The incredible Chris Sharma has just completed the first ascent of a giant 100 foot deep water solo route in France. The Pont d’Arc is a famous attraction in Southern France – a natural limestone bridge over the River Ardèche – and is a popular spot for outdoors activities that will probably see an influx of climbers trying out their deep water solo game.
The YouTube clip below shows the climb, described as an 8b+ (5.14) by Sharma. He completed the route bottom-up – meaning he climbed from the start of the route as far as he could each time, without skipping to practice further up for any crux moves.
Deep Water Solo – or DWS – means climbing without any aids, ropes, or safety devices, over water. It’s basically Free Solo Climbing that ends happily.
Sharma has previously opened other deep water solo routes as well as competing in psicobloc, a competition and organisation that sets up climbing walls over pools around the world, as well as holding events over water in more natural settings.
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