Chip and Laura Fieberg, Patagonia’s yogic-acrobatic-slackliners are off on a new adventure. Their house in town is on the market, and they plan to depart early this month for Bend, Oregon, currently dubbed “the extreme sport capital of the U.S.” Chip and Laura have been perfecting their skills for a number of years, performing and teaching in the United States, with stops in Canada and Korea. Friends of theirs from Tucson who share similar interests moved to Bend several years ago, and Laura and Chip have visited them a number of times. Their friends are opening a training facility for people who want to compete at the highest levels of endurance sports.
Chip says Bend, a city of 100,000, is like Patagonia in that it’s high desert, but that’s where the similarities end, except, perhaps, that Bend’s economy is based largely on tourism. Bend started as a logging town on the Deschutes River, but its climate and natural beauty soon started to attract sporting vacationers. Today it’s a gateway for mountain biking, fishing, hiking, camping, rock climbing, white water rafting, skiing, paragliding, and golf.
For Chip and Laura the appeal of Bend is a mix of social and business. There will be more opportunity there for teaching, practicing, and performing. Chip’s skills as a graphic designer and video artist will find a much wider audience. He also hopes to get back to skiing, and Laura plans to try her hand at snowboarding and skiing. The challenge that has them very excited is what is called “highlining.” This is like tightrope walking except the rope is a length of woven belting, and it’s not pulled tight but has a bit of a sag. It’s secured at high places out in the natural world. There is no net, but there is a harness and other safety features. No one has ever been hurt highlining. It’s mostly about thrill and skill, two watchwords for Bend and for the Fiebergs.
Laura and Chip say there will be more people of their age who share common interests, although they mention how much they have enjoyed their life here and how pleased they are that there has been an influx of younger people to the town. Of course, they will miss friends, and they hope to return in early January for a visit.
We wish them all the best, and hope that highlining keeps its 100 percent safety record.