Deep-water soloing (DWS), also known as psicobloc, is a form of solo rock climbing that relies solely upon the presence of water at the base of a climb to protect against injury. Participants generally seek high difficulty routes usually above high tide. Although this is viewed as a relatively new style of climbing, it probably originated in the late 1960s or early 1970s in Dorset, Southern England or Majorca. Real development of the style began in the mid-late 1990s, and is progressing to this day.
Deep water soloing or psicobloc is obviously not only possible above the sea, but also above rivers and lakes. Where the Verdon river enters the Lac de St. Croix you have a bit of both, moving water that is still pleasantly warmed up in the lake. The only real danger are the zillions of tourists that populate the lake in summertime. Even if you yell at them they might not understand the language or are not aware of the danger of someone falling on their head. Still Anna Brenk, Frederike Förster, Markus and Daniel Jung were enjoying the Verdon limestone and the refreshing water as you can see on these photos. Udini shot this footage for the "Soul Climbing" part of the upcoming "Die 2te Lizenz zum Klettern" DVD, due this fall.
Enjoy summer!
Ah, one more thing: try to bring your own floating device, those pedalos are not cheap...
Am 26. September 2006 hat Chris Sharma nach zahllosen Versuchen seine neue, noch unbenannte Line am Es Pontas im Meer vor Santanyi gemacht. Die über 20 Meter hohe Route vergleicht Chris von den Kletter-Schwierigkeiten her vage mit seiner "Realization" (9a+) in Ceüse. Damit gehört sie sicher zu den schwierigsten Routen der Welt, ist allerdings dadurch, dass man beim psicobloc nicht ausbouldern kann, möglicherweise die am schwierigsten zu kletternde Linie überhaupt!
"I think deep water soloing is the purest form of climbing: free soloing, onsight, first ascents." - Chris Sharma
Psicobloc IS the purest way of climbing. Psicobloc is fun, not much is needed and it possible in a lot of places Still, there are some weird logistics involved that you won't learn in sport climbing school. If you are not born on seacliffs above an ocean on an island like Mallorca for example, chances are that you miss a detail or two. You really should check out the DVD before going deep water soloing - get psicobloc 101 here!
Eine einmalige Konstellation, die grosse Welt des psicobloc einzufangen, ergab sich für mich im Sommer 2005, als sich eine extrem motivierte und enthusiastische Gruppe auf Mallorca einfand. Die meisten schienen durch die Erzählungen von Toni inpiriert, hierher zu kommen und die reinste Form des Kletterns zu probieren. Mats, Torstein und Hugo aus Norwegen. Nora aus Rumänien. Gregor aus Slowenien und Justin aus Kapstadt und Nate aus Kentucky sind alle noch etwas jungfräulich was den psicobloc anbelangt. Glücklicherweise haben wir Miquel, der seit über 25 Jahren haarsträubende Meereshöhlen auf Mallorca erschliesst.
