0:00:02 > 0:00:03Almost 140 years ago,
0:00:03 > 0:00:06three men crossed from the Hebridean Island of Lewis
0:00:06 > 0:00:08to the North West coast of Scotland.
0:00:10 > 0:00:15They came to attempt an audacious feat that is now almost forgotten.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Failure would have meant certain death.
0:00:18 > 0:00:24Success, won against all the odds, gave birth to a new sport.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26This is their story.
0:00:55 > 0:00:56- Argh.- Go on.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Come on!
0:01:00 > 0:01:03In 2010, we made history on the Island of Harris,
0:01:03 > 0:01:08with the first live high definition climbing broadcast in the world.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11The stars of the programme were two outstanding rock athletes -
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Dave McCleod and Tim Emmett.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21The great climb showcased the sports' leading edge.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26Hard, unforgiving technical climbing at the very highest standard.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29This is audacious climbing.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32Today, Scotland has some of the best climbers anywhere,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36but where did climbing begin and who invented it?
0:01:37 > 0:01:40The answer is surprising and little known.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51This is the Island of Handa off the north west coast of Sutherland.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Today, no-one lives here permanently.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57But for part of the year, it's one of Scotland's most important
0:01:57 > 0:01:59breeding sites for sea birds,
0:01:59 > 0:02:03many of them nesting on the island's dramatic landmark - The Great Stack.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08In 1876, it caught the attention of three crofters
0:02:08 > 0:02:10and fishermen from Lewis.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14They had a simple but potentially deathly ambition -
0:02:14 > 0:02:18to be the first people to stand on the top of The Great Stack.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21Callum Ferguson was born
0:02:21 > 0:02:24and brought up in the same community the men came from.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27You are talking of my people there from Nis.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29I claim possession of them.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34I am told at least one of them was from Eoropie
0:02:34 > 0:02:38and the other from Knockaird in Nis
0:02:38 > 0:02:43and it was just amazing. It was a feat of courage
0:02:43 > 0:02:46and daring and fool-hardiness.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Like so many things in our nature,
0:02:49 > 0:02:54I think that you are following part of the dictation of your genes,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56your genes are suggesting to you
0:02:56 > 0:02:59that you are able to do it, so you do it.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04There is only one problem in getting to the top of The Great Stack.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08It stands almost 400 feet above the pounding sea.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12One side is separated from the main island by 80 feet,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15and the other is even further away.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Even today, experienced climbers are in awe of what happened here,
0:03:19 > 0:03:21when the three men from Lewis devised a method
0:03:21 > 0:03:23to stand on its summit.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Terrifying, doing it with modern gear, with a harness,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29with...
0:03:30 > 0:03:34You know, in a safe position...
0:03:34 > 0:03:40I find things like that, Tyrolean traverses, quite exciting enough!
0:03:40 > 0:03:45But to do it just hanging onto the rope, without any safety,
0:03:45 > 0:03:49just a big drop into the sea, the idea of doing that is just...
0:03:50 > 0:03:52Yeah, I don't think I would!
0:03:55 > 0:03:59I think they were very, very bold. They'd have had to be very strong,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02otherwise they probably would have all killed themselves.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07For me, I look back and think I wouldn't do that with the knowledge
0:04:07 > 0:04:10I have now, I wouldn't do it and I wouldn't recommend it to anybody.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15But I think, probably for them, it was a real adventure in something.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19A bit like doing any first ascent is "Oh, I wonder if we can do that."
0:04:19 > 0:04:24And that was probably right at the cusp of what is humanly possible.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29The three men from Lewis had little in the way of equipment,
0:04:29 > 0:04:31but they brought 600 feet of rope.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Their plan was simple in theory.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38Working from the land on either side of the stack they wanted to pull
0:04:38 > 0:04:41their rope tight and position it so it ran across the top.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46Then one of their party would go hand over hand along the rope.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Today, three of Scotland's best climbers are attempting
0:04:50 > 0:04:52to emulate that feat.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56They'll be using the equipment and clothing of the time.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59I suspect, from what I've read,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02and just immersing myself in the character as well,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06that it was a pretty hair-raising achievement to be honest.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10I think they probably got away with it by the skin of their teeth.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13If the original climbers had made a mistake,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15the consequences would have been fatal.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20The story is that he had no protection whatsoever.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25So if he fell, he was going to fall 300 or 400 feet into the sea.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30There is no doubt that I'll have a lump in my throat as soon
0:05:30 > 0:05:33as I go out across that drop, even with the safety rope.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38Yeah I mean, even if the rope was a modern rope
0:05:38 > 0:05:41and it was tensioned, like, really, really tight.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44There is no way I would do that without a safety rope. I wouldn't even consider it.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47But I think that puts it into perspective
0:05:47 > 0:05:50because I am used to doing what these days is supposed to be
0:05:50 > 0:05:53the hardest boulder routes around in the UK
0:05:53 > 0:05:55where there's not much protection,
0:05:55 > 0:05:57if you fall, then there's consequences.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00I wouldn't even consider doing it.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06We are just on the sea stack just at the top,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09so with the wind, there is a chance that the rope could
0:06:09 > 0:06:14slip down the top of the rubble at the top of the stack.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18We just can't have that happening, obviously.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20If it stops on the rubble, that's fine.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23But if it goes further down the edge of the sea stack,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26there would be serious consequences.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32The original ascent of The Great Stack of Handa isn't simply
0:06:32 > 0:06:36a tale of extraordinary bravery. It has worldwide significance.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40This is the first recorded climb where the participants
0:06:40 > 0:06:46undertook it primarily for pleasure. It's the birth of modern climbing.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Previously, it's been thought that rock-climbing
0:06:49 > 0:06:53began in the English Lake District in 1886.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55This isolated sea stack
0:06:55 > 0:06:58and the three men from Nis and Lewis tell a different story.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Many would argue that modern climbing
0:07:01 > 0:07:06began here ten years earlier, and is a Scottish invention.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10It's a massive landmark. It really is the start of it.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13It's the first time it's recorded recreational climbing,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16moving around on cliffs in our country.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19It pre-dates anything in the Lake District.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Rock-climbing started in Scotland.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26All good things come out of Scotland, don't they?
