Scottish climber Robbie Phillips and his partner Alex Moore have made a rare ascent of Britain’s highest vertical sea cliff.
The climb, called ‘The Long Hope’, is [1617ft or 493m] long and located on the Orkney Islands.
The formidable cliff hangs high above the North Sea around the corner from the famous sea stack ‘The Old Man of Hoy’. The climb rarely sees climbers attempt it due to the scale and difficult conditions surrounding the challenge. At 1,128 feet (335m) St John’s Head is the highest vertical sea cliff in the UK.
‘The Long Hope’ was first climbed free in 2011 by prominent Scottish climber Dave Macleod and is one of the hardest traditional climbs in Great Britain.
Before this it had only been climbed ’in aid style’ using ropes and hooks to help the climber ascend the cliff, taking 7 days to complete their ascent. Since then it has only seen 2 repeats, due to the exposed nature and technical difficulty of the climb.
The grade given to the climb makes it one of the hardest traditional style climbs in the whole of Great Britain.
The cliff has no fixed protection like bolts, so climbers must place pieces of climbing gear as they climb to protect them from a fall. Not only must a climber be physically strong enough to pull on small holds, but they must simultaneously solve a 3D puzzle to protect their fall.
In total ‘The Long Hope’ is [1617ft or 493m] in length, over 1.5 times higher than the Eiffel Tower, and is split in 23 sections that a climber must complete without a fall to claim a successful ascent.
Adding to this, the cliff has many sections where a fall could have serious consequences.The first section is made up of less steep grassy ledges, which are less technical but offers little protection.
Robbie explained: “The gear is largely for confidence, because on many pitches a fall will mean hitting ledges, cutting ropes on huge corners, and it’s certainly not something you want to test out.”
Robbie had attempted to complete the climb in summer 2021, but the team had to abandon their attempt following a series of events. Involving poor weather, encounters with the local wildlife, and a fellow team member breaking his ankle. “You need to keep a cool head for the whole day when nearly everything your fingers grab wants to crumble to dust in your hands, or anything you stand on feels like it will explode under the pressure of your climbing shoe.”
Returning in May 2022, Robbie had his sights set on success. He struggled to find a climbing partner due to the infamous reputation of the climb. But Cornish climber, Alex Moore, was intrigued by the challenge ‘The Long Hope’ offered.
Alex explained: “I had just started climbing when Dave made the first ascent of Longhope and I remember my schools outdoor education department buying a copy of the dvd.
“Naturally, I was immediately keen to join Robbie on the trip. I knew Robbie but we’d not climbed together much and I’m better known for a style of climbing called bouldering, which is as far from the Longhope as it’s possible to be!”
But there were still reminders of the risk that they were undertaking. Whilst investigating the rock, Alex fell [30m] after his climbing gear protection failed.
After spending weeks hanging on a rope to memorise the sequence of movements, the team decided they were ready for an attempt. Robbie and Alex set off at 4am to complete the 2hr walk to the top, before abseiling down to the base of the cliff where they start the climb.
“Spirits were low before we’d started descending, and they hit an all-time low when the ropes got stuck below on abseil and I had to go retrieve them” – Robbie
The pair set off on the initial grassy pitches of climbing and continued their long climb up the formidable rock face. After already completing 420m of climbing, Robbie arrived at the ominously named ‘The Guillotine’, a sharp ledge before the most difficult section of the whole cliff.
Robbie described the constant battle against fear and anxiety: “When climbing sustained bold climbing for hundreds of metres it takes a lot of mental energy to continue the fight. You can even suddenly becoming overwhelmed by the exposure and not being able to continue”.
Recounting his ascent on the crux, or most hard section, Robbie said “Out of nowhere the clouds parted and the sun hit the wall casting an orange glow across the rock. My chances were low, but I knew then I had this one opportunity to do it.
“I told myself I had to leave nothing on the wall and commit everything to the final pitch. I pulled on and blocked out all thought as I climbed through the most difficult section, achieving what I can only explain as “flow state”.
“Grabbing the final hold I came out of the trance and screamed in disbelief. I was over the moon, in utter shock at what had just happened. After all the effort and setbacks it finally came together”
Shortly following Robbie in his ascent, his partner Alex also completed the formidable climb: “I went for [the climb], taking my time but keeping a nervous eye on the setting sun. I topped out a little after 10:30pm, elated and exhausted. I would do it all again for the enjoyment we squeezed out of it, but frankly, I’m glad I don’t have to.”
Not content with completing “The Long Hope’, the pair also undertook a 24hr climbing challenge of the famous ‘Three Old Men’ sea stacks.
The team started their challenge at 4am undertaking ‘The Old Man of Hoy’ on Orkney, before crossing to the mainland and ascending ‘Am Buchaille’ near Shegra. The team completed the hat trick of ascents with ‘The Old Man of Stoer’ in Lairg. Robbie and Alex finished the challenge with an hour to spare.
The team have documented their adventures and will be publishing films of their ascents on Robbie’s Youtube Channel and website – www.youtube.com/c/RobbiePhillips
