DWSWORLD - blog

Italy's - Lovers Arch

2011-11-10T08:34:00.000-08:00


(C) Mike Williams

Italy’s small island of Capri is situated on Amalfi’s eastern coast. Recently Capri’s famous Lovers Arch has come to light with climber and avid Deep Water Soloer Michael Rolf making a new first ascent on the arch. Cleverly naming the 7a line after a local wine, ‘Tramonti’ climbs jugs and tufas to give a three stared climbing experience.

Michael had this to say regarding the line:

“You begin by hanging a blocky jug which is only reachable from a boat. Climb up until you have to make a long move left to some tufas. After climbing those you reach the first conglomerate holds after which you swing back right on huge jugs!!! Then make a final push through some difficult moves up to gain more tufas and finally some lovely big holds”.

There are a number of other potential routes which have been spotted on the arch but haven’t yet been reported yet. There are additionally many other walls and caves in the area but mostly only accessible by boat which preserves these lines for the dedicated only!

Quentar Lake Deep Water

2011-10-25T06:18:00.000-07:00

Photo (C): Fernado Lama. http://komunakavra.blogspot.com

Bolderfreaks reported back in 2009 a fine DWS venue which hasn’t seen any major development news for almost two years but quite clearly holds vast potential. Not much is known about this venue apart from its approximate location, ‘Quentar Lake’ Granada, Spain.

Click here for Bolderfreaks original posting. Alternative image of the cave can be found here.

Red Bull Psicobloc: The Canyons of Talhado

2011-10-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

Posted by: Emma Harrington

Red Bull posted a short film back in March about deep water soloing in Brazil. The Talhado Canyon cliffs run along the shores of a large lake situated in the north-east of Brazil. This video gives an insight of how these cliffs are being developed by climbers.
Felipe Dallorto and Flavia dos Anjos were the first climbers to discover Talhado Canyon and unearth deep water soloing routes in the area. Brothers Iker and Eneko Pou join them to explore the areas huge potential.
Redbull Psciobloc Brazil then gathered some of the best climbers in the country to test their technique and mental strength on these high cliffs of the Talhado Canyon. Check out the results!

The Great Lake!

2011-07-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

To read in full, head to the USA page.

New Thailand Page

2011-06-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

To read the full article head to the Thailand page.

Dosage Vol 2 review

2011-06-14T05:42:00.000-07:00

To read the full review head to the bottom of the dws media page.

Psicobloc 101 Review

2011-06-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

To read the full review head to the bottom of the dws media page

Mallorca Database

2011-05-20T02:20:00.000-07:00

The Mallorca section of the Rockfax database has been updated recently to include all the additional areas in the new guide. Get involved with that feedback!

Feedback is a key aspect of guide book development and helps create more accuracy in the grades, line descriptions and other relevant information which goes towards future editions.

Philippines

2011-05-18T05:21:00.000-07:00

It’s no big secret that the Philippines are a destination holding great DWS possibilities and is something that many pioneers would like to get their teeth into!

Martyn Willes has kindly passed on this article ‘Deep Water Soloing - Philippines - From Juju Island Busuanga’ from the web site Get Wet Asia, which gives a few good pointers as to how to possibly get involved with this location.

DVD Reviews

2011-05-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

Make sure you check out the DVD reviews that have gone up recently on the DWS Media page. They're DVDs that in some way feature Mallorcan DWS.

So far the following DVDs are up.

Big Ups ‘King lines’ 2007

Mike Call’s ‘Perfecto’ 2008

Laurent Triay's ‘The Fanatic Search’ 2008

New Mallorca Rockfax - Sport Climbing and Deep Water Soloing. Out Now!!

2011-03-08T03:45:00.000-08:00

The 6th Rockfax publication to the island of Mallorca is now available from Rockfax and all good specialised book stores (RRP £24.95).

