Tuck Fest Hosts First Comp on NC’s Permanent Deep Water Solo Wall

The world’s first permanent deep water soloing wall, at the U.S. National Whitewater Center (USNWC) in Charlotte, North Carolina, made its debut appearance this weekend during Tuck Fest—a
three-day celebration of outdoor lifestyle that includes competitions, demos, exhibitions and live music.

“These type of events are gaining in popularity after the annual [Psicobloc Masters] was introduced a few years ago,” Carlo Traversi, the overall men’s winner, posted on Instagram. “It’s definitely
my favorite style of competition. So much adrenaline in the head-to-head format and it’s great for spectating.”

The DWS climbing complex features a 25- to 45-foot climbing wall positioned over a 20-foot deep pool. Competitors partook in exhaustive qualifying
rounds on Friday evening before seeding took place on Saturday, after which the top 16 male and female climbers progressed to the final round to compete
head-to-head based on their seeding. Awaiting the podium finishers was a prize pot of $15,000 ($5,000 for first place, $2,000 for second and $500 for
third).

In typical DWS comps, for those who are unfamiliar, two climbers will compete side-by-side on identical routes, and the aim is not simply to complete the
route, but to beat your opponent to the top.

Alex Johnson, who partook in the event and took second place for the ladies, commented on Instagram, “Although I prefer climbing on rocks,
this past weekend was a blast. DWS events are probably the future of competitive climbing: fast-paced, easy to comprehend, crowd-pleasing, exciting,
extreme.”

In the final match, Kyra Condie outpaced Johnson to win the event, while Arabella Jarel, who lost to Johnson in the previous heat, took third.

In the men’s event Traversi matched the finishing hold mere milliseconds ahead of Nathaniel Coleman (see photo below from Traversi’s Instagram page) to
claim first place and the $5,000 top prize. Coleman’s second place finish still earned him $2,000. Ben Hanna lost to Traversi in the penultimate round
and took the $500 third place prize.

FloClimbing provided live streaming
of the competition for paying subscribers. A number of highlight videos are also available on their site for subscribers.

Crazy weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina for the @usnwctuckfest at the @usnwc. The new Deep Water Solo wall from @walltopia is the first of its kind as a permanent installation in America. These type of events are gaining in popularity after the annual @psicocomp was introduced a few years ago. It’s definitely my favorite style of competition. So much adrenaline in the head to head format and it’s great for spectating. I ended up in the Final against @nathaniel.coleman and just barely squeaked out a victory. This photo from @rob.pryor captures the moment perfectly. Congrats to @kyracondie for her win as well. And a big thanks to @blackdiamond and @tylerwillcutt for all the support this past week. Back to the mountains!

A post shared by Carlo Traversi (@carlodenali) on
Apr 24, 2017 at 12:27pm PDT

The @usnwctuckfest was a blast! Today my body hurts and my teeth are chipped (not to self–close your mouth while falling into water from 45 feet) but I’m unbelievably stoked to have won the first ever competition on this sick wall! Congrats to @carlodenali for taking the win in a very exciting finals round for the men and to @alexjohnson89 and @bjariel for finishing off the podium for the women. And of course, thanks to everyone who made this event possible and managed to pull it off! Photos by @timkoerberimages! @fiveten_official @asanaclimbing @mountainhardwear

A post shared by Kyra Condie (@kyracondie) on
Apr 23, 2017 at 12:30pm PDT

See more on Deep Water Soloing Competitions

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