Wednesday, 20 August 2014 10:41

Sir Chris Bonington returns to climb the Old Man of Hoy at 80

Written by

Sir Chris Bonington, the UK’s most famous mountaineer and a global climbing icon, has returned to the scene of one of his most high profile adventures.  48 years after he made the first ascent of the Old Man of Hoy off the north coast of Scotland, Bonington is currently attempting to climb the famous sea stack again, with fellow climber Leo Houlding.  Bonington is making the ascent to mark his 80th birthday and to raise awareness and funds for motor neurone disease (MND) charities in memory of his wife Wendy, who died of the condition last month.

Leo Houlding and Sir Chris Bonington ahead of their climb of the Old Man of Hoy

Leo Houlding and Sir Chris Bonington ahead of their climb of the Old Man of Hoy (photo credit - Berghaus)

 

Along with Rusty Baillie and Tom Patey, Sir Chris Bonington made the first ascent of the 449ft Old Man of Hoy in 1966.  Bonington and Patey returned the following year and were part of the famous three night long live TV outside broadcast, The Great Climb.  Leo Houlding started climbing before he was 10 years old and wasn’t even into his teens when he first scaled the Old Man of Hoy.  Bonington and Houlding have climbed together many times before and are fellow members of the Berghaus team of athletes.  Bonington is also non-executive chairman of Berghaus, the British outdoor company that he has been associated with for 30 years. 

Communications with the mainland will be difficult during the climb.   As soon as it is known, news of the outcome will be posted on the Berghaus Facebook pageand on Twitter by @TheRealBerghaus, @LeoHoulding and @ChrisBonington.

Before they started their climb, Bonington and Houlding both tweeted their thoughts.

Bonington: “I’m apprehensive having reached the age of 80 and having had all too little climbing in recent months because of my wife's illness.”

Houlding: “Weather’s looking alright.  Sir Old Man on Hoy here we go!”

Matt Hickman of Berghaus is with Bonington and Houlding and adds: “The whole team is psyched.  Chris is in great spirits and has his sights set on leading the final pitch as he did in 66!”

and in the latest update Sir Chris has tweeted "successfully up pitch 1.Pitch 2 contains the crux. Weather has deteriorated!”"

More in this category: « Buxton presents World Cup credentials with spectacular dry tooling competition Andy Turner interview as dry tooling set for Buxton exhibition »
back to top