The gravity-defying North Gaulton Castle sea stack off the Orkney Islands, Scotland

Climbing

15 of the World's Most Incredible Sea Stacks

These towering monoliths are a climber's dream — but few can be conquered.

By Will Gray

6 min readPublished on 02/20/2017 · 11:04 PM UTC

Will Gadd and Sarah Hueniken climb a sea stack near East Trinity, Newfoundland, Canada — 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 Heligoland, Germany — Lange Ana sea stack in Germany
© Getty

Location: Heligoland, Germany

Height: 154 feet

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 50 feet up could see the top knocked off at any time.

Totem Pole

Location: Cape Hauy, Tasmania, Australia

Height: 213 feet

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 13 feet. Access involves a remote wilderness hike, a long abseil to sea level, some hard technical climbing and a Tyrolean traverse through midair to reach the summit.

12 Apostles

Location: Port Campbell NP, Victoria, Australia

Height: Various, ranging up to 150 feet

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 165-foot tower most recently collapsed in 2005.

Old Man of Hoy

Location: Island of Hoy, Orkney Islands, Scotland

Height: 450 feet

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

Location: Cannon Beach, Oregon, USA

Height: 236 feet

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

Location: Lord Howe Island, Australia

Height: 1,843 feet

Climb rating: Hard — highly restricted, permit-only access

The world’s highest sea stack, this is the remains of a shield volcano 12 miles 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

Location: Downpatrick Head, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, Ireland

Height: 164 feet

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

Location: Isla San Cristóbal, Galapagos, Ecuador

Height: 477 feet

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

Location: Eysturoy Island, Faroe Islands

Height: 232 feet and 223 feet

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

Location: Praskoveevka, Black Sea, Russia

Height: 82 feet

Climb rating: Impossible — the rock is protected

This incredible sandstone rock — also known as Parus rock — is only 3 feet thick but is 82 feet high and 65 feet 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

Location: Phang Nga Bay, Thailand

Height: 65 feet

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 26 feet at the top, which is around double the diameter at the bottom.

Reynisdrangar

Location: Vik, Iceland

Height: 216 feet

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

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

Location: Orkney Islands, Scotland

Height: 180 feet

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 130-foot cliff abseil followed by a 130-foot swim.

Tormore Island

Ireland's stunning Tomore Island — Sea stacks surround Ireland's Tomore Island
© Iain Miller

Location: Glenlough Bay, South West Donegal, Ireland

Height: 524 feet

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 980 feet 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."

Climbing