It’s a whopping 304 page guide to all of Mallorca’s Sport Climbing and Deep Water Soloing

Deep Water Soloing - Cova del Diablo, Porto Cristo, Porto Cristo Novo, Cala Barques, Porto Colom, Cala Marcal, Cala Sa Nau, Cala Mitjana, Cala Serena, Santanyi, Cala Llombards, Sa Calobra, Porto Pi

Sport Climbing - Puig de Garrafa, Santa Ponça, Sa Cantera, La Valle Verde, Galilea, Can Ortigues, S'estret, Es Verger, Valldemossa, Sa Gubia, Fraguel, Port de Sóller, C'an Nyic, Gorge Blau, Es Queixal, Alaró, Les Perxes, La Creveta, El Fumat, Xon Xanquete, El Calo de Betlem, Ermita de Betlem, Puig St. Marti, Son Servera, Sa Mola de Felantix, Felanitx, Cala Magraner, Tijuana

For further information and ordering head to the Rockfax page here.

New Mallorca Rockfax - Sport Climbing and Deep Water Soloing.

2011-02-16T09:33:00.000-08:00

The Mallorca Rockfax is now available for pre-orders with one of our customary special offers. All orders placed before 7 March will get the book for £20.95 with free delivery within the UK (RRP £24.95). Books will be delivered in the week after 7 March.

The book is the 6th Rockfax publication to the island and by the far the biggest and best. At 304 pages - up from 176 last time - it is a substantial new edition with 7 new sport crags and plenty of expanded information for the existing crags. Most of the crags have completely new photo-topos, maps and action photographs.

As an added bonus we have also got a full deep water soloing guide for this increasingly popular branch of the sport. The DWS coverage focuses mainly on the east coast crags with a couple of other areas thrown in.

The book is being printed in February and will be available in the week beginning 7 March. UK specialist outdoor retailers should get their stock for the weekend of 12 March. Non-specialist retailers, particularly web-based, will not have copies for several weeks and probably never actually hold any stock despite what their web site may say.

For further information and advanced ordering head to the Rockfax page here.

DWSWORLD disappeared?

2008-10-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that DWSWORLD disappeared for a bit. Well we had some technical difficulties, but were still here. The site may go off line again at some point, but it will return!!!!

A Sting In The Tail - Portuguese Man-Of-War Spotted In UK Waters

2008-08-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

Unusually large numbers of the potentially fatal Jellyfish, Portuguese man-of-war have been spotted and found along the South West coast of England. Prime DWS venues like Durdle Door , Conner Cove and those venues found in Devon are all at risk.
Keep a very keen eye out for them over the next few weeks and seek medical attention immediately if stung!

The Portuguese man-of-war jelly fish have unfortunately turned up at the peak of the DWS season, Many climbers are now actively soloing on the Southern sea cliffs of England each weekend and are now very much at risk from this new danger.

It’s recommended that at least one member of each climbing group assign a Jelly spotter to keep the groups safe.

See this BBC news story for further information.

Ukraine Style!

2008-08-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

The Ukraine is not the first place that one thinks of when looking for a new DWS destination, but the boys and girls from Russia are so psyched for there new find that they have started there very own blog.
DWS enthusiast ‘Sergey’ reports the following:
“This week we open a new blog about DWS in Crimea (Ukraine).
Our blog is in Russian, but there are many photos that will be interesting to English speaking audience”

Sergey has sent us three links to his blog so check them out!
LINK ONE - LINK TWO - LINK THREE

British DWS Festival Canceled!!!

2008-08-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

UKC reports that Mike Weeks, the organiser of the DWS festival has unfortunately had to cancel the event due to one of the main sponsors pulling out.
The original and undisclosed date for the festival was due to be on the 6th and 7th of September at Conner Cove and Winspit Quarry.

Mike Weeks of X1 Sports said, “We've literally jumped through more red tape and permit procedures than we ever thought possible and just when everything was looking great, our main sponsor pulled out on us last week without any reason or real explanation. We actually make very little money on the DWS fest, so having this happen at the last minute is a major blow.

