Climbing event hits a new high

Exeter's Quay will be buzzing this August Bank Holiday weekend as it plays host to some of the world’s top climbers at a spectacular climbing competition.

Thousands of spectators are expected to attend the thrilling climbing event on the Quay - and if you fancy dropping off a seven metre wall into the canal - they’ll also be a chance for novices to have a go.

Quay Climbing is staging its third annual Deep Water Solo Festival of Climbing over the August Bank Holiday weekend; the event sees a temporary seven metre high climbing wall erected in the city’s canal basin.

Paul Russell, director of the Quay Climbing Centre, said the event continued to go from strength to strength.

He said: ‘This is a great event, which attracts more people every year. You don’t have to be  a climber to love it - there’s a real thrill in watching people attempt to climb the wall, getting as high and far as they can before dropping into the water below.

‘There’s always an amazing atmosphere and we love staging it. We are in a unique position at the Quay of being the only indoor climbing wall in the UK that is situated next to a body of water suitable for this type of outdoor climbing event – the canal basin provides the perfect water space and the large open area of the Piazza Terracina offers a great arena for spectators to view the competition up close.

Climbers will attempt to navigate routes upwards and across the feature without the aid of ropes, using the water beneath them as their drop point when they can no longer climb.

The competition begins with the junior climbers during the afternoon on Friday, August 26, climbers compete during the weekend with the nail-biting final planned for Sunday, August 28. The wall is opened up to beginners and non-competitors during the Monday.

The event will bring the elite of the international climbing community to the city to participate in one of the fastest growing and most visually exciting areas of the sport.

Neil Gresham, one of the UK’s leading climbers and ambassador for DWS, said: ‘This event is one of the most exciting things to happen on the UK climbing scene in years. Deep Water Solo climbing is one of the most visual and free forms of climbing you can experience. This will not only be fantastic for the sport of climbing in general but will do wonders to promote it locally in a region that has a lot to offer those looking for a Deep Water Solo adventure.

The wall will be built by Entre-Prises climbing walls, with routes set by the team behind Blokfest. Local sponsors of the event include Mini Westerly, Haven Banks, UCZ Paintball and Landy Girls coffee bar. National sponsors include La Sportiva Climbing, Beta Climbing Designs, DMM Climbing (Wales), 5.10 Climbing, ALPKIT, SCARPA Climbing and Boreal.

The world’s first artificial Deep Water Solo competition was staged in Spain in 2010 and attracted over 4,000 spectators as well as the elite of the climbing community.

For more information visit www.quayclimbingcentre.co.uk