Most of us remember monkey bars as the thing we fell off at recess. Thomas van Tonder just crossed 600 of them, hanging beneath the arch of one of the highest bridges in the world.

On Monday, October 26, the South African obstacle course racing world champion completed a hand-over-hand crossing of the Bloukrans Bridge on South Africa’s Garden Route. He covered about 280 metres of bars, as high as 216 metres above the river, in 47 minutes and 37 seconds. Clips of the climb are now making the rounds online, and it is not hard to see why. Here is what happened, based on reporting from Red Bull, which organized the challenge, and South Africa’s IOL.

The challenge at a glance

  • Athlete: Thomas van Tonder
  • Location: Bloukrans Bridge, South Africa
  • Number of bars: 600
  • Distance: About 280 metres
  • Maximum height: 216 metres
  • Steepest incline: 45 degrees
  • Time: 47 minutes, 37 seconds

Red Bull called it the longest set of monkey bars ever built.

Why the arch made it so hard

Van Tonder could have chosen a flat line of bars straight across. Instead, he chose to follow the bridge’s arch: up a 45-degree climb, across the crown and down the far side. His reason? He wasn’t sure he could do it. “This is by no means something I know I can do,” he said before the attempt, “which means it’s the right challenge.”

The climb was so steep that he could not face forwards. He had to turn his back to the bars, pull himself up and reach for the next one, over and over. “That incline humbled me for sure,” he admitted afterwards, saying he had arrived “a bit cocky.”

The mental battle in the middle

The flat section at the top turned out to be the toughest part mentally. He was more tired than expected and struggled to find a rhythm. “If you look at the finish, it’s so far out of reach and there’s so many bars in between,” he said. “It seems undoable.”

His solution was simple and surprisingly relatable: stop looking at the finish. He broke the course into small sections and told his safety lead over the radio which point he was aiming for next. “Just stay on the bars, small pieces at a time,” he said.

He only let himself believe he would make it in roughly the last 40 metres. In the final stretch, one thought ran on repeat: make sure of every single bar.

No drilling, two safety systems

Rigging the course was its own feat. Nothing could be bolted or drilled into the bridge. Richard Lievaart, head of rigging and safety, and his team set up the course with two independent safety systems and no permanent fixings. Van Tonder was quick to share the credit, noting that some of the crew rigged through the night so the course would be ready that morning.

Who is Thomas van Tonder?

Van Tonder is an obstacle course racing world champion with major titles and a Guinness World Record to his name. That record came from climbing 90 metres of free-hanging rope. Even so, the first time he tried incline bars at home, he managed about six metres. Six months of training on a rig built on a mountainside, plus tendonitis and plenty of ripped skin, got him ready for the real thing.

He says becoming a dad was a big part of his motivation. “The people who look up to you learn far more from what you do than from what you say,” he said.

Why it’s catching on

Part of the appeal is the sheer scale: a lone figure dangling beneath a giant arch high above a gorge. But part of it is the message. Van Tonder openly says he doubted himself and talks about breaking a huge goal into small pieces, which is advice anyone can use.

“If you’re gonna take on something like this,” he said, “you’ve gotta come in humble.”

The bottom line

Six hundred bars, one bridge and almost 48 minutes of hanging on. Van Tonder’s crossing is the kind of jaw-dropping feat that makes you want to watch it twice, and maybe think twice before complaining about your next workout. Red Bull says a full replay is available on Red Bull TV.

Image: Bloukrans Bridge-001 by NJR ZA via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain Mark 1.0