Relax, listen to music, read the paper, but don't roll over! Amazing pictures show high wire thrill seekers chilling out in hammocks suspended 50 metres above the ground

• Incredible pictures of adrenaline junkies taking it easy despite hanging more than 50 metres in mid-air
• Highline Meeting gather for the third year in a row to form a row of hammocks in Monte Piana, in the Italian Dolomites
• Participants read the paper, play the saxophone, and have a gossip with friends despite swinging in the breeze
• Area is chosen for natural beauty and historical significance - 18,000 soldiers died in the valley during WW1
• Austrian photographer Sebastian Wahlhuetter took a series of stunning early morning shots

By ISABEL HUNTER FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 11:22 EST, 26 November 2015 | UPDATED: 17:12 EST, 26 November 2015

A group of tight rope walkers have taken their hobby to the next level by sleeping suspended more than 50 metres above the ground.

Not content with walking the high wire during the day, a group of 26 climbed into brightly coloured hammocks over a ravine in Monte Piana, the Italian Dolomites.

Pictured relaxing and joking, playing the saxophone, reading the newspaper and passing drinks, others can be seen cuddling sleeping bags in quiet reflection, no-one seems to be too troubled by the height.

The stunt was pulled off at the end of the Highline Meeting - an annual event that sees balance gurus and novices gather from all over the world to practise new heights.

Many of the athletes, who are trained to walk on wires at high distances, spent the night in the hammocks before being joined by others in the morning, who then hung out for two hours.

To set up and then settle into their hammocks, those involved, who were clipped in for safety, had to carefully walk along the wire.

This year was the third year organisers have tied the hammocks up on the high wire in the Dolomites and chose the spot for its beauty and historical significance - 18,000 young Austrian and Italian soldiers died on the mountains, where the 7km of trenches can still be seen.

 

 

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The idea for a mass hammock line came after three founders had so much fun themselves in 2012. Now, they are joined by other athletes for the night in the hammocks with a total of 26 people joining by morning to form a colourful rainbow in 17 hammocks creating a symbol of peace and a tribute to the past

 

 

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The participants then spent a couple of hours reading, passing food and drink, and playing music. Everyone was clipped in for safety and the formation was designed and performed by a professional team of highline athletes and riggers

 

 

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The place is chosen not only for its natural beauty but for its historical importance. 'This area is an open air museum to honour the memory of the 18,000 young soldiers who died here during the First World War.

 

 

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 Austrian photographer Sebastian Wahlhuetter, from Vienna, who took the stunning pictures said: 'I like the concept of the hammock rainbow. It's a symbol of peace in a place where 100 years earlier, people were fighting a war'

 

 

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This area is an open air museum to honor the memory of the 18,000 young Austrian and Italian soldiers who died there during the First World War. Its 7 km of trenches are still visitable

 

 

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Highline Meeting Monte Piana is an international and intercultural event that takes place above Misurina, in the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage site

 

 

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The Northern summit of Monte Piano was occupied by the Austrians, while the Southern summit Monte Piana was in Italian hands and set the scene for brutal fighting in WW1. 14,000 men died on Monte Piana alone

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3335179/Relax-listen-music-read-paper-don-t-roll-Amazing-pictures-high-wire-thrill-seekers-chilling-hammocks-suspended-50-metres-ground.html#ixzz3shTRWBrU 
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