Building equalizations

The part that will need all your imagination is undoubtedly the building of anchors, on which you will attach the webbing and backup.

We will not speak here about bolting, which is described in an other post, but “only” about how to equalize correctly to make a safe highline anchor.

What criteria for a nice equalization?

The spacing of where you will attach the anchors, natural anchors or not has a huge influence on the equalization type. However, some characteristics can be founded to be able to say that the equalization is well done:

Anchors are really equalized
Equalization angles are small
The master point is considered strong enough to pull hard on it
If possible, main and backup anchors are different

Less important but good to do:

The equalization is dynamic
Friction on anchors is avoided
Master points “goes out” of the cliff
Backup master point is in line with the force master point
Equalizations are stable and light
The webbing is attached horizontally on the anchor

Equalizing anchors
The principle of an equalization is to reduce the force that would bear a single anchor, by coupling it with one or more other anchors. The main advantages are:

force reduction on anchors, allowing higher forces
anchor redundancy in case of breaking

Link randomly anchors will not really bring those characterisitcs to your setup, and can even bring the opposite. The best example is the American Death Triangle, or how to increase the force on the anchor with a poor setup.

Equalize with small angles
Imagine a good equalization between two anchors that are on the same line that the highline. Then the force created by the highline will be divided by 2 on each anchor. Most of the time, it is not possible to align anchors with the highline, an angle is created between anchors and the master point.
Small Angle Until a 60° angle, the resulting force on each anchor will be at worst 60% the highline force. This leads to a 40% reduction on each anchor.
Between 60° and 120°, such an equalization characteristics is progressively lost and inverted past 120°. There is more force created on the anchors than on the highline itself.
This can happen between 2 or more anchors, but also on a tree with a short sling that can barely round it !

How to avoid wide angles?
Before: While bolting the highline, one must imagine how to realize the equalization so that the angles respect the small angle rule. Sometimes, the rock doesn’t allow to put bolts in such place, and one has to cope with.
After: A longer equalization reduces angles. Sometimes, coupling anchors asymetrically allows to modify angles.

Dynamic equalization implies a twist on strands so that the sling is really going into each anchor and the master point. If this twist is not done, the breaking of an anchor may lead to the complete breaking of the equalization. This technique has to be done on each anchor of the equalization.

Separate backup anchors from webbing anchors
Why use separate anchors for the backup and the force? Why not using all of them to make a global master point on which install bot backup and webbing?
This issue divides the highliner community. Both methods has good and bad points.

Separate anchors:
Advantages:

Backup anchors has no big force, so they will not break
Equalization is redundant, so that the backup is independent from the webbing if this one breaks.

Drawbacks:

Anchors are less numerous so gets more force, increasing their chance of breaking
Need more gear (redundancy)
Backup and webbing may be difficult to align.

The master point:
Advantages:

Best force division as every anchor is used
Backup and webbing are alinged perfectly.

Drawbacks:

If the main sling breaks, then backup and webbing will be lost. To counter this, make sure the sling is perfect, has no friction, and add an extra sling as a backup.
Need for a big shackle to make the equalization with all the strands.

Dynamic equalization?
While climbing, a dynamic equalization allows climbers to move on belays. In trad climbing (pitons, cams, or ice screws) the breaking of one anchor is possible, and it is better to build a static equalization, that is simply putting a knot where the dynamic equalization would be. Then if one anchor breaks, there is no shock load on the rest of the setup (that can also break in case of brutal overload).
It’s possible to do the same on a highline equalization, also because a highline doesn’t really need to have a moving equalization. Nevertheless, this technique will only be used when the anchors are linked with slings or rope. The resulting “fat knot” will be the master point, and it will be relatively easy to undo this knot. Don’t forget that making knots on slings or spansets reduce their strength and may be difficult to undo.

Make the master points out of the cliff
Sometimes it could be good to set the master point so that it is just coming outside of the cliff. This way, the webbing and the backup will never touch the rock, and will not need any padding or protection. The trick is to make it as close as possible to the cliff but not too far, otherwise slackliners will be a bit annoyed for starting or arriving.

Align backup and force equalizations
When the backup master point and the webbing master point are not aligned, there is a chance that the tape used to tie them together often breaks. The opener of the highline must take this into account, but if not, it is possible to redirect the backup with a carabiner set on the force master point. This solution unfortunately links the backup with the force master point. If the webbing breaks, then it is not really possible to guess that this carabiner will not cause any trouble. We don’t have enough information to know it yet.

The equalization is stable and light
Lightness of the webbing affects the walk in a good way. So it is with a light equalization. Big equalization, that are not lying on the ground or set in a vertical axe will amplify the waves on the highline, and will create a strange feeling during the walk.
Horizontal equalizations are better to counter this as well as equalizing on a platform so that the minimum weight of the slings are in the air.

The webbing left the equalization horizontally
Twist the slings during the equalization creation produces sometimes not horizontal results. Then the webbing is vertical. While walking, the webbing will of course be horizontal, but this is not really satisfying aesthetically speaking. It’s very important to twist correctly the slings. This part is developped in an other article.

Conclusion :
Practice, thinking, adjustments are necessary to make good equalizations. If there are only a few tips to remember, keep the equalization with small angles, and the protection to friction of your setup on rocks or any sharp thing.