The sponsorship agreement was promised back in December and we got told last week, with three weeks to go. We've scrabbled to find another sponsor but it's just too late in the day.

My apologies to absolutely everyone who was getting ready for the weekend. Maybe a smaller, unofficial meet can still happen, but we as a company are unable to get involved."

Original story sourced from UKC
http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/

Bornholm Deepwater Climbing Festival

2008-08-13T02:30:00.000-07:00

Big things have been happening over in Denmark! The Bornholm Deepwater Climbing Festival has now finished, and it looks like the guys and girls had a grate day. Two artificial walls were erected above lake Hammersøen were a number of brave competitors (i.e the water looked a bit chilly) attempted some very challenging lines. The DWS competition was won by the British climber Steve McClure and Robin Vickery of Denmark, both reached the top in the super final. The female final was won by Stine Østergaard of Denmark. Check out the video which was produced by TV/2 Bornholm.

Anders (one of the event organisers) had this to say. “Besides the competition the festival guests were very active on the cliffs of Bornholm. New boulder problems were done, and old classic routes were repeated. It was a fantastic festival, and as one of the organizers I can surely say that it is an experience to remember. This is the first time we have done this on Bornholm, but definitely not the last”.

Also see check out these photos
and
Steve McClure's Blog for more info.

Looks forward to seeing what’s in store for next year!!.

Nice one guys!!

Photos: courtesy of Martin Paldan

New DWS Spot Found In Turkey!

2008-08-13T02:05:00.000-07:00

Pascal Ruedin has just returned from his trip to Gocek (Turkey). Upon sailing along the coast he discovered a nice spot for DWS. (36° 45’ 59 N / 28° 34’ 40 E)
Pascal reports, “The nearest Town is Ekincik. I guess I was the first climber ever touching these cliffs. It’s rather easy climbing but sometimes high. UIAA 5-7 (up to 50 feet) The rock is very smooth and mostly solid compared to all the other places I found along the coast".
Nice find Pascal, keep up the good work!

MALLORCA - DEEP WATER SOLOING....OUT NOW!!!!

2008-07-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

The long awaited guide Mallorca - Deep Water Soloing has now been officially released through the Rockfax website!!!

This MiniGuide edition of the guide works hand in hand with Deep Water which was released last year. There are now 11 more areas for you to explore, with detailed information on every area and full colour photo topos of ever crag. I hope you all enjoy it and that all my hard work has payed off, please let me know what you thing by posting a review on the Rockfax web site. :)

MALLORCA - DEEP WATER SOLOING

OUT NOW!!!

WEDNESDAY 23rd JULY 2008

ONLY ON ROCKFAX

Costa Blanca DWS Festival Update

2008-04-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

Rock and Rapid now have a dedicated DWS festival website.
www.dwsfest.co.uk
Spaces are running out quickly so book fast if you want to go. They are already half full!
Also a number of big names will be attending this years festival, amongst which is gritstone legend ‘James Pearson'!
DWSWorld has also become a sponsor of the event.

Deep Water Soloing Festival at Bornholm: Update!

2008-04-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

The Bornholm DWS festival held in Denmark has secured British legend Steve McClure to give a lecture on Friday the 1st of August 2008. Steve will also be participating in the DWS competition.

"Steve McClure was first inspired by the Dawes slate masterpiece 'The Very Big and The Very Small,' Steve’s focus shifted from trad to the hardest rock routes possible. Having recently packed in his job, Steve discusses how his motivation has moved on from the very small, super hard redpoints in Britain to long onsights in Europe, and more recently to the very big trad walls of Greenland. Steve uses a combination of video, photographs, music, and his own mega-modest commentary to show how he’s got to where he is today."*
*Taken from Bornholm climbing news page.

Photo:
Steve McClure climbing Ring of Fire, 8b+
Photo (c) Simon Carter / Onsight Photography. All rights reserved

Deep Water Soloing Festival in Costa Blanca, Spain.

