Introduction
I have approached a number of people to write
articles, but if readers would like to contribute an article please contact me.
The only two stipulations I make are that the article has to be hill related
and that I don't end up in court through its publication! Otherwise the choice
of subject matter is down to the Guest Contributor.
Guest Contributor – Rob Woodall
Over the Wall – Success on the St Kilda Stacs, 13 Oct 2014
The two big St Kilda sea stacks are
monstrous – rising straight out of the sea to heights of 170m+. The St Kilda
archipelago, 45 miles west of the Western Isles, is like nowhere else in
Britain - and Stac Lee and Stac an Armin are its boldest most audacious members.
Stac Lee from the east. Photo: Richard Mclellan |
The trouble with the stacs, however,
is not so much their technical climbing, which by the easiest route is modest.
The trouble with the stacs is that they are covered in gannets in summer and
difficult to land on and climb in winter. The only ascents previously
documented have all been in summer – the St Kildans would collect young gannets
(guga) for food; more recent ascents
have been in May when the birds are on eggs. Such visits have not been allowed
for two decades and it was not known whether either had been climbed in winter
or how feasible such an ascent would be.
St Kilda stac-watching has become
something of an annual late-autumn ritual: seeing who's up for it, watching for
- and mostly not finding - a suitable window in the usually uncooperative
Atlantic weather outwith the breeding season for the gannets which nest in
large numbers on both Stac Lee and Stac an Armin, the two 150m-plus sea stacks
which have eluded Marilyn baggers since Alan Dawson published Relative Hills of
Britain in 1992.
The most recent recorded ascents of
the two stacs seem to have been in 1990 and 1994 respectively, neatly
bracketing the publication of the book for whose adherents the two monster
stacs have become notorious as the St Kilda Wall barring access to Marilyn List
Completion status for an increasing number of summit baggers.
The process of watching weather
forecasts for a suitable window and liaising with boat operators and prospective
summitteers to put a trip together at a few days’ notice has continued most
winters since 2009. The main requirements are a swell of around 1.5 metres or
less, and winds of force 4 or less with no southerly component.
In November 2013 a trip was mounted,
albeit with a marginal forecast and the sight of the two slime covered stacs in
a surging two metre swell was pretty intimidating. However, useful information
was gathered, and resolve not entirely dampened, although the nature of the
challenge was brought into sharper focus.
2014 was an excellent year for St
Kilda Marilyn bagging. A trip was mounted in mid-September, involving boat
operators Seaharris and Seatrek, with all four non-stac Marilyns being
summitted i.e the summits of Hirta, Dun, Boreray and the hard-to-land-on Soay.
October sometimes has opportunities,
and a window was identified around 13 October with swell around 0.9 - 1.1
metre, unusually low for October, coupled with light winds from the NE. Recent
research commissioned by the site owners National Trust for Scotland has found
that the majority of gannets on the stacs had fledged by 10 October and their
advice was that access should be possible by our proposed date, although
fledging will vary between years and there may be some birds still present which
should be avoided.
Seaharris who had transported the November
2013 "recce", confirmed that the Enchanted
Isle was available; a boatload of 12 would-be summitters was available
including a good mix of climbing expertise, so a plan was developed over a
couple of days for a 2-day trip with the night of Mon 13 Oct to be spent on the
main island of Hirta. To cover all eventualities, we assembled a range of gear
including jumars, a caving ladder and a few wetsuits, in addition to standard
rock climbing gear.
Stac an Armin south face from Boreray. Photo: Rob Woodall |
A nervous two days ensued with the
forecast wind strengthening towards Force 5 meaning a day trip at best - and very
nearly cancellation. However by Sunday morning the forecast had settled back to
around Force 4 with swell holding around 1 metre so the team left home for
various Sunday ferries for a Monday day trip. I met Paul Reeve early morning at
Sheffield and he drove us up to Uig, collecting Colin at Glasgow en route,
speaking to Seumas Morrison en route to check he was happy with the improved
forecast. A spare half hour was spent climbing Craig Liath above Uig: a nice
wee hill with a view across to the hills of Harris. A beautiful afternoon,
boding well for tomorrow. Late evening we all converged on Am Bothan bunkhouse
in Leverburgh for a few hours sleep.
Monday 0500 we boarded Enchanted Isle and Seumas negotiated the
complicated navigation lane west out of Leverburgh then opened up to 20 knots
for an atmospheric moonlit 45 mile crossing which was completed in a brisk 2
hours 30.
Stac an Armin
An hour away, at first light the
familiar bulk of Boreray appeared and by 0800 we were nosing around the south
side of its angular neighbour Stac an Armin looking for a landing spot. Given
the NE wind, the SE corner wasn't feasible, and the southern slabs appeared
challenging. The 1994 report used a landing on the steep west shore at the SW
corner and Paul reckoned it was doable, so the two small tenders were deployed
(a tough plastic boat for landing, additionally a small inflatable to act as a safety
boat).
Stac an Armin south-west landing. Photo: Rob Woodall |
Landing on Stac an Armin. Photo: Richard Mclellan |
Crossing Stac an Armin south slabs. Photo: Rob Woodall |
Stac an Armin's grassy east slopes and cleits. Photo: Richard Mclellan |
Paul summitted first; Pete Ellis and
I summitted together and photographed each other. The summit has a couple of
rocky tops a few metres apart, the northerly slabby outcrop probably higher,
with a fine view of the magnificent north and west faces of Boreray, then Stac
Lee with Hirta and its satellite islands laid out beyond to the southwest.
