additional footage digs further into the personal lives of the sport’s athletes, which, perhaps to no surprise, are oftentimes just as wild off the line as on it.

(Look no further for an example than a couple who exchanged their wedding vows while suspended 500 feet over Moab.)

Check out Pushing the Line on discovery+ June 5, and stay involved with the conversation by using #PushingTheLine on social media.