2008-04-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

Adventure and expedition specialists ‘Rock and Rapid’ have announced that this year’s week-long DWS festival in Costa Blanca Spain will begin on Sunday the 14^th of September. The event will be located around the well-known and climber friendly Orange House near Finestrat. The event is open to everyone, from expert climbers to those less experienced who are newer to DWS. Guides and transportation to the venues will be available. See the events section at Rock and Rapid Adventures for more information.

Photo:
Meilee Rafe deep-water soloing on the Costa Blanca.
Photo By Adrian Berry

2008 Festival News

2008-03-28T04:58:00.000-07:00

There are possibly going to be two DWS festivals taking place this year:

Firstly is the UK festival which is looking like it will be being held in Pembroke again. Mike Weeks is in talks with various people regarding the event, and there are some interesting rumors on the party front. If all goes to plan the after party could be a bit bigger than last year! Let’s wait and see.

Check out this news story on what happened at last years DWS festival in Pembroke's.

Denmark (which is not the first venue that comes to mind when thinking of dws), is having an international competition over lake Hammersøen which is on the granite island of Bornholm. The event (which is to take place in August) will be held on an artificial wall and competitors will be battling it out for a large cash prizes!!!

As well as the DWS event there will also be a series of lectures on various subjects surrounding climbing as well as a number workshops for people to attend.

To get a feel of what to expect check out this excellent slide show by Martin Paldan showing last years event.

For further information on the Bornholm Climbing & Deepwater Solo Festival visit the website.

DWS Sicily

2007-11-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

Mike Robertson explores the Deep Water Soloing potentials around the coastline of Sicily. Read all about it in December’s edition of Climber Magazine.

DWS WORLD

2007-11-06T07:45:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed that development on the site has been slow over the past year. Due to other commitments, man power and the new Mallorca guide, the site has been slow at updating. All recent news and info has been released through this blog, but this will hopefully change next year If we can get things up and running again. But for the foreseeable future check the blog for updates.

DWS Mallorca Guide - Update

2007-11-06T07:43:00.001-08:00

Just to say things are moving forward with the guide and the delivery date in March/April 2008 should be met. There have been a fair number of updates to the beta guide 1.9 and a fair number of new venues added.

'Deep Water' wins ‘The Mountain Exposition Award’

2007-11-06T07:37:00.000-08:00

We are very pleased to say that Mike Roberson’s RockFax guide ‘Deep Water’ has won the ‘2007 Mountain Exposition Award’ at the Banff Mountain Book Festival in Canada! This is fantastic news for Mike and every one involved in making the guide.
Congratulations Mike!!!

More Gresham News from the UK

2007-11-06T07:25:00.000-08:00

UK DWS pioneer Neil Gresham has decided to take things to another level. Literally! Charlie Woodburn’s unrepeated trad line ‘San Simian’ E8 6c in Pembroke (UK) tops out at a whopping 23 meters and has now seen its first solo accent. Almost too high to be a solo, Neil Gresham and Dorset hard man Gav Symonds spent 2 days working the line and taking their fair share of 20 meter falls. It’s safe to say that it is certainly another lever of soloing which Neil calls High Ball - Deep Water Soloing.
Check out November’s edition of Climb magazine for the full story on Neil’s ascent of ‘San Simian’ – (8a S3)

Neil Gresham is also giving a lecture at the Kendal mountain film festival on Saturday 17^th of November. In addition to this Neil will be premiering his new film Splashdown which will feature footage of Neil soloing the Flying Dutchman (E7 6b) on Lundy, The UK’s hardest Deep water solo, ‘Cutlass’ 8a+ and the High Ball DWS San Simeon, 8a in Pembroke.

DWS in Texas USA

2007-11-06T07:19:00.000-08:00

October’s edition of Rock and Ice has an interesting article concerning a new venue in Austin, Texas (USA) of all places! This is a fine looking solo venue around Lake Travis and is now home to a good number of routes which top out around the 10 meter mark. From the info in the magazine article this place looks like a lot of fun. And that’s what it’s all about!

Ethan Pringle in Mallorca!