Rob Woodall at Stac an Armin summit. Photo: Pete Ellis |
Stac Lee
With the early start and the
excellent conditions we were keen to make an attempt on Stac Lee, so we agreed
with the others following us that they would strip out the fixed ropes while
the first four would get established if possible on the second stac.
The return to the landing spot was
easy, with the fixed rope barely needed. We jumped back into the boat, having
spent about 1 hour 30 on the stac. Seumas was agreeable to the plan and in a
few minutes we were back in the plastic tender, exploring Stac Lee's south
face. Seumas wasn't too impressed with the usual landing spot immediately left (west)
of Geo Lee; the climbers weren't too impressed with the prospect of landing
further left in quieter water. As a compromise we agreed we'd try the usual
spot but if necessary on our return would board the boat in the quieter water,
if as forecast the wind came round to the east and the wave motion increased.
Again Paul and I went first. Seumas
nosed the little boat in; Paul with microspikes fitted and rubber matting on
the prow to facilitate jumping off, landed on gabbro slabs, I threw him the
coiled rope, he threw the rope-end back, I tied on the dry-bag with the
rest of the climbing gear and this was hauled ashore. I then jumped ashore - it
had all happened quickly and we were established on our second stac of the day,
hardest part over and half a day left to get up and down - all very doable.
Bill decided Lee wasn't for him but Pete was quickly landed and we agree to
climb as a three – not quite the original plan. Seumas headed back to Armin to
retrieve the others while we got busy.
Stac Lee south face showing route. Photo: Colin Crawford |
Paul Reeve leading the lower slab on Stac Lee. Photo: Rob Woodall |
Ascending leftward groove on Stac Lee. Photo: Richard Mclellan |
Pete Ellis below the crux move on Stac Lee. Photo: Rob Woodall |
Ascending the upper ledge on Stac Lee. Photo: Rob Woodall |
Ascending Stac Lee summit ridge. Photo: Rob Woodall |
Denise Mclellan and Eddie Dealtry at Stac Lee summit. Photo: Richard Mclellan |
Pete Ellis leaving Stac Lee. Photo: Rob Woodall |
It had been an unforgettable day,
with 11 of us summitting Stac an Armin and 6 summitting Stac Lee, more
successful than we had dared hope. This is possibly the first non-summer
ascent, at least since the 1930s evacuation. I wondered whether Denise Mclellan
had made the first female ascent of Lee and/or Armin, but it seems there have been
several on Stac Lee, including Norman Heathcote’s sister in 1900, two before
her, and the intrepid 1970s/80s archaeologist Mary Harman who likely summitted
both.
Best of all, Eddie Dealtry and I have
finished the Marilyns list – we have summited all 1556 peaks, fully 22 years
after Alan Dawson’s ground-breaking Relative Hills of Britain was published.
Stac Lee climbing pitch
and abseil detail
Personnel
Stac
an Armin: 11 summitted: Paul Reeve, Rob Woodall, Pete Ellis, Bill Forbes,
Richard and Denise Mclellan, Michael Earnshaw, Alan Whatley, Colin Crawford, Mark
Smith, Eddie Dealtry.
Stac
Lee: 6 summitted in 2 parties: Rob Woodall, Paul Reeve (lead), Pete Ellis;
Richard (lead) and Denise Mclellan, Eddie Dealtry
2 landed, climbed above the high water mark then returned to boat: Michael Earnshaw, Colin Crawford.
Richard (lead) and Denise Mclellan, Eddie Dealtry
2 landed, climbed above the high water mark then returned to boat: Michael Earnshaw, Colin Crawford.
Jonathan
de Ferranti was the 12th member of the party.
Enchanted
Isle: Seaharris skipper Seumas Morrison, with crew members Chris and Darren.
Equipment
In
addition to standard rock climbing gear, each climber had either microspikes or
crampons with shortened sharpened spikes - for grip on slimy rock. Most had
jumars or ropeman ascenders. A caving ladder and a few wetsuits were taken but
not used for either stac.
Conditions
The
swell was around 1 metre all day with wind around Force 4, NE forecast to move
round to E during the day. The Armin landing (W side, just N of SW corner) was
sheltered and the landing quite easy by St Kilda standards. The Lee landing (S
face, just W of Geo Lee) was less sheltered and a little more difficult, but
quite doable in a 1m swell.
Summit Coordinates
Richard
Mclellan recorded the following summit co-ordinates (GPS, not survey grade):
Stac an Armin NA 15127, 06422 208m
Stac Lee NA 14211, 04923 174m
Stac an Armin NA 15127, 06422 208m
Stac Lee NA 14211, 04923 174m
Links
Oct 2014 photos :
Jon Warren’s 1990s ascents (same routes as ours, with
videos):
1994 Stac an Armin http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2969
Monday 13th October 2014 and Rob Woodall completes the Marilyns |
On Monday 13th October 2014 Rob Woodall became the first
person to complete the Marilyns with an ascent of the two St Kilda sea stacks;
Stac an Armin and Stac Lee. An hour later and Eddie Dealtry became the second
Marilyn completer as he also stood atop Stac Lee. I took the opportunity to
interview Rob and talk about the organisation behind the expedition and the day
of completion.