UKclimbing.com article and video 2009

Not until a year later did I find out for certain that this cave, known as Running Springs, was indeed virgin before my dive. The knowledge gave me a strange and most satisfying pride. Satisfying because of the feeling of mystical possession and intimacy with the spring that I felt. Strange because the cave had existed for thousands of years before me, would exist for many years after me, and could care less about my intrusion, momentous as it was for me.
Sheck Exley, Caverns Measureless to Man, 1994.

Substitute cliff for cave, rock for spring and climb for dive and there you have the best parallel description of the emotions engendered by the peculiar delights of new routing in rock climbing that I have read anywhere.

Anyway, it was 2002 and I saw an advert in the British Medical Journal “Psychiatrist required in Bermuda”. I was working in Plymouth at the time and thought St Budeaux or Bermuda? Tough call. I was on the plane the next day. But the $60 000 question was whether there was climbing in Bermuda or not? A climber who had visited Bermuda advised me that there was no rock climbing in Bermuda but there was an arch that had potential. By the time I visited, the arch turned out to be literally tottering on it’s last legs and was shortly thereafter destroyed completely by Hurricane Fabian in 2003.

The islands of Bermuda are an isolated, subtropical 21 square mile archipelago on the summit of an undersea volcano in the Northern Atlantic Ocean. The Sea Venture set out from the Mayflower steps (co-incidentally 100yds from my front door in Plymouth) to colonise Virginia, but was wrecked on Bermuda in 1609. Bermuda has been a British Overseas Territory ever since. The points of the Bermuda Triangle are formed by Bermuda itself, South Carolina 600 miles to the West and Puerto Rico 900 miles to the South. Ironically, the locals do not believe in the existence of the Bermuda Triangle, but the large amount of sunken ships on Bermuda's hazardous reefs provides some of the best wreck diving in the world.

Nowadays, Bermuda has the highest GDP per capita in the world. This is due to an economy based mainly on international business such as banking and re-insurance. Unfortunately, despite the relative prosperity of the country, the legacy of the Trans- Atlantic slave trade continues to cast a long shadow over Bermuda's culture and politics. All slaves were freed in 1834, but until 1959 racial segregation still existed and ended only after public protest. The issue of race continues to overshadow the national psyche.

When I first came to Bermuda I was told that the rock was unsuitable for rock climbing and that anybody who tries will die. This is an opinion I have come across before where there is rock but not yet rock climbing. And in fact, although there is no shortage of rock in Bermuda, only something like the harder 10% of the soft Aeolian limestone here is suitable for climbing. Regardless of warnings, climbing is more addictive than Heroin and it is impossible for a climber to live somewhere with cliffs and not try to climb them.

The first potential venue I couldn’t fail to notice when riding along North Shore to and from work on my moped was Dill’s Rocks. It is a sheltered bay with an overhanging wall. Could that be suitable for Deep Water Soloing (DWS)?

Armed with rock shoes and pulverised blackboard chalk in a plastic bag (in lieu of climbing chalk) I discovered some entertaining circuits above a resident squadron of squid. These were the first DWS routes in Bermuda and a springboard to future development.

Next up was Hogfish Bay. The first route took several attempts breaking off holds before success. The climb involves a long sea level traverse via meditative no-hands resting caves to an overhanging arête, which forms one of the most classic DWS in Bermuda. This route was discovered during a Night Dive and so harnessing the full power of my imagination, I christened it “Night Dive”.

I returned in 2004 with a broken arm for another contract to find that Dave and Claire MacLeod had been out visiting Claire’s brother. Unsurprisingly, Dave had put up the hardest boulder problem on the island, Dark & Stormy at V9. Despite local attention this problem remains unrepeated.

Fast forward to 2006. I was back and looking forward to some DWS. In the meantime one of the gyms on the island, The Olympic Club, had built a climbing wall on the exterior and had employed 2 instructors; Ward Byrum and Bryan Caldwell.

Both from the USA and very good and experienced climbers. They exchanged puzzled glances when I kept asking to buy climbing chalk but then never showing up to climb at the climbing gym. Before long they were out sampling the delights of such classic DWS routes as Atlantis and Lara Croft as well as establishing their own lines like Ward’s spectacular Lost City finish to Atlantis.

