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Deep water soloing! Climbing is finally free. Free of ropes, traditional gear, bolts, hang dogging, belayers and topos… It’s the most fun I’ve ever had climbing.

Beautiful beaches, hot weather and really steep limestone over crystal clear water is what most deep water soloing is all about and MALTA was no exception. Climbing photographer Paul Bride, Sonnie Trotter, Katie Brown, Nels Rosaasen, Lil’ Jay Halowach and myself spent three weeks in August 2005 to see what we could fall off of.

Smack center in the Mediterranean sea Malta sits as the 9th smallest country in the world and the 3rd most densely populated. You might expect an over crowded and wildness lacking experience. But as soon as you get beyond the 400 foot sea cliffs there is nothing but ocean for as far as the eye can see and nothing to do but climb! Of course were cheap dirt bags and could not afford the luxury of a hotel every night or a speedboat every day. Inflatable kayaks and living in caves far up the sea cliffs worked out great for our bunch. Deep water soloing is still in its infancy and the opportunities for first ascents are endless. Paul and I have climbed in Malta, Thailand and Vietnam for deep water soloing. To date we have nearly 200 routes under our belt. Every route is devoid of bolts, slings or topos. As a climber partaking in all forms of our sport I find it hard to beat that.

Malta was especially magical with it’s oldest human artifacts at 5000 years old and stunning arches and underwater grottos to explore. I found the Mediterranean to be soft to fall into. Sometimes our routes neared 80 feet off the water and with the high salt content our impacts were reduced by the aerated water. This allowed for a bigger margin of safety. We definitely pushed the envelope at times. Once I found myself falling face first into the sea from 35 feet, only to come to the surface with a big grin and wanting more.