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Monday 28 May 2007

Birthday boy on Old Man Of Hoy!

'The Old Man Of Hoy' the greatest climbing adventure in the UK...


27th and 28th May 2007 - there are climbs and there are REAL adventures and climbing the Old Man of Hoy is not only a fantastic rock climb but also a real adventure!
Happy birthday John on Old Man of Hoy summit

The Old Man of Hoy, sea stack

How do you celebrate your 40th birthday or any significant decade or milestone? Well if you are a really keen VS plus rock climber - by climbing the Old Man of Hoy of course!
John was given a rematch of his 30th birthday attempt (along with his brother in-law James) by his generous wife Frith.
After several guided ascents since we filmed our first guided ascent in 1999 we again agreed to guide on 'The Old Man of Hoy' and to film it again as well  -  me and my big mouth!
This actually which meant climbing the Old Man of Hoy twice with the assistance of Fi just to get the camera and video shots right!

John and James on hanging belay Huntly's Cave

John climbing the Cave Route Direct, Huntly's Cave

Before heading north from Inverness we had a training day in Huntly's Cave to make sure the guy's were up to the task and capabile of seconding sustained overhung VS. This also gave us the opportunity to look at freehanging multi-pitch abseil techniques for the safe but very serious descent from the Old Man of Hoy!

James belaying crux traverse Old Man of Hoy

John on the crux moves Old Man of Hoy

John above crux on 2nd pitch Old Man of Hoy

Ron climbing last pitch 5 Old Man of Hoy

Ron on crux Old Man of Hoy

Fi on top Old Man of Hoy

John, Fi and Ron on summit Old Man of Hoy

On crux Ron top, Fi blue and John red helmet

Climbing the Old Man of Hoy

John abseiling from Old Man of Hoy

Despite the grim weather forecasts and Inverness outdoor shop TISO doom mongers we made the best use of the weather windows between the fronts and had a fantastic climb. John also raised over a £1,000 pounds for the Rathbone childrens charity. See the Guardian article here
When comes to weather reports the best advice I can offer is when near to the venue look out the window and then decide!


Talisman Activities have guided on the Old Man of Hoy for a 21st, 30th and 40th birthday recently so who wants to celebrate their 50th, 60th or 70th birthday by climbing the Old Man of Hoy?
For guided climbing especially on the Old Man of Hoy please phone or email beforehand to discuss the exact requirements and your previous CURRENT climbing experience!

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