0:07:26 > 0:07:30I like the fact that people were climbing on the Outer Isles
0:07:30 > 0:07:34and the Isles on the edge of the sea.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38They were climbing for fun, and I think that's fantastic.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42And just doing it for themselves, I think that's really good.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45For centuries, people from the Western Isles
0:07:45 > 0:07:49and St Kilda had climbed to collect eggs and birds for food.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52It was an integral part of their life,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55but during the latter part of the 19th century, these same people
0:07:55 > 0:07:57started to climb for pleasure,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Donald Murray was also brought up in Nis,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06a writer with a strong interest in its history.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09The usual motive applies with any human endeavour.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Why do you do it? Because it's there.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16And the Stack of Handa would have been a major challenge to them.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19You know, these people would have looked at that and thought,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22"I quite fancy attempting that."
0:08:23 > 0:08:26There would have been the sheer pleasure of the climb,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29almost the aesthetic pleasure of that.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32But they would also have been very much aware that
0:08:32 > 0:08:36there was food at the end of the rainbow.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Even though people were climbing for hundreds of years,
0:08:39 > 0:08:43looking for birds' eggs, looking for birds, you know, farming the cliffs,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46it definitely puts it a whole decade before everything else,
0:08:46 > 0:08:50so that puts a little wry smile on my face.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52And there we go, that's history.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Scotland is at the start of world rock-climbing.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59I can understand from a historical point of view
0:08:59 > 0:09:02that those farmers from Lewis would go climbing
0:09:02 > 0:09:06to collect birds' eggs or birds as a matter of survival
0:09:06 > 0:09:08that they had to collect food for their families.
0:09:08 > 0:09:14I can understand taking really huge risks for that purpose.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18But the fact that we know that they did these climbs,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22and especially this one on Handa, for leisure reasons -
0:09:22 > 0:09:26that amazes me. I am very impressed by it, as well!
0:09:31 > 0:09:35We asked three of Scotland's best mountaineers to recreate
0:09:35 > 0:09:39that original achievement. One of the world's best climbers,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43Dave McCleod, is someone who has consistently pushed the limits
0:09:43 > 0:09:45with a series of landmark first ascents,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48many of which were highly dangerous.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51He'll be Donald McDonald the lead climber,
0:09:51 > 0:09:55who risked his life by being the first to cross to the stack.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57I really don't want to fall,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00but if I get one more hold I'll be all right.
0:10:02 > 0:10:03Go for it!
0:10:05 > 0:10:10I think Donald McDonald must have been a very, very competent man.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13It sounds, from the accounts that we have heard,
0:10:13 > 0:10:17that going climbing on the cliffs without a rope
0:10:17 > 0:10:21was just something they did for fun in their spare time
0:10:21 > 0:10:25as well as on top of the really hard outdoor life that they had,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29trying to eek out a living farming in the Hebrides.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Accompanying him is Dave Cuthbertson,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36one of the finest climbers Scotland has produced.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Cubby is an expert on both summer rock and winter ice.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42He is Malcolm McDonald, no relation to the leader,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46and the mastermind behind the expedition.
0:10:46 > 0:10:52There has never been any doubt in my mind that the people
0:10:52 > 0:10:54who climbed and made this crossing on Handa
0:10:54 > 0:10:58were very, very proficient at climbing, very skilled.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00They were professional climbers.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02They climbed every day of their lives
0:11:02 > 0:11:06as a source of livelihood so it's no surprise to me
0:11:06 > 0:11:10that they had the skills to make such an audacious crossing
0:11:10 > 0:11:14as the one that's been made from the mainland onto the stack.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18The name of the third climber has been lost in the mists of history.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22For our attempt on The Great Stack, we've enlisted the help
0:11:22 > 0:11:25of another outstanding Scottish climber - Donald King.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28It would be lovely to have some photographs of it
0:11:28 > 0:11:32when it was first done, you know. Even one would be absolutely amazing
0:11:32 > 0:11:38to see exactly what they looked like and how they rigged it.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46It's Autumn. The nesting birds have left the island,
0:11:46 > 0:11:50replaced by high winds and a sea swell, not ideal conditions
0:11:50 > 0:11:52when we've only a week to discover
0:11:52 > 0:11:55how the original climb was undertaken.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58First across to Handa are two of the safety team.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01They are immediately impressed by what they see.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03So that's the gap, isn't it?
0:12:03 > 0:12:05Yeah, it's a lot bigger than I expected.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09You can see it's going to be a massive span to get across here.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12- Huge.- It's a long, long distance on this side.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16I don't think that they would have done this
0:12:16 > 0:12:17just to collect some eggs.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20- There must have been a challenge for them to do it.- An adventure.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24An adventure. We are going to do this, you know, for another reason
0:12:24 > 0:12:26other than just catching their eggs.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Because they could get eggs on these other cliffs.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32They must have thought, we want to get onto the top of that stack.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35And they wouldn't have known for sure that they could do it.
0:12:35 > 0:12:36No, absolutely not.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38If you fall, that's it you're in the sea,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41and you'll not survive from that height and hitting the sea.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43It's incredible.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46They probably weren't interested in climbing just the cliffs here.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50The idea of a summit and a pinnacle
0:12:50 > 0:12:53that nobody else could get to
0:12:53 > 0:12:55was a challenge for them, wasn't it?
0:12:55 > 0:12:59- They wanted to get to the top of it. - I think the eggs are coincidental.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Yeah, an excuse.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04If you work it out, there's about ten people
0:13:04 > 0:13:06who've been on top of that stack, maximum.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10So, really, there's been less people on the top of there
0:13:10 > 0:13:11than has been on the moon.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16It's been well documented so they obviously did it,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19but if somebody just said it was folklore I would have said,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22"Yes, its folklore, they haven't really done it."
0:13:22 > 0:13:25Because you wouldn't believe that sort of thing was possible then,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29In fact, I'm beginning to wonder whether it is possible now!
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Even with modern equipment!
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Once the safety team are in place it's time for Dave, Cubby
0:13:41 > 0:13:44and Donald to make the short crossing from the mainland.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48It's the first time any of them have been to Handa,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50and they're keen to get started.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Yes, this is very chilled out, it's brilliant.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58- This is very tranquil, isn't it?- Yeah!
0:13:59 > 0:14:04Oh, look at this - a walkway! I feel like a real performer now!
0:14:05 > 0:14:06Nothing else?
0:14:08 > 0:14:13The climbers want to understand what motivated their predecessors,
0:14:13 > 0:14:17to discover how they undertook the challenge and what it felt like.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19This is a journey into the past.