As with most DWS venues it is advisable to snorkel first and inspect the landing zones. The water usually has excellent visibility and it is possible to DWS the year round. The water temp gets up to 30 degrees C in summer and in winter is still an acceptable 20 degrees. (At the time of writing, October, it is 26 degrees C). You can expect to encounter a lot of marine fauna whilst deep water soloing. For example, also at the time of writing, Atlantis has a 6 foot green moray eel living in a hole underneath the route.

In 2008 we established the first sports climbs on the island. Making the commitment to buy the drill for $700 was the most gripping part of the process. With the warnings about the soft nature of the rock echoing in my head, I was expecting to abseil down the first route only to find out that the rock was too soft for bolting and that would be the end of sports climbing in Bermuda and $700 down the drain. Thankfully my fears were (mostly) unfounded. A state of high paranoia fuelled the unnecessary equalising of about 10 runners in what appeared to be good rock in order to construct a belay. Fortunately, the rock below proved to be good (enough).

The first route to go was on the biggest cliff on the island, The Great Head of St David’s. Bensalem is a spectacularly positioned and mildly graded lip trip over a sea cave. Fishermen on the rocks nearby were slightly bemused by the antics and wanted to call the police to rescue us. Thankfully, the locals are now a bit more accustomed to seeing climbers on these cliffs.

My wife, Eloise made her very first ever lead on a section of this cliff. She stormed up this 5.9 and because it was the first route on the wall she not only got to name the route, Xantho, but got to name the whole wall, Nereids Wall as well. Not bad for your first ever lead!

2008 was also the year of the landing of the God of Strathyre himself, Davie Crawford. After completing his first DWS, Davie was quickly into the swing of things and producing loads of new routes, both DWS and sports as well as enthusiastic participation in the compulsory après grimpe at the Swizzle Inn.

Some of the more remote DWS cliffs posed access problems. However, exploration was accomplished in a $30 inflatable dinghy. This intrepid craft performed beyond the call of duty to exceed its recommended max operating load of 2 small children by grittily transporting two fat Scotsmen plus climbing gear and obligatory beer.

At the time of writing, October 2009, there are 25 sports climbs and 125 deep water solos in Bermuda as well as a load of beach boulder problems above sand (pads not required). Summer is DWS season with hot sunny weather, high humidity and warm water. Winter is sports climbing time with cooler weather and better conditions. The sports climbs are currently equipped with threads and stainless steel expansion bolts. My project this winter is the replacement of all bolts with titanium glue-in bolts. If you intend to climb here, please consult the Climb de Rock wiki website for the latest update on the state of the in-situ protection.

After all the enthusing about climbing in Bermuda, please bear in mind that this will never be a world class climbing venue. Bermuda is a very isolated destination. Don’t make an extra special effort to come here for climbing. The nature of the climbing resembles something like Northern Frankenjura topography combined with Gogarth South Stack talcum powder fabric. That combination appeals to me, but I have strange tastes. Suffice to say travelling here specifically to climb would be like choosing to visit Norway in winter rather than anywhere else to go to in order to get a suntan.

However, if you happen to be here for work or holiday then there is more than enough to keep you happy. The weather is generally favourable for some sport or other and it is highly unusual to have a day when you can’t participate in something. Even in a hurricane you can still go cave diving which is world class here. With only 21 square miles, everything is literally on your doorstep. You can deep water solo during your lunchbreak from work and at the weekend it is not unusual to be climbing, surfing, wakeboarding and scuba diving all in the same day.

The focal point of the climbing scene on the island remains The Olympic Club Climbing Gym replete with new resident instructor John Langston who is making the slightly bizarre transition from trad 12d sandstone offwidths to overhanging limestone DWS.


The local climbers are always happy to show visiting climbers around. Over the past couple of years we have had a steady stream of visiting climbers from the UK, US and elsewhere. Recently we had a visit from the former X-games speed climbing world champion Elena Whitburn nee Ovcchinikova who had never deep water soloed before but nevertheless made some impressive flash ascents. This week, visiting National Geographic photographer David Doubilet shot some over/underwater climbing shots at Tsunami Wall.

