A Beginner’s Guide to Deep-Water Soloing

In the climbing film King Lines, Chris Sharma confirmed us a vivid (and altogether stirring) portrait of the earth of deep-water soloing. His picturesque scaling of the arch in the Balearic Sea acknowledged as “Es Pontas,” was a considerable benchmark for totally free solo climbing over a physique of water. It also might be a single of the unconscious reasons you adore jumping off of cliffs and bluffs that line seas, lakes and rivers.

Deep-water soloing (DWS) or psicobloc (actually translated as “Psycho Bouldering”) as it is also acknowledged, is totally free soloing over bodies of water.

DWS has been all over because the ’70s and has major roots in Majorca. Like most new suggestions, DWS was borne out of necessity. After staying crowded out of well known bouldering and assist climbing places on the island of Majorca, climber Miguel Riera and a number of like-minded buddies, observed solace solo rock climbing over the sea. These days, DWS has expanded from the cliffs of Majorca, to the rivers of British Columbia, the coast of Dorset, the lakes of Austin, Texas.

Now, just after putting in your reps indoors at the health and fitness center and likely on quite a few a climbing trip, you’re at last ready to turn that aspiration into a reality. To help you get the leap into the deep-stop of the climbing spectrum, we bought the finest ideas from of a single of the major hitters of the DWS earth in Hawaii and owner of Volcanic Rock Gym on Oahu, Justin Ridgley.

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