Iain Miller stands on the summit of the Centre Stack. Photo: Iain Miller
If you suffer from vertigo, you may want to look the other way.
Climber Iain Miller has released this dizzying footage of a free solo climb of a sea stack off the northern coast of Ireland.
The climb of the 45m (148ft) Centre Stack, off the island of Tory in Western Donegal, was completed without ropes by the climber, who runs Unique Ascent guiding company.
Miller, who has more than 25 years’ climbing experience, claims more than 1,000 first ascents of sea stacks, sea cliffs and other routes in Ireland and Scotland.
The Realms of Chaos in the video’s title, he says, is the mental state in which the recipient has a heightened state of awareness of their surrounding due to the introduction of fear.
Tory – Oileán Thoraí or Toraigh – in Irish, lies 14km (9 miles) from the north-west coast of mainland Donegal and is Ireland’s most remote inhabited island. The 5km long isle has a population of about 100, living in two tiny villages at each end of the island, An Baile Thoir (East Town) and An Baile Thiar (West Town).
Miller has also produced a climbing guide to Tory Island, which he describes as having a north face of almost one continual unclimbed granite sea cliff and a south face at sea level. “The potential for exploration, unclimbed rock and bagging new routes is huge with the main climbing development to date being on the sea stacks and the outrageous Tor Mor ridge at the far eastern end of the island,” he said.
More details are on the Unique Ascent website.
R Webb
14 June 2016I was seriously frustrated visiting Tory in the 1990s without anyone to climb with. Granite of all grades, tors rising from the sea on an island which seems to have its north coast right next to its south coast and yet space to cram in a couple of villages.
The eastern end is just terrifying, and that is just looking at it - that ridge!