Under the Sky, Above the Sea
(Doco) Deep Water Soloing on Britain's South Coast

Format	Video	Category	Non-Fiction
Title	Under the Sky, Above the Sea	Mins
Starring	Martin Crocker, Mike Robertson, Pete Oxley	RRP
Director		Reviews	1
Edition	Released 1999	Ave Rating	(2.00 of 5)

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Nottobetaken 2/15/2006

A light hearted and often humorous look at the climbers and scene that really started DWS. The sea cliffs of Swanage/Portland area (south English coastline) are architecturally ideal for this sort of pastime (as you can see from the opening scene). It's totally not a high-voltage - American-type psyche movie. This is more a television documentary introducing people to how Deep Water Soloing (DWS) came into being. Connor Cove (the ultimate DWS location) has since been the home of sponsored DWS summer festivals - attracting climbers from all over the UK as well as from overseas. This is really home-grown stuff and not everyone's cup of tea. Some filming even shows how easy it is to make staple bolts, and perhaps why Portland is now considered to be the biggest sport climbing area in Britain (over 2000 bolted routes and counting). The Cook brothers feature prominently (having produced the first DWS guide to the area called 'Into The Blue'), as do the talents of Mike Robertson, Pete Oxley and Martin Crocker. Highlights include 'The home-made parachute', Joff Cooks back flip off the 50ft Connor Cove, Martin Crocker's first ascent, and the brief look at what would become one of DWS's most sought-after prizes - the bolted 'Mark of the Beast' (27). The film was produced by Mark Turnbull - who later joined forces with Richard Heap to form 'Slackjaw' (they of 'Hard Grit' fame). Summary: Light-hearted home-grown vid showing the 'birth place' of modern Deep Water Soloing.

Further Reading:
High Mountain Sports - A Review