Climbing restrictions at Lulworth Cove - By Emma Harrington

Bob Hickish at Lulworth - Photo: Sam Cox

Several possible climbing restrictions at Lulworth Cove have been rejected by Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for the Environment after the BMC lobbied against restrictions. Most importantly, she recognised that climbing is a ‘permitted activity’ not just under existing Countryside and Rights of Way legislation, but also under the 2009 Maritime and Coastal Access Act. A 20 mile section linking Rufus Castle and Lulworth was selected for its close proximity to the Olympic sailing events. The Government announcement was that work on the first stretch of the new coastal path around England would begin on the South coast soon. This was following government approval for Natural England’s access report. Caroline Spelman also acknowledged that Natural England had struck a ‘fair balance’ on the majority of objections made during consultation over the paths route. The Lulworth landowner’s objections were that climbing should be restricted because of nesting birds. The BMC will look into placing voluntary restrictions on certain routes at Lulworth as and when necessary. Coastal access could lead to increased tourism in Britain and consultations on six sections of 30km each around England’s coast is underway. When the process will be completed is not yet known. The BMC will continue to raise the issue with the Secretary of State, asking for more information about the Government’s plans. For more information visit the BMC website: www.thebmc.co.uk/coastal-access-ed-douglas?s=3

Sweden DWS - By Emma Harrington

Bohuslän is a Swedish traditional province situated on the northern part of the country’s west coast.

Bläckhall

Here you’ll find an imposing cliff of granite rock called Bläckhall with routes ranging from 6a to 7c+. Bläckhall (TOPO) is part of an island in the archipelago and is significantly exposed to the weather. Routes here climb to a maximum of 22 metres high with other smaller routes ranging from  12 – 15 metres.

Be very careful to follow the established access rules when you visit the Bohuslän.

Rödsberget
Another deep water soloing venue is Rödsberget . It lies in Åbyfjord and is protected from the wind and waves (TOPO). Routes here range from 6a to 8a and the height is up to 18 metres.
Video of Henrik Bolander climbing Bläckhall 22 meters of 43 Knots, 7c+

Hydrotherapy

Liam Cook descendant of the legendary Dorset Cook brothers has slowly been turning his hand quite successfully to film making. Already assisting with productions such as Alistair lee’s psyche 2, Liam has been focusing his attention on Deep water soloing.

The summer of 2011 saw Neil Gresham complete one of the hardest Deep water solos on the British Isles. The Hollow Cave area of Pembroke, south wales is now home to ‘Hydrotherapy’ with the estimated grade of 8a+.

Liam’s words.....

Filmed in the summer of 2011 this film follows Neil Gresham, one of the UK's most prominent all round professional rock climbers, as he embarks on one of the most challenging routes of his career, 'Hydrotherapy'.

'Hydrotherapy' takes the line of greatest steepness through the soaring, gothic architecture of Hollow Caves Bay in Pembroke, Wales. Climbing rope-less with only the sea to catch him, Neil could only safely attempt the route during a high, spring tide when the water would sufficiently cover the jagged reefs below. Discovering that the cave would remain wet until an hour before sunset meant the tide had to rise precisely at the right time. When the sun was low enough in the sky, the face would be bathed in an incredible golden light, and the moisture burnt away.

So, the seas had to be calm, the weather mild, and he had to have someone on hand to fish him out in case of emergency. Even getting to the base of the route presented problems, requiring an unusual and creative approach. As if to add insult to injury, the cliff falls within a restricted area of land, controlled by the military. Several attempts were thwarted by the unpredictable closure of this land, exacerbating a sense of frustration, made keener by the wasted 500mile return trips from London.

So when the illusive window of opportunity finally creaked ajar, Neil had to be ready to climb something at his physical limit. The resulting experience surely had to be one of the most cathartic and memorable of his life.

Udo Neumann

For those of you who know Udo Neumann’s films and photography work, you may be interested to know that he has a new look website with some great online media to get your teeth into, with an additional focus on DWS found here.

Udo was one of the first film makers on the island of Mallorca in its early days of the Islands resurgence of DWS back in in 2001. Although his films have not been readily available in the UK, they were a significant part of the new wave of web media to flood the climbing market back in 2001 and 2002.

His films captured historical ascents on the island as well as inspiring people from all over the world to visit and sample Mallorca’s DWS delights.  Udo was additionally a well-known documenter of vocally expressive and powerful climber Klem Lockot.

Udo Neumann’s new website can be found here:  www.udini.com

Italy's - Lovers Arch

(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!

(C) Mike Williams

Quentar Lake Deep Water

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

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!

To read in full, head to the USA page.

New Thailand Page

To read the full article head to the Thailand page.

Dosage Vol 2 review

 

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

Psicobloc 101 Review

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

Mallorca Database

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

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

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!!

 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.

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.

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

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

DWSWORLD disappeared?

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

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!

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