2007-09-27T09:07:00.001-07:00

Check out issue 7 of Momentum Video Magazine, for daily updates on Ethan Pringle's progress out in Mallorca!

Image (c) Momentum Video Magazine

Mallorca, Deep Water Soloing Guide: Spring 2008!

2007-09-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

The Long-Awaited 'Mallorca: Deep Water Soloing Guide' is set for release in Spring 2008. It will be a complete guide to all the island has to offer.

If you're heading out to Mallorca before Spring 2008, then get your self a copy of Deep Water!!! Which covers Cala Barques, Porto Cristo and Cala Marcal.

RUBBISH!!!

2007-09-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

It has become evident that tourism is taking over and possibly destroying Cala Barques.
The biggest concern is the amount of camping taking place and the amount of rubbish being dumped.
It does look evident that tourists (not climbers) are the major contributors to the rubbish problem but that’s not to say that climbers are not contributing to the issue, as climbers are generally found camping in this area.

It is vital that every one protects Barques, so:

1) Do not light fires! The ashes blow across the beach and cause a mess.

2) Take ALL your rubbish away with you. And do not dump it by the gate.

3) Do not camp on the beach.

4) Clear away your own botty waist. Bury it, along with any toilet roll used.

Also note that it is not permitted to camp at Barques and is in fact illegal. It is quite clear that there is a need for a camp site in the area to house those seeking the cheaper alternative. But until that time arrives, protect the environment you inhabit and try to leave it the same way you found it.

Photo: By Daimon Beail.

Mallorca DWS season is here!!!

2007-08-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

For many of you, September is the time to start heading out to Mallorca for some ‘deep water soloing’.

This year is extra special, due to the fact that the guide ‘Mallorca - Deep Water Soloing - Second edition’ will be hitting the digital download store at RockFax, in the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately, due to publication time frames at RockFax, the guide will not be available for September 1^st. (UPDATE: Now Spring 2008....)

If you happen to be in Mallorca for the first two weeks in September, then there is an opportunity to obtain a beta copy of the new guide! If you want to try your luck at getting a free guide then please pop along to:

Cala Marcal on Monday 3^rd September at 14:00.

The second date is:

Cala Barques on Sunday 9^th September at 13:00 (around the ‘Cova Area’)

Just ask for Daimon.

Mike Robertson’s ‘Deep Water’ Guide also covers ‘Cala Barques’, ‘Cala Marcal’ and ‘Porto Cristo’.

PHOTOS: (C) Daimon Beail, Adam Lincoln, Andrew Chapman and RockFax.

New 8a+ 'Cutlass' at Berry Head, Devon

2007-08-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

Last week Neil Gresham pushed the UK's hardest DWS grade up to 8a+.

'Cutlass' (which Neil has named the route) was originally climbed on top rope by Ken Palmer, but never soloed. Some time after, Mike Robertson pointed out the line to Neil and explained its history. Neil returned to Berry Head in August this year to begin working the route in a traditional manner. No top roping, just ground up attempts. On Monday 13^th August, after four days of effort and 13 tries, Neil finally put the whole thing together to deliver a cutting edge 8a+.

This is what Neil had to say about the route:
“ ‘Cutlass' lies above the start of 'Rainbow Bridge' at Berry Head in Devon. It can be reached easily by a short traverse and is not too high (40 feet in total). The climbing is very steep, bouldery and the moves become increasingly difficult the higher you go, with the crux being the second to last move. Grading this line is tricky because it's quite short. It certainly felt harder than the 'Wizard', 'Jaws' or even 'Adrenachrome' (other semi-established 8a Deep Water Solos), as well as classic 8a sport routes like 'Cider Soak' and 'Rain Dogs'. If V9 bouldering equates to 8a+ then I guess that is what the route should be graded."

Luckily for us, the whole thing was captured on film by award winning film maker Richard Heap, who was there filming the final stages of ‘Hard XS’, which is due out later this year!

