"Britains highest sea stack - the Old Man of Hoy - lies off the coast of the Orkney Islands in Northern Scotland. Our mission is to go and climb it, together with other well known Scottish sea stacks including the Old Man of Stoer."
5 days
Advanced
2:1
Dates:
12-16 May 2012
(other dates by request)
Price:
£725
Fitness:
1-2
Experience: Previous multi pitch rock climbing experience required, seconding at HVS.
Included:Guiding Fees + expenses.
Other Costs:Personal food, accom, ferries and taxi ~£200
Guided ascents of the Old Man of Hoy and other Scottish Sea Stacks. A variety of other climbing is available, on both sea and mountain crags.
£700 per person, minimum of 2 people for the trip to run. Available as a 1:1 trip with a surcharge – please enquire. The cost includes all guides fees and guides expenses including food, accommodation, ferries, taxi, and travel from Inverness based on the itinerary below. For your own expenses, please budget £200 to cover accommodation (3 nights BnB), evening meals, ferries and taxi, payable direct during the trip.
Meet in Inverness 2.30pm Saturday, or travel up together.
Sample Itinerary
Subject to weather and conditions, the plan is as follows:
Day 1 - Sat
Meet in Inverness 2.30pm. Drive to Scrabster, take the 7.30pm ferry to Orkney and overnight in BnB in Stromness.
Day 2 - Sun
Take early ferry to Hoy, then taxi to Rackwick Bay. Walk in and climb The Old Man of Hoy. Return to Orkney mainland on last ferry pm. Overnight in Stromness.
Day 3 - Mon
Early ferry to the mainland. Drive to Sheigra and climb here for the afternoon – excellent remote sea cliffs near the NW tip of Scotland. Wild camp near the beach at Sheigra.
Day 4 - Tue
Drive to the Point of Stoer, climb Old Man of Stoer (VS) – the second most famous sea stack in Scotland, involving an exciting tyrolean traverse above the sea! Overnight in Ullapool.
Day 5 - Wed
Climb at the excellent sea cliffs of Reiff. Drive to Inverness pm, drop off and goodbyes.
This is a very flexible itinerary, as ferries can usually be changed at short notice to suit the weather. The main objective is the Old Man of Hoy, so in the event of bad weather the time spent on Orkney can be extended/timings altered as neccesary to complete the route - we have a 100% summiting record on the Old Man of Hoy.
Food and Accommodation
We run all of our courses on a guiding & instruction only basis. Food and accommodation must be paid for seperately. Your guide will book suitable accommodation during the trip.
Travel
There are 2 main options for travel/meeting. 1. Car sharing - If you are travelling from England it may make sense to travel with your guide to share travel costs – please contact us to discuss. 2. Meeting in Inverness - Travel to Inverness by air, train or coach to meet your guide at 2.30pm. Onward travel for the tour in the guides car.
Ability and Experience
As with most mountain activities, rock climbing can be hard work (see fitness level 1-2). In order to climb the Old Man of Hoy you need previous multi pitch climbing and abseiling experience, with the ability to second at HVS. For preparation, the more visits you can make to your local climbing wall or crag the better!
Equipment
All ropes and lead climbing protection are supplied by ourselves. You are expected to bring along personal clothing and equipment. For the more specialist items including harness and helmet, hire is available if needed.