0:14:19 > 0:14:20OK, gents.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23There are no photographs of the three men of Lewis,
0:14:23 > 0:14:28so costume designer Jen Terranty has researched the clothing of the time.
0:14:30 > 0:14:36So, what we've got from this period is we've got a sack suit,
0:14:36 > 0:14:38something called a lounge suit
0:14:38 > 0:14:42which is just a basic high-cut little jacket
0:14:42 > 0:14:45made of a wool tweed called twill.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50It would probably also have been something reused over time.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Underneath you would have had your, kind of, a union suit.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55It's a combination of vest and pants
0:14:55 > 0:14:58and it would be an all-in-one in a cotton or linen.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Over that you would have worn a linen shirt.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04You kept it on all day long, all night long, slept in it
0:15:04 > 0:15:07and it would have been appropriately stained.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12- Quickly, Jen!- Yeah!
0:15:12 > 0:15:14Designed for freedom of movement.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16It's a very simple, boxed, tunic-style
0:15:16 > 0:15:18so you would have had lots of room in that.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21That's a good fit. Thank you.
0:15:21 > 0:15:22I feel as if I'm going to bed!
0:15:24 > 0:15:26Right, boots and trousers off.
0:15:26 > 0:15:31The trousers would have been the standard button-fly trousers.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34There were no belts or belt loops worn at this period.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37You would have had braces, which I've brought suspenders,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40and they're buttoned from the inside, right?
0:15:40 > 0:15:44And men wore them pretty high up around the navel.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47The benefit of that is that your crotch inseam's
0:15:47 > 0:15:49going to be cut really high.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53It will give you much more movement than you probably would think.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56- Actually, you're a bit taller. Maybe these will be better for you.- OK.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00I looked at those earlier and I thought they look massive.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02How are those fitting?
0:16:02 > 0:16:04This shirt has got so much more material around there.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Right, so shall we get some braces on you, then?
0:16:07 > 0:16:11You look like you're going to a wedding or something!
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Right, just tighten these up a bit.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18Then the other part. Even though that's his work clothes,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22you would have worn the waistcoat or what we call in America "the vest".
0:16:22 > 0:16:26One for an extra layer of warmth, but also because it was just
0:16:26 > 0:16:30considered improper to go out with just your work shirt on.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Your waistcoat's well smart. It's excellent.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37It's warm. I mean, I'm surprised at how warm these trousers are
0:16:37 > 0:16:40and the shirt's really nice and warm.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43- Can't forget your neckerchiefs. - Oh, yeah.- They you are.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46I used to wear one of these in the '80s!
0:16:46 > 0:16:49It's all very comfortable wear, it's that sort of natural thing.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52- This is your size. - Nothing feels restrictive.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55You couldn't actually say the same for some modern equipment.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59And then the footwear. Now, I know in the research
0:16:59 > 0:17:02they said that they wore a soft leather moccasin called the Rivelin.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06But when talking to the curators at the National Museum of Scotland
0:17:06 > 0:17:07they said those went out of favour
0:17:07 > 0:17:11so they would have been in just old-fashioned work shoes.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13But the actual climbing was done barefoot.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17This is really comfortable, the clothing.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21I think I could definitely climb very well in these.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25It would be great. I could wear this all the time.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28My best bit of kit this, my jacket. I'll be looking after this.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31- That's a bit tight in the shoulders. - A bit tight?
0:17:31 > 0:17:34- For me, yeah.- Good. That's how it should be.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37I think I will actually struggle on the ropes.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38I can't actually close my arms.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43- It is strategically placed for the movement.- Yeah.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Maybe they took the jacket off when they started climbing.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51The research showed pretty much everyone wore the same style of hat,
0:17:51 > 0:17:56which was a lovely little cap with a ball on top.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00- That looks big for me. - They're all one size. Fits all.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04- Can I try that one? - Yeah, of course you can.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06This one might be....
0:18:06 > 0:18:08It's marginally better that one actually.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10- Sorry, Donald. - No problems, no problems.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13I think you'll enjoy being a little less bulked up.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17I know you're probably wedded to your waterproofs and such.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19You may find this a little bit more liberating.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23- Yeah, thumbs up.- Great. Definitely up an adventure in these.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Very comfortable to wear.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27But there's more than the clothing to adjust to.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31Jen's brought other essential bits of kit
0:18:31 > 0:18:34including the item Donald and Cubby will use
0:18:34 > 0:18:36when it's their turn to cross over to The Great Stack -
0:18:36 > 0:18:38a breaches buoy.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41- It is what the name suggests. - Yeah, it's canvas breaches.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44- They are actually breaches. - Yeah, canvas breaches.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47That looks very undignified to me! Right.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50'We're going to be suspended below the rope.'
0:18:50 > 0:18:52We won't be able to touch the rope.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55We're in the hands of Dave pulling us across.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58It's going to be hard work for Dave pulling us over
0:18:58 > 0:19:01and we're just going to be suspended below this quite helplessly,
0:19:01 > 0:19:05and it's going to be pretty exposed.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09It's a massive nappy and, you know, if you were to try
0:19:09 > 0:19:12and help yourself and put your hands above your head like that,
0:19:12 > 0:19:17you would slip through the life ring and then get really loaded
0:19:17 > 0:19:24on that kind of canvas nappy which would not be comfortable at all.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28This is what I am most worried about us trying to do.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32If the rope has that uphill, if it has a sag in it...
0:19:32 > 0:19:34I need to assist, that's what you're saying?
0:19:34 > 0:19:37- Yeah, I don't think I could heave you right across.- No, you won't.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41But I would have thought when they actually executed the crossing
0:19:41 > 0:19:43they would actually have assisted.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45- I think the person in the... - In the buoy.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48..in the breaches buoy would have assisted.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50So we'd be pulling at the same time.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54- So it would be like a kind of assisted hoist, really.- Yeah.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57I can see me getting to a point where the buoy touches the rock
0:19:57 > 0:20:00- and I can't go further. - Your legs!- Dangling, yeah!
