UKC

Climbed this over easter and whilst sat on top we got buzzed, not by birds there were barely any on the route thankfully, but by a drone being flown from the mainland (didn't get anywhere near us thankfully). The photographer who shot the footage (Jason Baxter http://www.jasonbaxter.net/ ) has finished editing it and uploaded it here...

vimeo.com/128087090

He also kindly shared the raw footage which I might do something with.

Was a gorgeous day to climb it, far better than two days previously when I chose not to start climbing and the two parties who did (one on the South Face, one on East Face) got soaked as it started raining when they were at the top of the second pitches and didn't stop for seven hours.

My pictures from the trip are https://www.flickr.com/photos/slackline/sets/72157651583194188 if anyone is interested.

In reply to slacky:

Very good! Thanks for that.

In reply to slacky:

Nice!

In reply to slacky:

Great pics and nice video - I'd forgotten how sketchy the top is. I like the "currently the tallest sea stack..." - things may change....

In reply to slacky:

Really nice, esp. the photos!

In reply to slacky:

Amazing pictures, thank you for sharing these!!!

Thanks all, glad you like the video and pictures.

I'm glad the gamble of waiting for better weather payed off, it was a great day out.

In reply to slacky:

Did you ever get struck by a feeling of 'This might fall over whilst I'm on it?'

In reply to Phil1919:


I remember being more concerned about this looking at it from a distance and seeing lost how narrow it is at the bottom. Once you are close up it's like any other crag - until you get to that crack at the top and can see through to the other side!

Great pictures - it really does look quite impressive for the grade!

In reply to Dave Garnett:

The same is true of Lower Sharpnose: it may just be my imagination but the final crack on Lunakhod seems to be showing more daylight these days.

In reply to slacky:

Amazing how it looks so much more alarmingly tottery from the drone than the still pics. Superb footage.

In reply to Phil1919:

Not at all, its still huge and the additional weight we added to one side was nothing. It would need some seriously strong seas to batter it for some time before its likely to topple over.

In reply to slacky:

Logically you would be right, but it may still play mind games with me!

There was an unfortunate death in Bull Pot cave when a 3 to 4 ton boulder fell on a caver quite out of the blue about 4 months ago.

Still, the odds are with us generally.

In reply to slacky:

At 137 metres tall and roughly 30 metres square (although not through its full height) and taking a density of sandstone of 2.22 tonnes per cubic metre it weighs approximately 270,000 tonnes. Even my belly hanging off the side wouldn't have much of an effect.

The comments about it having only existed for 250 years and collapsing "soon" are taken from Wikipedia though in this context "soon" is in Geological time so could mean another 250 years or 25 years or 2500 years (doubtful that last one). There needs to be some serious undercutting of the base layers before it falls. More likely that parts of the summit blocks will tumble first.

In reply to Phil1919:


Certainly did. I remember standing on the clifftop afterwards willing it to go so we'd be able to claim the last ascent.

In reply to Bob:


Maybe 2.6 and 320,000 tonnes Bob? Not that it matters.
Be interesting to see some historic photographs or drawings to figure out the age of the arch collapse, if in living memory. Earthquakes common in the area.

In reply to Removed User:

There's a drawing from 1817 on the Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man_of_Hoy showing the Old Man with two legs. Again from Wikipedia:

"The McKenzie map of Hoy of 1750 similarly shows a headland but no stack, but by 1819 the Old Man had been separated from the mainland. William Daniell sketched the sea stack at this time as a wider column with a smaller top section and an arch at the base, from which it derived its name."

In reply to Removed User:


Theres a picture of a painting, I think in the Rackwick museum, certainly on the Islands somewhere (can't remember now), of it attached to the mainland. I think the picture was around 300 years old or so.

A quick online search found this which mentions it was depicted as a headland in 1750 (probably the painting I'm thinking of)...

http://www.scottishgeology.com/geo/regional-geology/northern_isles/old-man-...

In reply to slacky:

Very fine footage and pics

I'm going to be a bit anal and point out it's not a proper seastack as it's not fully surrounded by sea at any state of tide, but it's a marvellous pinnacle

In reply to Carless:

Cheers.


I know that and I include the caveat when I'm talking about it ("although technically its not a true seastack since you can walk to it rather than having to swim"). However, almost everyone refers to it as a seastack anyway.

In reply to slacky:

Oh yes, the person who shot the footage asked if I'd be interested in being filmed on other climbs as he's looking to build his portfolio of drone footage. I can't really commit the time, but if you're interested perhaps contact him.