Old Man of Hoy - East Face

Sea stacks are the maritime equivalent of desert towers: solitary, spectacular, and usually crumbling. Probably the most famous of them all, the Old Man of Hoy in the northern Scottish archipelago of Orkney, certainly embodies all three aspects. It cemented its place in history with the 1967 triple ascent, filmed and broadcast live by the BBC, shortly after the 1966 first ascent.

This is part of a poster trilogy showcasing all aspects of the sea stack. This one is the east face, featuring the 1966 Original Route and a few of its variants, which probably sees 99% of ascents. The other two are the North and West Faces, and the South and West Faces.

Download: Medium resolution, personal use only

Route List

1: Space Station Finish, E1 5b, D. Moore, S. Clarke, 08/2015
2: We Spoke Too Soon, E1 5a, R. Ive, R. Moorcroft, 09/2016
3: Original Route (East Face), E1 5b, R. Baillie, C. Bonnington, T. Patey, 07/1966/J. Brown, P. Crew, 07/1967
4: A Few Dollars More, E3 5c, M. Hamilton, P. Whillance, P. Braithwaite, 08/1984

Sources

• “Scottish Rock Climbs,” Scottish Mountaineering Club, Wired Guides, 2022

• “Scottish Rock, Volume 2: North,” Gary Latter, Presda Press, 2014

• “Scottish Climbs: Vol.2: A Mountaineer’s Pictorial Guide to Climbing in Scotland,” Hamish MacInnes, Constable London, 1976

• “The Old Man of Hoy,” BBC Broadcast, 1967

• “Climbing the Old Man of Hoy,” Kenton Cool, YouTube, 2021

• “The Old Man of Hoy, Steve Woods and Diabetes,” Kevin Woods, YouTube, 2017

• Scottish Mountaineering Club Route Database

• Mountain Project

• multi-pitch.com

• UKClimbing

Updates

Sep 23, 2023: First version published.

Feb 6, 2026: Added two variants to the east face, corrected year of ascent for A Few Dollars More