0:20:03 > 0:20:07We think the Lewis men made several journeys to Handa,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10deciding in the end to approach the stack from the headland
0:20:10 > 0:20:11rather than the sea.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14Everything they needed for their attempt
0:20:14 > 0:20:19had to be brought with them. Even the journey over had its own danger.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22There is a huge depth of water in the Atlantic,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25and then it comes into two very narrow channels, you know,
0:20:25 > 0:20:28the very top of the Minch between Durness in Sutherland
0:20:28 > 0:20:32and Nis on Lewis. So they would have a great respect for the sea,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35they would have been looking at its moods at all times
0:20:35 > 0:20:38while undertaking these voyages.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40They would have had an awareness of weather
0:20:40 > 0:20:43that we would never have, we'd never possess.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46I remember speaking to an old man in my village
0:20:46 > 0:20:50who died in his 90s, and he actually said to me,
0:20:50 > 0:20:55that he could tell if rain was coming by the way the grass turned.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59So I think these kind of skills were very much part of their life.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02They would have known the movement of the wind,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04they would have known the movement of the waves.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07They had much greater awareness than we possess nowadays.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10I mean, we rely, of course, on the weather forecast
0:21:10 > 0:21:12to tell us these things nowadays.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17We know very little about the three men from Lewis.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19The lead climber was Donald McDonald,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23a young man of mix Norse and Gaelic stock.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26The organiser of the expedition was Donald's neighbour,
0:21:26 > 0:21:28but no relation, Malcolm McDonald,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32a natural leader, he was then in his 50s.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Even less is known about the third member of the party,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38but he must have had a common love of adventure.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42They were men who loved a challenge,
0:21:42 > 0:21:45who were not troubled by any kind of human isolation,
0:21:45 > 0:21:49who enjoyed, in a sense, life at the edge on the periphery.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53They were people who were extraordinarily resilient,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57you know, very, very tough individuals,
0:21:57 > 0:22:02very almost idiosyncratic individuals perhaps slightly different,
0:22:02 > 0:22:06slightly unusual people who loved to face challenges.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13They could be very rough, could be very pugnacious,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16and their voices were strong.
0:22:16 > 0:22:17Even in the Ceilidh House,
0:22:17 > 0:22:22where there was, perhaps, a heated discussion
0:22:22 > 0:22:26you'd imagine that they were talking in a force-eight gale.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30They were just a different breed altogether.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35In this village, for example - I'm in Port Uran -
0:22:35 > 0:22:41all the men that I knew were, pretty well, all six-feet tall,
0:22:41 > 0:22:46very strong Norse-looking people.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53The men of Lewis and the men of the Western isles
0:22:53 > 0:22:55who are going out onto the stacks
0:22:55 > 0:22:58have been doing that since time immemorial.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02They were not afraid of heights, they had no sense of vertigo.
0:23:04 > 0:23:09When I think nowadays of where I have seen men walking,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12it shows that they were made of a different calibre altogether.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16Although one has to agree
0:23:16 > 0:23:21that the feat at Handa
0:23:21 > 0:23:23must have been one of the greatest.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26It was certainly mentioned in my childhood.
0:23:30 > 0:23:35There was a suggestion from my great-aunt that there was
0:23:35 > 0:23:39a lot of competition, and sometimes agro, between the people of Lewis
0:23:39 > 0:23:41and of Sutherland.
0:23:41 > 0:23:48And the men of Lewis would have said...
0:23:48 > 0:23:50"Beat that."
0:23:55 > 0:23:59Today, climbers would make what's called a Tyrolean Traverse
0:23:59 > 0:24:01in order to get over to The Great Stack.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05In 1876, those techniques were undiscovered
0:24:05 > 0:24:08so the three men from Lewis had to work out a system
0:24:08 > 0:24:12that was entirely new. Literally, years ahead of their time,
0:24:12 > 0:24:16they calculated 600 feet of rope was necessary.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20The first climber to cross would do so by going hand over hand
0:24:20 > 0:24:23and almost certainly in bare feet.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28There was no specialist ropes then, so they had to improvise.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33They used what came to hand - thick, heavy fishing rope.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39- Both bags are rope.- Two bags. - Oh, heavy.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41- Oh!- Oh.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44What?! Grappling hook.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46Did they actually use a grappling hook, did they?
0:24:46 > 0:24:49That's a pretty weighty piece of kit.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51When you're used to climbing ropes
0:24:51 > 0:24:56which are a fraction of that diameter, it's quite...
0:24:56 > 0:24:58it's bulky, isn't it?
0:24:58 > 0:25:01The main thing I am worried about is the friction
0:25:01 > 0:25:04to actually climb hand over hand up this rope when it's going uphill,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07and this stuff is actually quite smooth.
0:25:07 > 0:25:08Yes, it's quite slippery, yeah.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11I think if it's raining, it will be really difficult.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15It's all unfolding, isn't it? Trying to put yourself in their shoes
0:25:15 > 0:25:18and work out how they would have done it and how we would do it.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22And I actually feel quite confident that the techniques that we use
0:25:22 > 0:25:24will be similar to what they discovered themselves.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Do you want me to feed it out?
0:25:26 > 0:25:29I'm just wondering if we should do, it might be easier that way.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38Their skill level was totally different to ours
0:25:38 > 0:25:43as modern-day climbers with our modern ropes, modern protection.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47These guys came from the islands, very much used to handling ropes
0:25:47 > 0:25:52and the maritime environments, so ropes, blocks and tackles.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57And, of course, they were harvesting birds on cliffs every single day
0:25:57 > 0:26:01of their life, probably, during the summer months.
0:26:01 > 0:26:02How do we want to carry this?
0:26:02 > 0:26:06Well, if we just coil it straight over one of us.
0:26:06 > 0:26:07Why don't one of you coil it over me?
0:26:07 > 0:26:12- We need to straighten this out.- Yeah. - That's going to take a few minutes.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15'They were well versed in those techniques
0:26:15 > 0:26:20'and really honed their skills at that, and I'm sure
0:26:20 > 0:26:24'as modern climbers, mountaineers we've lost those skills.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28'They've not been handed down or we don't know the skills
0:26:28 > 0:26:32'that they had, and they were pretty formidable, obviously,
0:26:32 > 0:26:34'to get onto the stack.'
0:26:35 > 0:26:38- It feels heavier now.- You've gone past the halfway mark.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42I know! It was just exactly what I was just thinking myself.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44How much rope's still in that bag?
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Another 20-odd metres, I would imagine.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50My arms are getting tired!
