Deep Water Soloing, Olympos, Turkey.

A group of very excited climbers set off in a speed boat to go route hunting along the coast. İn no time at all we'd found a beautiful crag dotted with caves and striped with long tufa ribbons.

Mümin Karabas made short work of a technical 7c- all 30 metres of it! We watched in awe as he prepared himself for the inevitable jump. Not the tidiest of landings meant he got the full impact in a rather sensitive area...No sympathy from fellow Turks however, instead a lot of laughter and heckling along the lines of it should keep him out of trouble with the women for a while!

The thought of a deep water enema kept me from climbing over 10m but I still had loads of fun playıng on powerful overhangs in the caves- deep water bouldering maybe? Even complete beginners were able to have a fantastic time scrambling like crabs over the rocks.

I learnt a lot about DWS that day, not least the importance of well made clothes! Carl the Texan managed to burst the stitching in his shorts, such was the force  of his descent! He spent the rest of the day climbing in a rather fetching, flowing skirt- providing much entertainment for the rest of us.

The potential for world class DWS here is endless. Miles of limestone and conglomerate crags to explore... a difficult job but I suppose someone has to do it!!!

Juliet Scott