Hello! My name is Anna Bellding and I am a tightrope walker. I’ve always loved the feeling of being off the ground almost like I was walking on air or flying. I am 24 and I’ve been doing this since I was 7, I’ve been doing it professionally for about 5 years now though. I’m going to tell you about the time I’m going to tell you about the day everything went from bad to good to worse.
It’s morning and I am so excited. I’ve been training for almost two months straight just for this day. I get up and get dressed. I’m not going to do my usual morning routine today, I have to rest and I can’t use too much energy.
I get through eating half of my breakfast and the fire alarm in my apartment building goes off, so slowly but surely everyone in the building has to get out. I didn’t know weather I should take my gear or not. I was hoping this wouldn’t stop my big day.
So when we all got outside we had to wait for the fire department get there and say it was good for us to go back in, or for them to tell us that we couldn’t and everything was ruined. Nope it was just a malfunction and no one was hurt.
So that wasted about an hour just for them to go into every room and clear it. I ran back up to my room and got all my gear put it in my bag. Ran down to the car lot and got into my car and took off. I can’t be late.
On the way to the mountain I had to wait in traffic so much I thought I was going to be hours late, so glad I left when I did. I had to wait in traffic twice for car wrecks and once because of road construction. I had planned on hitting traffic but not that much. The first crash took about a half an hour for them to let everyone pass, didn’t see anything really but there were police, firefighters and ambulance so it probably wasn’t to good. The second pass was just a little over five minutes we had to wait, That was just a fender bender. looked like someone just slammed on the brakes really fast and there was just police so I don’t think anyone was hurt. Now the road work I think there were cars backed up for at least a mile because they had one lane closed down.
Now all that happened just while I was driving, I haven’t even got to what happened when I stop to go to the bathroom or get gas. The first time I stop was to go to the bathroom and this guy was so rude to me I started to think they didn’t have a bathroom. I stopped at a newer restaurant called The American BBQ. I walked in and A man come up and asked if how many I had and if I would like a Table or booth, it was like a fancy restaurant but you wouldn’t think that by the name of it. So I told the guy all I needed was to use the restroom and I thought that was the end of it and he would tell me where it was but no he stood there and asked if I wanted a water while I wait for the bathroom to open up. I started yelling because one I had to pee and two he wouldn’t even tell me where the bathroom was so I could wait for it to open myself. Eventually someone in charge of him came in and helped me after about a half an hour of fighting with this guy. It was ridiculous.
When I stopped to get gas, well first I couldn’t stop for a few miles because there either wasn’t a gas station or if was ful. When I finally did find a place to get gas their prices were insanely high, and I almost didn’t get to a pump and when I did get there someone came from the other way and almost hit me. I was thirsty half the ride so I thought that while I was there I might as well get a drink so I go in to pay and get a water. I walk in and see there is a big line at the register.
So all that happened within a period of a 3 hour drive which was stretched out into just about 4 and a half hours. Thats how my morning started and I hadn’t even started driving up the mountain to get to where I was going yet, but I finally get to the base of the mountain and start heading up.
On the way up the mountain my car started to stall about a half mile from where I had to be to get on the dirt bike. We have to get on dirt bikes or four wheelers to get to the top because its too steep and narrow for normal cars or trucks. Luckily, my manager Jim, was getting worried for me being late that he sent someone down the mountain to find me.
I finally get to the top of the mountain where I am suppose to be filmed and photographed doing the biggest tightrope walk in my career so far. Everything was set up and ready for me to go. Finally I can rest a little bit and calm down from my crazy day.
After about a half an hour I am ready and I get harnessed up. The harness is strapped to a cable that runs under the rope I walk on so if I slip I can just grab back onto the rope, tightrope walking is very dangerous but people rarely die from it.
After I have the harness on and its attached to the cable I’m ready to begin my walk. Its about 20 feet from one side to the other, one of the longest I will ever do. After making sure all the cameras are rolling and the photographers are ready I take off.
So far so good, balance is stable and the wind is dead. I can see the whole town underneath, and the sky is blue and clear. I barely feel the rope under my feet, I feel weightless as if I’m flying, it’s an amazing feeling.
I’m about halfway and I take a deep breath but at the same time a huge gust of wind comes and makes my foot miss the rope. Getting off balance and missing the rope my other foot slips and my butt lands on the rope. Grabbing a hold of it to stay on and upright on the rope I catch my balance. I need to figure out how to get back up or at least get to the side. I try to get back up but out of nowhere I hear a noise of metal breaking. Everything that is keeping the rope in the ground is breaking. The cable will catch me but if the rope breaks the rock it’ll crumble the rock underneath it were the cable is attached to the mountain. The noise is getting worse and I have yet to make a move to get back to the side.
My heart is pounding out of my chest as I start to go towards the side that is still secure. “Anna, don’t freak out, we are sending people over to the other side to secure it. You need to stay calm and come towards me as slow and careful as you can.” I can tell Jim is truly scared in the situation. As we make eye contact his eye’s starts to water, as if he knows we both know this wont end well. I take a breath to try to calm down but thats just enough. The rocks crumble, the rope and the cable slack and start to fall, and me with it. The last thing I see is my manager on his knees reaching out for me, and then the side of the mountain. After that the only thing I could do was hear, but all I heard was Jim yelling, “pull her up. Someone, help me pull her up.” It gave me a sense of hope that I may be able to live the rest of my life, until I heard a pop and him scream. After that, nothing, and I simply fade away.