0:26:50 > 0:26:53I think it would be easier if two of you split the rope between you
0:26:53 > 0:26:56and move together with a loop of rope.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01'I think they're a lot more advanced than we give them credit for
0:27:01 > 0:27:05'cos you've got to remember that these people have been climbing
0:27:05 > 0:27:06'for centuries.'
0:27:08 > 0:27:11See, these guys would just be so adept at doing this.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15- Oh, yes.- You know, and they would know the easiest and quickest way
0:27:15 > 0:27:17to coil these ropes, you know.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19It's funny, I've spent half my life dealing with ropes,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22but I am still not that good at coiling them.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24Because we don't deal with, like, big, heavy, long ropes,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28- They're all super light and small. - Or these three-ply, as well.
0:27:28 > 0:27:33- It just operates totally different. - Yeah, the ropes just handle so well.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35It's hard to gauge.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37- Just keep going, it's fine. - Keep going, yeah?
0:27:45 > 0:27:47Handa is just over one square mile in size,
0:27:47 > 0:27:51and is composed of Torridonian red sandstone.
0:27:51 > 0:27:52It's owned by the Scourie Estate
0:27:52 > 0:27:56and is a Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve.
0:27:56 > 0:28:0161 people lived here at the time of the 1841 census,
0:28:01 > 0:28:06and the islanders lived on a diet of oats, fish and sea birds.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10But just six or seven years after that census, the potato famine
0:28:10 > 0:28:13caused everyone to leave.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17It's amazing to think of the generations
0:28:17 > 0:28:19who eked out a living here.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21I know.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24In certain times and conditions it was quite good,
0:28:24 > 0:28:25but in other times it was desperate.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31All that's left behind are the remains of their houses
0:28:31 > 0:28:32and a graveyard.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38- I don't know about you, but my shoulders are getting tired.- Aye.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41There's not much headland sticking out on this side at all.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44I certainly don't want it to drop down the gap
0:28:44 > 0:28:47at the back of the stack!
0:28:47 > 0:28:51One of the major problems the climbers face
0:28:51 > 0:28:54is where to secure the rope on either side of the headland.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58On the original expedition, one end of the rope
0:28:58 > 0:29:00was tied around a boulder.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04But finding one capable of holding the weight isn't easy.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07- That's a pebble, Dave! - Yeah, I was going to say!
0:29:07 > 0:29:11- I wouldn't want to go across from this side.- No, not at all.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14I think it's definitely got to be the other side!
0:29:14 > 0:29:16Even here it looks quite...
0:29:16 > 0:29:19I mean, they must have had the same discussion that we're having.
0:29:19 > 0:29:24Where to start the anchor point so that the rope lies across the stack.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26I think I would have been saying "Let's go home."
0:29:26 > 0:29:29- There's no way you'd do this to harvest birds.- No.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32- They're doing it for the challenge. - There's no need.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35The other cliffs are here. It's such an awkward challenge to do.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38They must have done it because they wanted to get on top of that stack
0:29:38 > 0:29:40for its own sake.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46Standing on the cliff edge, it's hard to understand
0:29:46 > 0:29:50how those pioneers managed to get over to The Great Stack,
0:29:50 > 0:29:54but they had the strong motivation that all climbers share.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57'Doing first descents or climbing routes'
0:29:57 > 0:29:59that have never been done before,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02and especially on a cliff that has no routes on it whatsoever
0:30:02 > 0:30:04'is a journey into the unknown.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07'It is an extraordinary experience and it's pitting your skills
0:30:07 > 0:30:11'against something that you don't know, from below,
0:30:11 > 0:30:13'actually how hard it will be, how bold it's going to be.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15'And it's a test of yourself,'
0:30:15 > 0:30:19and in many ways you are trying to push yourself into that
0:30:19 > 0:30:23little zone where you are technically going to be pushed, psychologically
0:30:23 > 0:30:27you're going to be pushed, and find out how far you can take that.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31'It's a big learning process and the end result is unknown.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34'"Will I actually survive this, will I not?"
0:30:34 > 0:30:37'It's a very basic instinct of trying something'
0:30:37 > 0:30:41and seeing what you are made of when you actually get onto it.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44So, what do you reckon, then?
0:30:44 > 0:30:47Where's our direction of pull?
0:30:49 > 0:30:52Watch we don't slip on the grass in these shoes, folks.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03'I think they would have been learning these skills
0:31:03 > 0:31:04'from the age of four or five onwards.'
0:31:04 > 0:31:07As soon as some of them were able to walk,
0:31:07 > 0:31:11they would have been up on cliff faces, you know, climbing rocks.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14'Clearly, nowadays, we rely on technology.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18'Even when you're climbing, you rely on having excellent equipment.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21'They would not have had the same reliance on equipment.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25'There would have been a much greater awareness of even looking
0:31:25 > 0:31:29'at the stones themselves in order to find out and work out
0:31:29 > 0:31:32'whether they had a secure footage or a foothold there or not.'
0:31:33 > 0:31:37One of the hardest jobs for our climbers is to walk the rope
0:31:37 > 0:31:40towards the cliff edge and pull it taut
0:31:40 > 0:31:42so it will go over the stack.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46There's one crucial difference between today's climbers
0:31:46 > 0:31:47and their predecessors.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51None of our team are prepared to attempt the crossing without
0:31:51 > 0:31:56a safety rope. If they fall, the only casualty will be injured pride.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00If those early pioneers fell, the result would be certain death.
0:32:00 > 0:32:06- Dave?- Yeah.- Just watch the weight. OK?- Yeah, sure, I'll be careful.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10- I'll come and join you but there's a post here.- Yeah.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12'We are going to use the big, thick rope,
0:32:12 > 0:32:16'and we are going to have a safety rope as a backup there.'
0:32:16 > 0:32:20And for Donald McDonald, who did the first crossing,
0:32:20 > 0:32:25to go across that on a single rope with not being attached to a rope
0:32:25 > 0:32:30one single bit, he did climb for his life.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33'That's overused now - you fought for your life and things like that,'
0:32:33 > 0:32:37but he really did, and he only just made it.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39And I definitely wouldn't be going across
0:32:39 > 0:32:42without a safety or a backup, not at all.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46This is definitely going to be the hardest part.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51Just trying to get the rope to go down across the gap.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57It's getting heavy as I pull it down
0:32:57 > 0:33:01and it's getting harder and harder to flick it.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06'Living in a society where we've got modern equipment
0:33:06 > 0:33:10'that's fantastically strong, really efficient,
0:33:10 > 0:33:12'we're well trained in using it.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14'We are used to a high level of safety.'