Photo: Neil Gresham on 'Cutless' F8a+, Devon
(c) Richard Heap.

DWS in Western Australia: by Peter Church

2007-08-21T03:22:00.000-07:00

Our representative, Peter Church from ‘down under’ has sent us some information regarding his local DWS venue in Perth, 'Blackwall Reach'

‘This is the only DWS area in Perth, Western Australia. This is a small limestone crag by the river Swan and most problems involve traversing, with some opportunity for climbing up to 7m height on steep and sometimes overhanging walls. One of the challenges of the area however is the 3m roof, which starts in the cave. The easiest line through the roof is about grade 18 and is called Splashdown. The whole crag is about 200 m long and broken into many sections. It is possible to traverse the whole area at medium to low tide.’

Peter has also mentioned that a small scene is developing down there. Check out this cool little video on youtube.

DWS festival 2007 after party video

2007-08-19T05:43:00.001-07:00

Here is a short video of the after party that was made a few weeks back. Also check out the article at DWSWORLD.

Is Tombstoning threatening the future of DWS?

2007-08-17T09:48:00.001-07:00

Tombstoning, or jumping off cliffs, has been in the news a lot recently, and the issue has been causing some major friction in the climbing community.

Tombstoning is a separate entity entirely to Deep Water Soloing. But this is not to say that the two are not considered related -- at least by some government officials in the U.S. and the U.K.

Recently there has been a major incident in the U.K. at Durdle Door in Dorset (See the BBC report), and in the U.S, Tombstoning has been banned from Summersville Lake in West Virginia. This has had a knock-on effect on DWS activates in the U.S as it appears to some that DWS `splashdowns' are an act of Tombstoning.

If the U.K. were to follow the officials at Summersville Lake then activities such as DWS and coastaleering could possibly see a ban in the not-too-distant future.

Fresh!! Deep Water Soloing in the South of France

2007-08-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

It’s not the first time we have heard of the possibilities of DWS in the south of France, and it won’t be the last. For example: German filmmaker and climber Udo Neumann emailed me recently to say that he’s been out in Verdon filming and photographing DWS for his new film ‘Verdon Vertigo’. Udo, (whose work includes the fantastic ‘Psicobloc 101’ DVD) captured Anna Brenk, Frederike Förster, Markus and Daniel Jung ‘enjoying the Verdon limestone and refreshing water, where the Verdon river enters the Lac de St. Croix.

SEE THE PHOTOS HERE!!!

KING LINES

2007-08-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Those of you who are lucky enough to live in Canada and the U.S. are going to get the opportunity to attend the Reel Rock Film Tour in September. The main film this year is King Lines by Josh Lowell of Big UP Productions and Peter Mortimer of Sender Films. King Lines will feature Chris Sharma’s first ascent of Es Pontas 9a+/ 9b in Mallorca as well as Chris’s quest to find new DWS venues in Greece.

DWS in South East Asia and Christian Core visits Sardinia!!!

2007-08-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

Two new articles to check out!!

1. First one is on Planet Fear entitled ‘Climbing in South East Asia’ by James Pearson. Lots of DWS info for you to check out!

2. Also in this month’s ‘Friction Climbing Magazine’ (Issue 16) is an article entitled ‘Between the Sea and the Earth - Christian Core visits Sardinia DWS’.

Summersville DWS update: by Bernard Exley

2007-07-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

Just got back from my road trip so here's the update on Summersville DWS.We didn't see any notices about jumping or diving.We spoke to local DWS climbers and they said nothing had changed except that it was advisable that you did not jump/dive off if you topped out, instead you should down climb a bit and "fall off", apparently this wont be viewed as "jumping or diving", but as an unfortunate "fall"! We climbed all day on July 4th holiday and did not get approached by any officials and we know of no other climbers being approached either.
So as far as we can tell DWS is still fully available at Summersville but it has not been tested officially, for example if a climber was to "fall off" and hurt themselves and require the emergency services then it might present an opportunity for the new law to be applied to DWS. We shall just have to wait and see.