Bike
MTB
Rider Teeters on Rail 650 Feet Above Dam
Austrian Fabio Wibmer rides a hand rail on top of one of the world's highest dams.
Fabio Wibmer is quickly making a name for himself as one of the gutsiest riders right now.
Last week we saw the young Austrian tear down a downhill mountain-bike track on nothing more than a heavy-duty granny bike, sending it off drops that would be gnarly enough on a full-suspension.
This week, the trials star has upped the ante again, riding his bike across the top of one of Europe's highest dams — Kölnbreinsperre in Austria — which sits an almighty 650 feet off the ground. Not only is it ridiculously high, the rail is incredibly skinny and the ground worryingly icy — what could possibly go wrong?
As I looked down from the middle of the dam I was so scared and not sure I still wanted to do it.
Watch the vertigo-inducing video above to see how Wibmer fares in this latest stunt, and read below to see what he had to say about it all.
RedBull.com: Where did the idea to ride the dam come from?
Fabio Wibmer: I had this idea a few months ago when I was looking for new spots to film. I searched for all kinds of different places on Google, and suddenly saw a massive dam. I just thought how awesome it would be to ride across the thin rail on top of the 650-foot-high dam. I had the idea, searched for the perfect dam and went there with some friends.
Was it as scary as it looks?
When I saw the dam for the first time I couldn't believe my eyes and just thought "holy shit." It was way bigger that I'd ever imagined. As I looked down from the middle of the dam I was so scared and not sure I still wanted to do it.
Did you have any safety measures in place?
Yes, otherwise it would have been totally irresponsible. Although I was just secured by one guy and a rope, which wasn't really a safe way to do it.
I'm definitely happy that I didn't need his help, because I don't want to know how it would've ended if something had gone wrong. Clinging with 187 pounds on a rope held by only one person could have ended up being a very bad situation.
Did you nail it first try?
Unfortunately not. I thought I could make it on the first go, but the strong wind made it really tough. I didn't want to do it more than once, but in the end it took me about seven tries to get to the middle of the dam. I don´t think I've ever been so full of adrenaline in my life!
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