0:33:14 > 0:33:16Be careful, Dave.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20'I think back then, rudimentary ropes, for me,'
0:33:20 > 0:33:25my hackles go up and go "Oh, dear, that sounds horrendous."
0:33:25 > 0:33:28But then, they are all probably fishermen, farmers
0:33:28 > 0:33:31'used to pulling ropes, louping bits of rock around
0:33:31 > 0:33:34'and they'd have been very, very strong guys.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36'I think they were very, very bold.'
0:33:36 > 0:33:40I look back and think I wouldn't do that with the knowledge I have now.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42I wouldn't do it and wouldn't recommend it to anybody.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46'But I think probably, for them, it was a real adventure, and something,
0:33:46 > 0:33:51'a bit like doing any first ascent, is, "I wonder if we can do that."
0:33:51 > 0:33:55'And that was probably right at the cusp of what is humanly possible.'
0:33:55 > 0:34:00Guys, are you taking the rope all the way over?
0:34:00 > 0:34:03- Maybe we'll walk a little bit more.- OK.
0:34:12 > 0:34:17Got a pull coming through. Glad I'm 40 feet away from the edge.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19OK, we will take the rope in now.
0:34:19 > 0:34:20OK.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28Just watch unexpected tension doesn't come on.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31- OK guys?- Yeah.
0:34:35 > 0:34:40With the sag in the rope going out nearly 200 feet there,
0:34:40 > 0:34:44we're going to struggle getting it over the top of the stack
0:34:44 > 0:34:48cos it's sagging 20 feet below the top of the stack.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Dave and Cubby are going probably 20 feet below the stack
0:34:51 > 0:34:55on the other side, so that sag, if we don't keep it tight,
0:34:55 > 0:34:59is going to possibly be 40 feet below the stack.
0:34:59 > 0:35:00Do you want more tension or..?
0:35:00 > 0:35:03- Just need to move back from this edge here.- Yeah.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09So you need to keep it tight and that's easier said than done.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11Dave's getting tired pulling the rope tight.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15I can't really do much on this side actually.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18- Tug of war.- You need someone on the middle of the stack.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21Do you want me over on that side?
0:35:23 > 0:35:26The climbers have now successfully strung the rope
0:35:26 > 0:35:31between the two headlands, but they still have to get it onto the stack.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35With his end of the rope secure, Donald joins Dave and Cubby
0:35:35 > 0:35:36to help from the other side.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40It's going to be a wee bit sketchy going around this bit again but...
0:35:40 > 0:35:43I reckon two people for tension and one person to flick.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48'These people were not foolhardy.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50'Risk was something,
0:35:50 > 0:35:52'Like all climbers and professional mountaineers
0:35:52 > 0:35:58'is something that they would try very hard to maintain control of.'
0:35:58 > 0:36:03And yet the challenge of crossing onto the Stack of Handa itself
0:36:03 > 0:36:08presented obvious risks, the length of the rope out, the possibility
0:36:08 > 0:36:11of the rope being cut, the way it would have to be anchored.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15'And then, of course, the actual physical strength of having
0:36:15 > 0:36:18'to cross the rope itself to get onto the stack,
0:36:18 > 0:36:22'and would they have enough strength to actually make that crossing?'
0:36:22 > 0:36:24I think we need to get over there.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27Just get to the end there and then start flicking it.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31'They would have evaluated that whole situation, and there is no doubt
0:36:31 > 0:36:35'about it, they would have wanted to have kept risks to a minimum.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39'Because one mistake there and it would have been, without doubt,'
0:36:39 > 0:36:42instant death. I mean, it's 350, 400 feet above the sea.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45So there is no room for mistake,
0:36:45 > 0:36:49'so they were very well aware of the potential risks involved
0:36:49 > 0:36:53'and I think that was all part of the challenge, to be quite honest.'
0:36:54 > 0:36:59Finally Dave, Cubby and Donald have got the rope onto the stack,
0:36:59 > 0:37:01but it's not in the right position.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05It is lying lower down than they would like - a problem
0:37:05 > 0:37:08which must have also faced the original climbers.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11You know the story about Donald McDonald having this epic...
0:37:11 > 0:37:14I suspect he wanted the rope in that little tiny corner,
0:37:14 > 0:37:18- right there, because he knew he could just probably...- Just step on.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20- ..step on. - It is also a shorter distance.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22Yeah, a good 25 feet, isn't it?
0:37:22 > 0:37:27Whereas there, you are going to be suspended awkwardly, aren't you?
0:37:30 > 0:37:32The climbers believe that,
0:37:32 > 0:37:34when their rope is fully tensioned,
0:37:34 > 0:37:36it will move further up onto the stack.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40They have spent many hours on getting the rope into position
0:37:40 > 0:37:42and it's time to finish for the day.
0:37:43 > 0:37:44Now, the safety team move in.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48They are fixing the additional safety rope to protect the climbers.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50And bounce it.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52Pull back... And once again, bounce.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58That's it. That's it, I think.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03Everything is now in place for Dave, Cubby and Donald
0:38:03 > 0:38:06to attempt the crossing, but the weather has other ideas.
0:38:06 > 0:38:10Lashing rain and strong winds make it too dangerous.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15Next day, conditions improve.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18They are still far from perfect, but time is running out,
0:38:18 > 0:38:22so chief safety officer Brian Hall briefs the team.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24This is going to have to be a big day today.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26Because of the weather,
0:38:26 > 0:38:28we didn't get as much done as we wanted to yesterday
0:38:28 > 0:38:32and the weather forecast is pretty bad for tomorrow,
0:38:32 > 0:38:34so we are going to try and do as much as we can.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37But that doesn't mean to say we have to rush around. We have had a lot
0:38:37 > 0:38:41of rain and the grass is really, really slick.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45The team of three islanders have got these shoes on, these replica shoes,
0:38:45 > 0:38:48which look great, but have got a really slick bottom.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52And so, I think we really have to make sure that we don't
0:38:52 > 0:38:55rush around or run around and just do things at a measured pace
0:38:55 > 0:38:58and really just keep reminding each other.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02And don't put any stress on a person - "Go there, quick!" or anything.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06Just go there along the grass, make sure you have got good footing
0:39:06 > 0:39:09and let's hope we have a great day.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12Handa isn't going to give up this prize easily.