If there are any competition climber or organisers reading this then I would recommend Bermuda as being the ideal venue for a deep water solo climbing competition. The cruise ship dock on Front Street in the capital city of Hamilton is yards from the main street of the city, has deep warm water underneath and would attract a lot of spectators.

Bring it on J

Grant Farquhar, October, 2009.


Bermuda page in the DWS bible Deep Water by Mike Robertson


BERMUDA SUN article 12/20/2006

Hanging from a sheer cliff by your fingertips: 'A great way to unwind'
With its flinty limestone rocks and a highest point of little over 200 feet, Bermuda has never been considered a paradise for climbers.

But amid the craggy outcrops and overhangs that pepper the North Shore cliff face, a group of 'outdoorsmen' are charting new territory for what is a burgeoning sport on the island.

Most rock climbing in Bermuda still takes place at the Olympic Club's artificial wall. But by introducing a generation of islanders to climbing, the club's instructors tapped into a latent spirit of adventure that has inevitably led them beyond the wall.

Now the more talented and experienced climbers are regularly scrambling up different routes at John Smith's Bay, Harrington Sound and Admiralty House - by far the best spot they have found so far.

"Climbing has always been about getting away from it, getting outside and away from people and just becoming immersed in the activity," says Bryan Caldwell, one of the club's instructors. "People find it a great way to relax because they are not thinking about anything else but climbing. If you're not thinking about it and moving with it, if your head's not in it, then you won't be successful."

Caldwell and his fellow instructor Ward Byrum have a history of finding places to climb in the most unlikely places. The pair went to university in Kansas where they resorted to scaling silos, apartment blocks and telegraph poles to get their climbing fix in the flattest state in the U.S.

And it was that 'anything goes' attitude that led them to seek out the brittle and unwelcoming cliffs of Bermuda's shoreline.

Now, deploying a method known as 'deep water soloing' - which essentially means climbing without ropes and using the water as a safety net - they are pioneering a new frontier.

Caldwell added: "Being real climbers, we naturally gravitated towards the cliffs. We realized the rock quality wasn't that good so we scouted out some different spots while we were out snorkelling or swimming."

But it was British psychiatrist and experienced rock climber Dr. Grant Farquhar, who first discovered the numerous climbing routes at Admirality House, during his independent forays from his home at Spanish Point.

Dr. Farquhar, who captured many of the stunning images on these pages, had the honour of naming the climbs - a privilege afforded to the first climber to chart a new route.

From Lara Croft - 'a feisty route with big jugs' to Atlantis, a lengthy traverse, there are myriad options which now attract a small group to the park every week.

Short as the climbs may be, with the cliff top a mere 30ft above sea level, they are difficult and often involve long traverses requiring a lot of energy and strength to scale.

"I did a couple of climbs today and a little bit of swimming around and I'm beat," admitted Byrum on Friday.

For the most part, it's just the experienced, qualified climbers like Byrum, Farquhar (who has since moved to New Zealand) and Caldwell who try out the different routes.

But some of the more talented climbers at the wall are also visiting cliffs, under the supervision of their more experienced friends.

Tristan DeSilva, 17, who started climbing when the wall first opened in Bermuda, said taking on the challenge of Admirality House was a "completely different experience".

He said they were much tougher climbs than he had ever encountered before. Byrum added that taking on Bermuda's rocks without supervision was not something he recommended.

"We're all experienced climbers.

"The important thing for us is to find a route where at any moment, if you fall, you fall into the water."

DeSilva added that falling had been a "little scary" at first, but he said it was "no big deal", because there was always a relatively deep pool of water below.

Byrum said the climbers occasionally draw spectators from the visitors that frequent the park.

"They think we are crazy just for being in the water at this time of year, never mind the climbing we do.

"One thing that all the Bermudians say to us is that they remember jumping and diving off these rocks when they were kids.

"Now we're taking it from a different angle and going back up them."

If you're interested in learning more about climbing or giving it a try call Ward or Bryan at the Olympic Club on 292-4095. To see more of Dr. Grant Farquhar's pictures and read more about local climbing, visit www.evilpics.co.uk

James Whittaker
Senior Reporter

Planet Fear article 2003 http://www.planetfear.com/articles/Bermuda_Rock_87.html