The High Road

The High Road, is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the eighth obstacle in Stage One on American Ninja Warrior 13, replacing the Twist & Fly from its past two recent appearances. The obstacle featured a ring affixed to a structure that was blocked by a gate to prevent it from prematurely moving and a button placed at the top of the Warped Wall before attempting the Dipping Birds.

When the competitors pressed the button, the gates opened, forcing the structure to slide down on a track. They must attempt the Dipping Birds at a faster pace in order to catch up with the ring. It was revealed that the ring took 8.5 seconds to go through the Dipping Birds. Competitors then had to jump on a trampoline to grab onto the ring that would lead them to a red ladder and then climbed it up to reach the buzzer.

In its first season appearance, this obstacle was paired with the Fly Hooks as part of the Split Decision, meaning once the competitors decided not to press the button of the obstacle, they must attempt the Fly Hooks later on the run. However, unlike previous pairings of the Split Decision, it is worth noting that missing the ring after completing the Dipping Birds did not cause an automatic disqualification, as competitors could still attempt the Fly Hooks.

Multiple competitors pushed the button on the High Road but opted not to jump towards the ring. Donovan Metoyer became the first competitor to complete the obstacle, while Lucas Reale and Joe Moravsky fell into the transition to the ring. For Moravsky's case, he would have a second attempt at Stage One after winning the Safety Pass during the second semifinal episode; and in his second run, he still pressed the button, but opted not to catch the ring and chose the Fly Hooks instead. Other competitors who successfully caught the ring and later hit the buzzer were Brian Burkhardt, Kyle Soderman, Jake Murray, and Isaiah Wakeham.

The relationship of the Dipping Birds and High Road is similar in function to the Danchigaibou and Hishouchu in KUNOICHI 7, in which competitors must catch up in attempting the latter by attempting the obstacle before it.

Trivia

 * During Flip Rodriguez's Twitch stream, it was revealed that the original idea of The High Road consisted of a sliding punching bag instead of a sliding ring, making it extremely similar to Hishouchu in both terms of design and function.