0:39:12 > 0:39:18The weather is proving fickle, so Dave and Cubby retreat to the tent.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20It's absolutely hammering it down outside.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22If we were caught in one of these
0:39:22 > 0:39:25during the crossing, we are going to get instantly soaked,
0:39:25 > 0:39:28the rope's going to be soaking wet and slippy
0:39:28 > 0:39:31and it's, basically, going to be really hard, so...
0:39:31 > 0:39:33I have got a bit of apprehension right now.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37Yeah, yeah, I am a little bit apprehensive.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40I mean, these squalls are pretty strong.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43And at the end of the day, we have to look after ourselves.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45- We won't be able to speak to each other.- No.
0:39:45 > 0:39:51We are in the middle of September now, so maybe they might have been
0:39:51 > 0:39:53blessed with a more windless day.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57But still, the squalls are totally normal for this coast,
0:39:57 > 0:39:59so it could well have been as bad as this.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02But they would have been much more used to it than what we are!
0:40:02 > 0:40:06Yeah, exactly. I think they were much hardier folk than what we are.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09- Yeah, you are sort of feeling that right now.- Especially with this kit.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13- At least you can get prepped sat in a nice tent.- Yes.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18There is a break in the weather, so our team decide to go for it.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20In a traverse like this,
0:40:20 > 0:40:24a climber must rely on the strength in his arms and legs.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27And the rain certainly hasn't helped.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29It being wet will make it more difficult.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33LAUGHTER
0:40:33 > 0:40:37A little bit of rain to Donald McDonald won't cause any harm.
0:40:37 > 0:40:38It's good trying.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41LAUGHTER
0:40:44 > 0:40:48I think this is when you realise that the rope is a little bit thinner
0:40:48 > 0:40:50than you think, in terms of holding.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53When we were carrying it in it, it felt firmer.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56But now it's stretched, it's pulled all the fibres tight.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58Now it's taut, it's lost a little bit of its purchase.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01It's definitely more slick, so if it's really uphill,
0:41:01 > 0:41:03we'll have to hold on pretty hard.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07As Dave makes his final preparations,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10he is aware that Donald McDonald almost ran out of energy
0:41:10 > 0:41:13before reaching The Great Stack.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16The key to success will be speed.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23- OK, Dave. Yeah? - Hope to see you again!
0:41:23 > 0:41:26- Yeah! Take care.- Have a nice time.
0:41:26 > 0:41:27Thanks very much.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33I'm not thinking anything.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35I just want to do it, just want to get it done.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38It's a time to switch off and go for it.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52Oh, man. Going down a lot.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00Can't imagine doing that without a safety. Fancy doing that, eh?
0:42:01 > 0:42:04- I wouldn't like to.- No danger. - There is no room for any errors.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14That's fine, that's fine.
0:42:14 > 0:42:22'Anytime you do something like that, that is a little bit nerve-racking,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25'the very best thing you can do, at the moment you set off,
0:42:25 > 0:42:27'is not to think about anything at all.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31Just think about the next hand movement, the next hand movement,
0:42:31 > 0:42:35'until you get to the other side, so I didn't think about anything.'
0:42:44 > 0:42:48'Doing it in bare feet didn't make a huge amount of difference.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51'You didn't actually really use your feet or your ankles at all.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54'I was most worried that I would scrape my ankles along the rope,'
0:42:54 > 0:42:58'but in the end, because it was in such a V in the first half,
0:42:58 > 0:43:01'you were upside down going down the way,
0:43:01 > 0:43:04'and then, in the second half, you were going uphill,
0:43:04 > 0:43:05'almost all on your arms.'
0:43:05 > 0:43:10'So the best technique, that I made up very quickly,
0:43:10 > 0:43:14'was to flip one leg and then the other, and almost use your whole leg
0:43:14 > 0:43:19'to get as much of your leg on the rope as you possibly could,
0:43:19 > 0:43:23'because if it was just on your ankle or your foot, it was too sharp
0:43:23 > 0:43:25'and you couldn't really do much with it.'
0:43:30 > 0:43:35'Once I got out in the middle and you get over that initial, kind of,
0:43:35 > 0:43:38"What's this going to be like? Am I going to drop down 30 feet?
0:43:38 > 0:43:42"Am I going to be able to hold on? Am I going to get really scared."
0:43:42 > 0:43:44'Once I felt, "No, it's OK. I'm OK,
0:43:44 > 0:43:47"I can make progress along the rope and it's fine",
0:43:47 > 0:43:49'I looked down and take in the full drop,
0:43:49 > 0:43:53'but I did that because I had the safety rope on.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56'If I didn't have the safety rope on, I would be just like,
0:43:56 > 0:43:58"Keep going, keep going, just look at the rope
0:43:58 > 0:44:00"until you get to the other side."
0:44:00 > 0:44:02You see that drop beneath you.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05It's one thing looking across at the rope, but when you look down,
0:44:05 > 0:44:07you look right down to the sea there,
0:44:07 > 0:44:10- it's really whacky isn't it? - Yeah, really.
0:44:10 > 0:44:14Dave looks quite tired there. That's him just having a shake out.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27'In the original crossing, the rope apparently slipped a bit
0:44:27 > 0:44:31'and it would have dropped down a little bit and that jerk,
0:44:31 > 0:44:35'if it didn't...if it wasn't even hard just to stay on,
0:44:35 > 0:44:38'then it would have given you a real frightener.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42'And without a safety rope, it would really'
0:44:42 > 0:44:46put the fear in you, if you didn't have it already,
0:44:46 > 0:44:48and you would be holding on way too hard,
0:44:48 > 0:44:52using up all of your energy really quickly
0:44:52 > 0:44:54'and you would be getting really, really tired.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57'And you would be running out of strength,
0:44:57 > 0:45:00'right where you needed it most, on the uphill part at the end.'
0:45:00 > 0:45:05Dave is over halfway across. So far, he has been going downhill.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09Now, he must haul himself upwards, all the way to the stack.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13This is where it's going to get really hard, eh?
