IMAGINE CLIMBING a 12-metre vine. Not easy, but possible. Tarzan managed it.
Now imagine having metal blades strapped to your feet and climbing that vine - the trick here is not to cut the vine with the blades. And just to make sure it's a real challenge, imagine there are no safety nets. If you slip, you will fall onto a solid sheet of ice. Sounds crazy? It will be happening in Hong Kong in January when Disney's Jungle Adventures On Ice comes to town.
The show, which begins on January 23, brings together the three big Walt Disney animations set in jungles - Disney's Jungle Book, Tarzan and The Lion King.
Working out how to depict the jungle stories on ice was a real challenge for the show's organisers. Previously they managed to create a desert scene - for Aladdin - and an underwater scene - for The Little Mermaid - but a jungle was a tough call.
'When you think jungle you think tall trees and trailing vines - we needed to create a vertical landscape for it to be believable,' said Jerry Bilik, creative director of Disney on Ice.
So they created a 12-metre high tree - with trailing vines - that will be lowered onto the ice. And to make the most of the set, Tarzan and Jane will both climb the tree. The skaters and their understudies received months of intensive training with a Russian circus performer to learn how to climb the vines while wearing their skates.