Climbing
15 of the world’s most incredible sea stacks
These towering sea stacks are a climber’s dream – but few can be conquered
Climbing a sea stack in East Trinity, Newfoundland
© Red Bull Content Pool
These towering monoliths, carved from cliffs by the oceans, are either carefully protected or hard to access and ascend.
A spectacular sight, they represent a tempting challenge for ambitious climbers, but even the ones that are climbable offer such a mental and physical challenge few have conquered them.
Iain Miller, of Unique Ascent, is one of the masters – and here’s his pick of some of the toughest, best and most beautiful.
Lange Anna
Lange Ana sea stack in Germany
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Location: Heligoland, Germany
Height: 47m
Climb rating: Impossible – climbing is illegal
This tall thin stack is on its way out – so go see it before it tumbles. It was declared a national monument in 1969 and despite man-made protection from battering waves, an unstable sand layer 16m up could see the top knocked off at any time.
Totem Pole
Tasmania's towering Totem Pole sea stack
© Getty
Location: Cape Huay, Tasmania, Australia
Height: 65m
Climb rating: Hard – an extremely technical climb
The daddy of Tasmania’s many coastal stacks, this dolerite pinnacle has stood over 100 years – despite having a diameter of just 4m. Access involves a remote wilderness hike, a long abseil to sea level, some hard technical climbing and a Tyrolean Traverse through mid air to reach the summit.
12 Apostles
The 12 Apostles in Australia
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Location: Port Campbell NP, Victoria, Australia
Height: Various, ranging up to 46m
Climb rating: Impossible – the stacks are protected
These beautifully laid out limestone stacks on Australia’s Great Ocean Road are some of the world’s most famous. Contrary to their name, however, there are actually only eight of the ‘apostles’ left – and a 50m tower most recently collapsed in 2005.
Old Man of Hoy
The Old Man of Hoy in the Orkney Islands, Scotland
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Location: Island of Hoy, Orkney Islands, Scotland
Height: 137m
Climb rating: Medium – with multiple routes, a range of levels are available
This iconic red sandstone stack was first summited in 1966 by Chris Bonington, Rusty Baillie and Tom Patey. It is now a popular destination for climbers and is accessed via a precarious rock scramble, after which there are 10 different routes to get to the top.
Haystack Rock
Haystack Rock at sunset on Cannon Beach in Oregon
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Location: Cannon Beach, Oregon, USA
Height: 72m
Climb rating: Impossible – climbing is Illegal
This lava rock is a wildlife refuge home to puffins, gulls and cormorants, and climbing it is forbidden. It's accessible by foot during low tide and many visitors still try to tackle the cliffs – but literally thousands are stopped every year.
Ball’s Pyramid
Ball's Pyramid, the world's largest sea stack
© Getty
Location: Lord Howe Island, Australia
Height: 562m
Climb rating: Hard – highly restricted, permit-only access
The world’s highest sea stack, this is the remains of a shield volcano 20km from remote Lord Howe Island in the Pacific Ocean. It was first climbed in 1965 by a team led by Bryden Allen but permit restrictions – partly to protect a rare stick insect – and huge rising swells mean few attempt it.
Dun Briste
The Dun Briste sea stack in Ireland
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Location: Downpatrick Head, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, Ireland
Height: 50m
Climb rating: Difficult – overhanging, loose and poorly protected
This stack, which dates back to 1393, is topped by a medieval church ruin. Few have climbed it; the most recent was Miller, who said: “The challenges are the unpredictable tides and flaking rock – but at the top, standing where only seven people have visited in 700 years is incredible.”
Kicker Rock
Kicker Rock in the Galapagos Islands
© Getty
Location: Isla San Cristóbal, Galapagos, Ecuador
Height: 144m
Climb rating: Impossible – climbing is illegal
Located in the beautiful volcanic Galapagos Islands, this is the remains of a lava cone and its two pinnacles are home to tropicbirds, blue-footed boobies and frigate birds. Climbing is illegal, but in any case the ocean swells make it virtually impossible to moor up to.
Risin og Kellingin
Risin og Kellingin in the Faroe Islands
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Location: Eysturoy Island, Faroe Islands
Height: 71m and 68m
Climb rating: Medium – made more challenging due to poor volcanic rock
This is a pair of sea stacks whose names mean The Giant and The Witch. The former was first climbed in 2008, the latter in 2013 – but with the harsh winter storms the Witch, which sits on two legs, is tipped to fall in the next few decades.
Sail Rock
Sail Rock on the Black Sea in Russia
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Location: Praskoveyevka, Black Sea, Russia
Height: 25m
Climb rating: Impossible – the rock is protected
This incredible sandstone rock – also known as Parus rock – is only one metre thick but is 25m high and 20m wide. It sheer vertical ‘ships sail’ face sits perpendicular to the shore and has a hole in the side that, according to debated legend, was created by shots from a battleship.
Ko Tapu
Thailand's James Bond rock stack Ko Tapu
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Location: Phang Nga Bay, Thailand
Height: 20m
Climb rating: Impossible – the rock is protected
Rarely visited before it appeared in the 1974 James Bond movie The Man With The Golden Gun, this top-heavy limestone tower is now part of the protected Ao Phang Nga National Park. It has a diameter of 8m at the top, which is around double the diameter at the bottom.
Reynisdrangar
Reynisdrangar sea stack in Iceland
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Location: Vik, Iceland
Height: 66m
Climb rating: Unclear
Legend says that the stacks originated when two trolls dragged a three-masted ship to land unsuccessfully and when daylight broke they became needles of rock. Science and nature says it was erosion. Either way, they’re spectacular – and extremely remote.
East Trinity
Climbing a sea stack in East Trinity, Newfoundland
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Location: Newfoundland, Canada
Height: Various
Climb rating: Difficult – remote location and loose crumbling rock
It's claimed that pirates left treasure on top of these isolated rock formations but after taking two days to find a climbable tower, Will Gadd and climbing partner Sarah Hueniken never found any treasure. Gadd said: “It was some of the least predictable, scariest rock that I’ve ever climbed.”
North Gaulton Castle
The gravity-defying North Gaulton Castle sea stack
© Daniel Birtwisle
Location: Orkney Islands, Scotland
Height: 55m
Climb Rating: Tough – challenging climb out the sea and loose rock on top
This precarious-looking stack, set in an amphitheatre of cliffs, defies gravity, as it is much wider at its summit than its base. It's found on a lonely stretch of Orkney's west mainland coast and can only be accessed by boat or a 40m cliff abseil followed by a 40m swim.
Tormore Island
Sea stacks surround Ireland's Tomore Island
© Iain Miller
Location: Glenlough Bay, South West Donegal, Ireland
Height: 160m
Climb Rating: Near impossible – access is perilous
This is Ireland’s highest sea stack and has only been climbed by five people, one of whom was Miller. “It’s 300m out with no sane overland access and a sea-stack filled passage that creates violent white water,” he explains. “Getting off once we’d climbed it was really touch and go.”