UKC

In reply to Graeme Hammond:

I know it will be bird banned for at least part of the year as the island is a Scottish Wildlife Trust Reserve. There was a programme on BBC iplayer a few years back featuring Dave Macleod and Dave Cuthbertson re-enacting some sort of ascent/taverse of the Great Stack. That's all I got I'm afraid.

In reply to Mark Collins:

Dave MacLeod's blog is here:
http://davemacleod.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/handa-more-dangling-above-drops-f...

In reply to Graeme Hammond:

Tiny bit of information on the FA in. The Wikipedia entry for the island.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handa,_Scotland

In reply to Graeme Hammond:

Great Stack of Handa#guidebooks

In reply to Graeme Hammond:

There is also an E1, 'Northern Highlands North' p. 238.

In reply to Graeme Hammond:
Do respect the bird restrictions, as the top of the Stack is a much more important habitat than the quality of the climbing (see Northern Highlands North). Sufficiently so that there was pressure on me to miss the Stack out of the guidebook.

In reply to Andy Nisbet:

Wise & sensitive comment.

In reply to Greenbanks:

I hadn't seen the great range of pictures from Hamish McInnes and GN Hunter of Handa before. Lovely stuff.

Great Stack of Handa#photos

D.

In reply to Graeme Hammond:

Several years before I started climbing I was on a sea fishing holiday in the North West with a childhood friend who eventually became my Best Man. We got to Tarbet and found one of the local boatmen - Chris MacLeod - who took us out to where the big Pollack ( Lythe) could be found - just off the Great Stac. It was 'interesting' in a 6 metre open boat with a couple of Seagull outboards on the back - particularly when we got out of the lee of the island and near the stac where the Atlantic Swell was strongest. We caught a couple up to about 5 kg - and had gear smashed by much bigger fish we just could not hold.

Young Chris was an interesting character who was the subject of an article the following springtime in a Sunday Supplement entitled "50 Miles for a Saturday Night" basically telling the tale of how he'd have to drive to Lairg some 50 miles away if he wanted to go to the dance and stand the chance of meeting a girl. There was a sad post script to the article - as it ended by saying that Chris and his father ( also named Chris) had been lost at sea whilst trying to haul their lobster pots as a winter storm was blowing up.

In reply to Andy Nisbet:
Sorry if i an reading between the lines but are the nesting restrictions year round if so it seems strange to put it in a guide book? (PS I haven't got the northern highlands guide so can't look)

I wasn't and still am not considering climbing it (I know the post reads like someone mega keen though), and anyway the amount of birds nesting on ledges and on top of it make it look like it would be a rather unpleasant experience even after they have left. I just wanted to know a bit more about it as I thought the photos were looked interesting. I totally agree that there are some locations where we do not need to climb. I guess this is one of the reasons why i hadn't heard or seen anything about this location before

Thanks everyone else too the links were useful

In reply to DannyC:

Agreed - though a bit nippy up yonder at present I'd say!

In reply to Graeme Hammond:

I haven't got the guide but the BBC filmed some interesting stuff up there with Dave McLeod and Dave Cuthbertson in October 2011, which will have required getting to the top:

http://davemacleod.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/handa-more-dangling-above-drops-f...

D.

In reply to DannyC:
Tony posted that link above it is quite interesting, i have found some footage but unfortunately the full program only appears to be commercially available.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00lmvzt - the preview is good though
and simular http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-15834797

there are also a few good videos of sea kayaking in the area which show the impressive size and architecture of the rock (which looks mainly very green and covered in guano).

edit: Just found out there is an account of climbing it by Tom Patey in his book One Man's Mountains which i know we had a copy of before we moved house so i have something else to do later.