The Old Man Of Stoer Guided Climb

The Old Man Of Stoer Guided Climb Course information​

The Old Man Of Stoer Itinerary

Meet your guide at the lighthouse car park at 10:00 for a safety briefing and equipment check. From here it is an hour or so walk to The Old Man Of Stoer Sea Stack and a short swim across or Tyrolean before the guided climb (5-10m depending on the tides).

Begin the ascent following your guide’s instructions and navigating pitches as appropriate – sometimes we will do pitch one and sometimes we will walk around the back of the sea stack and do an alternate version of pitch 1 as it depends on how wet the bottom of the stack is. Pitch 1 is the crux of the route, 2 is lovely slab climbing, 3 is a small overhang/vertical climbing to belay high up in the cave, 4 is a traverse to the deep crackline, and 5 is vertical climbing up the crack to join the slab leading to the top of the stack.

Take in the stunning views of the Scottish coast as you climb being guided up to the summit of the Old Man of Stoer. Your guide will be on hand to teach anything required during the climb and ensure you are always kept in the loop of what is happening next/where we are going and any slightly tricker moves. Once you reach the top, you can relax and chill taking in the coastline views in both directions and wave to the occasional tourist on the far side. Then, descend via abseil (easily one of the best in the entire country – 55/60m back down to the base half of which is free hanging to finish on a ledge just by the sea) to the base before returning to the car park and parting ways with your guide. Any photos of videos we get will be shared with you after the trip.

We are proud to recommend local accommodation options within the area for people when you are up for your guided climb up the Old Man Of Stoer:

Aviemore:

Youth Hostel A budget friendly option for people.

Coylumbridge Hotel Aviemroe – good for groups and families alike.

Premier Inn – always a good shout.

Rothiemurchus Campsite – situated in the stunning forest, this is a beautiful budget friendly option.

Glenmore Campsite – situated at Scotland’s highest beach, Loch Morlich has phenomenal views across to Cairngorm Mountain.

Newtonmore & Surrounding Areas:

https://www.wherestagsroar.co.uk/ award winning accommodation in the Highlands – perfect to stay at while up on an outdoor adventure.

Invernahavon Caravan Park – a bit quieter than the others as it is a little further away from the hustle and bustle of Aviemore.

Dalraddy Holiday Park – a family and dog friendly campsite.

Booking a guided climb up the original route of the Old Man of Stoer can be a thrilling and rewarding experience. This climb is steeped in history in Scotland and is one of the main three Scottish sea stack climbs. It is often considered to be the best rock of all three of them and the greatest quality of climbing. 

The old man of Stoer is a 60m high pillar of torridonian sandstone separated from the mainland via a small channel. It is popular amongst climbers and the photos alone can tell you why, but it was first climbed in 1966 by a party of 4 consisting of on of the Uk’s most famous ever climbers, Tom Patey. There are now various routes up the stack, but we will of course climb the original route which is also still probably the best of the lot. This consists of 5 pitches of  climbing and an impressive abseil of 60m back down to just above the sea. In order to get across you will need to either swim or do a tyrollean (a fancy version of a very low angled zipline which you pull yourself across on).

So in short you climb one of Scotlands famous climbers first climbed by one of the Uk’s best climbers ever in a truly stunning location – alas you may have to share it with the odd bird or two but i’m sure we can manage that!

We pride ourselves on providing as much kit as possible for you.  However, the list below is what we recommend you should bring to your guided climb up The Old Man Of Stoer:

• Travel insurance. (We are insured for all our trips, but we recommend everyone has their own travel insurance as well.)
• Lunch, water.
• Personal medication
• Sun cream, midge net
• Waterproofs (it is Scotland after all)
• climbing shoes, harness, helmet (if you prefer to use your own as opposed to what we supply).

Here at Highland Outdoor Adventures, we pride ourselves on providing as much as we can but you are welcome to bring your own equipment if you do prefer. The list below is what we provide you with on the day for your guided climb up The Old Man Of Stoer.

• All instruction.
• Helmets (if you don’t have your own with you)
• Ropes
• Harness (if you don’t have your own with you)
• Climbing shoes (if you don’t have your own with you)
• All Technical Climbing Gear
• All first aid and safety equipment.
• Transportation for 2 people if needed otherwise we will meet at the venue. Pickup can be arranged from elsewhere if needed.
• Photographs of the day provided for you at no extra cost!