Deepwater soloing at Summersville - day 1 of 2
Megan and I have been planning to go back to Summersville since our last DWS (deepwater soloing) trip. Last Friday was a full moon, so despite being a 2-day weekend, we picked last weekend to return, for a chance to go DWS under the full moon. However, the weather did not cooperate. Even though the sky was clear and the full moon was bright on the way to Summersville, getting my hopes up, a thunderstorm rolled in as we got near Summersville. It destroyed any chance of playing in the water that night, and forced Megan and I to set up camp in the rainy darkness. Val decided to sleep in her road-trip van instead of setting up a tent.
Next morning we woke up to a camp full of people. Most of us were going DWS, but a few weren't able to secure a spot on the boat, so they were going either bouldering or sport climbing. Those of us who were going DWS drove to Summersville Lake and got our rental pontoon boat in the water. I navigated all the way out to where we stopped explore last time for our first climb. We then slowly drove toward Long Point, stopping at few spots along the way to play.
A really nice arete problem
Photo: Megan Dunn
Another fun problem with some funky moves
Photo: Megan Dunn
Unfortunately, right about the time we made it to Long Point, we started to hear thunder rambling in the distance. We got everyone out of the water (reluctantly) and hurried back to the boat launch. We weren't sure how long the thunderstorm would last, but I think more than a few people were tired and hungry, the consensus seemed to be call it a day and take the boat back. As we were taking the boat out of the water, we saw a sheet of rain coming toward us from the far side of the parking lot, it was quite a sight. Everyone ran for cover, and we were all glad that we decided to call it a day... well, for at least 5 minutes anyway. That was how long the rain lasted. The dark ominous cloud moved pass us quickly, and the sky cleared up again. But by now most people have already packed up and left, some went back to camp, some went shopping at the gear shop. After trying unsuccessfully to convince Alyce and her carpool buddies that they should come with us instead of going hiking, Megan and I headed over to Pirates Cove to jump off the waterfall and play on some bolted 5.11s (but with shallow landing). We also watched a few guys and a gal repeatedly climbing much higher on those 5.11s than I was comfortable with the landing. But at least none of them got hurt.
We came back to camp around 5:30 pm, to Terence cooking a big pot of stew, and Ocean trying to set up a slackline by the picnic pavilion. I had planned to eat dinner in town, so Megan and I waited for a few others to return and go to Pints and Pies together. But in the process of waiting, we got talked into staying and eat the group meal. We did, and there was enough food to totally stuff Megan and I. Since we only brought snack food, no dinner items to share, I peeled some mangos I brought and shared it with everyone.
Megan and I wanted to try for a full moon DWS again tonight, but we couldn't find a ride to the lake. Val was sleeping in her van again, and no one else seemed interested in the idea of going to the lake after dark. The sky seemed pretty clear, but we kept seeing lightning in the far distance (no thunder was heard). After waiting till 10 o'clock, the moon was still not high enough for illumination. We decided to go to sleep first, and see how it would be in a few hours. I woke up later in the night to thunder, lightning, and heavy rain. Thus my hope of going moonlight DWS was totally spoiled by the weather.
For more photos from this weekend's DWS, visit Megan's gallery.
A video clip of Alyce doing a flip while jumping. You have to turn your head 90-degrees to watch this video. (2.37MB MPEG video)
Next morning we woke up to a camp full of people. Most of us were going DWS, but a few weren't able to secure a spot on the boat, so they were going either bouldering or sport climbing. Those of us who were going DWS drove to Summersville Lake and got our rental pontoon boat in the water. I navigated all the way out to where we stopped explore last time for our first climb. We then slowly drove toward Long Point, stopping at few spots along the way to play.
Another fun problem with some funky moves
Unfortunately, right about the time we made it to Long Point, we started to hear thunder rambling in the distance. We got everyone out of the water (reluctantly) and hurried back to the boat launch. We weren't sure how long the thunderstorm would last, but I think more than a few people were tired and hungry, the consensus seemed to be call it a day and take the boat back. As we were taking the boat out of the water, we saw a sheet of rain coming toward us from the far side of the parking lot, it was quite a sight. Everyone ran for cover, and we were all glad that we decided to call it a day... well, for at least 5 minutes anyway. That was how long the rain lasted. The dark ominous cloud moved pass us quickly, and the sky cleared up again. But by now most people have already packed up and left, some went back to camp, some went shopping at the gear shop. After trying unsuccessfully to convince Alyce and her carpool buddies that they should come with us instead of going hiking, Megan and I headed over to Pirates Cove to jump off the waterfall and play on some bolted 5.11s (but with shallow landing). We also watched a few guys and a gal repeatedly climbing much higher on those 5.11s than I was comfortable with the landing. But at least none of them got hurt.
We came back to camp around 5:30 pm, to Terence cooking a big pot of stew, and Ocean trying to set up a slackline by the picnic pavilion. I had planned to eat dinner in town, so Megan and I waited for a few others to return and go to Pints and Pies together. But in the process of waiting, we got talked into staying and eat the group meal. We did, and there was enough food to totally stuff Megan and I. Since we only brought snack food, no dinner items to share, I peeled some mangos I brought and shared it with everyone.
Megan and I wanted to try for a full moon DWS again tonight, but we couldn't find a ride to the lake. Val was sleeping in her van again, and no one else seemed interested in the idea of going to the lake after dark. The sky seemed pretty clear, but we kept seeing lightning in the far distance (no thunder was heard). After waiting till 10 o'clock, the moon was still not high enough for illumination. We decided to go to sleep first, and see how it would be in a few hours. I woke up later in the night to thunder, lightning, and heavy rain. Thus my hope of going moonlight DWS was totally spoiled by the weather.
For more photos from this weekend's DWS, visit Megan's gallery.
A video clip of Alyce doing a flip while jumping. You have to turn your head 90-degrees to watch this video. (2.37MB MPEG video)
posted by Boer @ 8/20/2005
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