Tim airing it out at Summersville Lake, D. Brayack Collection
The sport climbing at Summersville Lake is some of the best on the east coast. It's home to many clip-ups in the moderate to hard ranges of the spectrum. The cliffs are managed by the Army Corp of Engineers with whom the climbers enjoy a great relationship.
The only sticky part of that relationship is the recent ban on "cliff-jumping" that the Corp handed down in May of 2007. Spurred by a "rash of cliff jumping/diving accidents", the knee jerk reaction was to ban the practice entirely within the Huntington District. In fact, there have been no reported injuries of "cliff jumping" on Summersville Lake, so it' unclear why the heavy handed approach has been taken. For the full details check out the Corps press release.
How does this ban affect climbers looking to "deep water solo" at Summersville Lake? The Corp patroled the lake all summer and issued warnings to those who were spotted above the six foot mark. Next season the Corp plans on fining people up to $5000 for violating the rule. There is no doubt that this ruling was put in place to curb the numbers of drunken rednecks hucking themselves off the top of 60 foot cliffs into the waters below. It's unfortunate that rock climbers have been lumped into the same group as these reckless individuals.
For more information, call the Army Corp Public Affairs Office 304-399-5353 and let them hear your voice.
