Summersville Deep Water Soloing!!

OVERVIEW

Do you like swimming, climbing, and jumping off rocks into the water?? Ever want to try free soloing without putting your life in imminent danger? May we present to you: Deep Water Soloing. Basically, the climbs are right next to 10+ feet deep water that will catch you when you’re done climbing or happen to fall on your way up.

We’ll be headed to Summersville Lake, an amazing spot for deep water free soloing (on top of boating, floating, and highlining!) in West Virginia. There’s so many different spots to climb in the lake, with routes ranging from 5.6-5.12. We’ll be paddle boarding around the lake and visiting different spots to climb throughout the day, on top of swimming, sunbathing, and chatting.

You should feel at least a little comfortable climbing for this trip, but if this is your first time climbing outside, that’s okay! Just understand that because we have the extra element of falling into the water, we prefer some beginner bouldering experience for this trip.
You only fall or jump into the water from as far as you climb up – so you only have to climb as high as you’re comfortable! I personally don’t push myself crazy hard on the climbs, and instead climb up to nice places to jump off.

You should, however, feel confident in your swimming and resurfacing abilities after falling so that we can all feel safe & comfortable. We’ll be navigating the lake with paddleboards, but you’ll need to be able to swim a short distance to it after falling in the water. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions – Cam’s number is 703-488-8892 and Ella’s number is 804-647-0461!

The plan:
7:30 am – meet at Echols
7:45ish – drive out to Summersville
11 – arrive at the parking lot & pump up the SUPs
11:15 – get in the water & get climbing! Hang out, paddle around, eat some snacks, and have a good time.
6ish (flexible depending on how long people want to stay! But 5 is probably the latest) – return to cars and head back to cville, get dinner on the way home depending on time
10 pm-ish – arrival back in town! We may get back a little later than 10, so don’t have anything super important planned for Saturday night!

What you need:
– Swimmy swimwear
– Extra layers for the drive home
– Towel
– Snacks & a lunch! We’ll be there all day, store in a plastic bag in case your pack gets wet
– Water (3 liters)
– Old climbing shoes or sneakers, or you can go barefoot! Don’t use the club climbing shoes because water can cause warping/damage– we suggest going barefoot
– Sunscreen
– Money for a possible food stop on the way back

What Cam and Ella will bring:
– Paddleboards to navigate the lake
– Dry bags for our stuff
– Lifejackets
– First aid kit

****DRIVER’S NEEDED! Will get priority off of the waitlist, gas reimbursement, + 50% tip ($20 max)!!*****