Climbers urged to share views on cleaning up Old Man of Hoy that 'looks a mess'

Climbers are being urged to share their views on proposals to remove rotting pegs, rusted bolts and old safety ropes from the Old Man of Hoy.

The 449ft red sandstone stack – on Hoy in Orkney – is one of the tallest sea stacks in the UK and is popular with climbers.

Mountaineering Scotland has announced it wants to dispose of decades of old equipment and “unsightly tat” that is reportedly making the popular beauty spot “look a mess, when it should be a pleasure to climb”.

Abseil stations will be cleaned and made safer with more durable options, and the planned work is also expected to provide protection to seabirds breeding in the area.

The work will be carried out in a voluntary capacity and has the full support of RSBP Scotland, which owns the site.

RSPB Scotland said the clean-up would benefit the birds that live and nest on the rocks as it would remove items and materials that “could cause entanglement or issues when they break down”.

It will also encourage climbers to use more “predictable routes” which would help reduce disturbance to the birds.

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Mountaineering Scotland has now launched a consultation and is urging climbers to share their thoughts on the proposed improvements.

The organisation said the intention of the initiative is to “make the stack a joy to climb and safe to descend”.

The online consultation described the Old Man of Hoy as a “classic climb”, but added it was a “mess of old, rotting gear that has been left behind at each belay and accumulated over decades of use”.

The post added: “Many of the fixed belays are made up of rotten tat tied to rotten tat, tied off to rotten bolts.

“A metre or two of recently added fresh cord may reassure a climber that a 60m free hanging abseil will be safe, but the quality and reliability of what that cord is tied to cannot easily be judged.

“An ascent of the Old Man of Hoy should be a classic adventure, a pilgrimage for UK trad climbers, not a game of abseil roulette following success on the summit.”

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The Old Man of Hoy was first climbed by mountaineers Sir Chris Bonington, Rusty Baillie and Tom Patey in 1966.

Stuart Younie, CEO of Mountaineering Scotland, said: “The accumulation of old climbing equipment and the ropes and slings used to secure a safe abseil descent after a climb is a feature of many popular traditional climbs and this type of clean-up has been carried out on the Old Man of Hoy in the past.

“Mountaineering Scotland is helping to facilitate a conversation amongst the climbing community about what a long-term and less impactful solution might look like, considering the ‘leave no trace’ philosophy.

“We hope, by seeking the view of the climbing community, we can come to a consensus about how best to minimise the impact of climbers looking to enjoy one of the most famous rock climbs in the UK.”

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