0:45:13 > 0:45:17This is the bit where Donald McDonald really struggled,
0:45:17 > 0:45:20because the incline now is extremely steep,
0:45:20 > 0:45:24so it will be really interesting now
0:45:24 > 0:45:27just to see how Dave copes with it, actually.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31You are talking about the strongest climber in the UK at the moment.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34- He is definitely slowing down a bit there.- He is, yeah.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38Taking smaller reaches.
0:45:38 > 0:45:39And that transition,
0:45:39 > 0:45:44from under the rope onto the stack, especially with those kind of blocks
0:45:44 > 0:45:48- that are just perched there, it's going to be quite exciting.- Yeah.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52'All my weight was on my arms
0:45:52 > 0:45:54'and my feet were doing nothing.
0:45:54 > 0:46:01'And I can hold my bodyweight locked off on one arm, but only just.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04'And I had to do about five moves like that,
0:46:04 > 0:46:07'where my feet were doing nothing. If it had been another two or three,
0:46:07 > 0:46:10'I would have run out of strength.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20'needed to flip the rope over a big rock to get it into a position
0:46:20 > 0:46:22where I could climb on and, as I did that,
0:46:22 > 0:46:25'the rope did actually hit the rocks
0:46:25 > 0:46:27'and dragged along the edge - a really sharp edge.
0:46:27 > 0:46:31'And at that point, without the safety rope there,
0:46:31 > 0:46:33'your heart would be in your mouth,
0:46:33 > 0:46:35'because it's a really unpredictable moment.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39'You don't know whether you are going to slide for three feet or 30 feet.
0:46:39 > 0:46:44'I slid for two metres maybe and if it had been any more than that
0:46:44 > 0:46:46'then I don't know if I could have stayed on.'
0:46:46 > 0:46:50- Well done.- Well done! - Well done, Dave!
0:46:50 > 0:46:55It will be a thumbs-up in a minute, when he turns round.
0:46:55 > 0:47:00- Excellent.- Well done! - I'm glad we are not doing that.
0:47:00 > 0:47:01LAUGHTER
0:47:01 > 0:47:04Yeah, I'm quite happy not to be doing it!
0:47:08 > 0:47:11With Dave successfully across, now it is Cubby and Donald's turn.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15It's time to see if the breaches buoy will work.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20'The breaches buoy has been talked about quite a lot
0:47:20 > 0:47:24'and actually, I think everybody felt it was going to be
0:47:24 > 0:47:26'the most undignified thing that anybody could...
0:47:26 > 0:47:29'especially if you were a bit of a seasoned climber,
0:47:29 > 0:47:32'but funnily enough, we never even'
0:47:32 > 0:47:35tried the buoy on - or I didn't try the buoy on.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38So when it came to the day, the first thing I discovered
0:47:38 > 0:47:39was that I couldn't actually
0:47:39 > 0:47:41'get it over my waist!
0:47:41 > 0:47:44'I suddenly thought, "I've been eating too many steaks this week."
0:47:44 > 0:47:47'It's one of those things.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51'It's a... You put the buoy on and you sit in it
0:47:51 > 0:47:53'and, all of a sudden, you are taken right back
0:47:53 > 0:47:56'to a different period in time.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59'So that was quite a strange experience, actually, and of course,
0:47:59 > 0:48:04'not just for the climbers of Lewis and Handa,
0:48:04 > 0:48:07'but in all walks of marine life.'
0:48:09 > 0:48:11OK? Do you know, I think that's us.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29'My character in the crossing of Handa
0:48:29 > 0:48:32'is a slightly more mature personality,
0:48:32 > 0:48:37'and I think was the instigator behind the whole challenge.'
0:48:37 > 0:48:39Donald, have you got control of that?
0:48:39 > 0:48:41I have got control, yeah.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45'His job really is to find somebody who he thinks has got the strength
0:48:45 > 0:48:49'of character, and the physical strength, to make this crossing.
0:48:52 > 0:48:54'In some ways, it is quite fitting, really.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57'I am a little bit older. We have got young Dave McCloud,
0:48:57 > 0:49:00'who is taking on the role as the young Donald McDonald,'
0:49:00 > 0:49:04and I am overseeing that he is doing it the best possible way.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06So to go across in the breaches buoy,
0:49:06 > 0:49:09'once Dave has got onto the stack safely,
0:49:09 > 0:49:12some people might see it as being
0:49:12 > 0:49:15'slightly undignified, to be sitting in a little basket,
0:49:15 > 0:49:20'being pulled across on the line, but you know, hey, I've been there,
0:49:20 > 0:49:22'I have got nothing to prove.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26'I am quite happy to be pulled across, to be quite honest!'
0:49:29 > 0:49:31OK!
0:49:35 > 0:49:37'Once you actually get your feet at the top,
0:49:37 > 0:49:39'onto the cliff top, it's fine.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42'You just tiptoe up to the summit, don't you,
0:49:42 > 0:49:45'as long as you're not pulled too much.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48'Dave, who was pulling us across, if he does pull too much
0:49:48 > 0:49:50'then you tend to get pulled into the rock.'
0:49:50 > 0:49:52Can you go up on your knees and stand up?
0:49:52 > 0:49:55Yeah. No, no, I'll just... That's it.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59- Well done.- Thanks.- Good job.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04Even with the protection of the safety rope,
0:50:04 > 0:50:08it's a genuine challenge for Dave McCloud and the team.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11They have the advantage of knowing it COULD be done,
0:50:11 > 0:50:13they just had to work out how.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16It was vastly different for the original climbers.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18'You are heading into the unknown,
0:50:18 > 0:50:21so there is always that added spice to it.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24But it also gives you that added drive, I think, as well, and it
0:50:24 > 0:50:27appears, for them, going out to get onto The Great Stack,
0:50:27 > 0:50:29but part of it was the adventure,
0:50:29 > 0:50:33because they could have collected sea birds from anywhere else
0:50:33 > 0:50:36on the cliffs on Handa, but they wanted on The Great Stack,
0:50:36 > 0:50:39so they wanted to do something special.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43They didn't want to do what they were doing all the time in Lewis
0:50:43 > 0:50:46and the other islands they visited. They wanted to do something special.
0:50:46 > 0:50:51I think, for a lot of climbers that do first ascents,
0:50:51 > 0:50:56it's the adventure, it's the unknown that drives them on.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00It's not necessarily to make a name for yourself, but it's to have
0:51:00 > 0:51:03a bit of challenge that gives you an extra incentive to do it.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Finally, it's Donald's turn to take the plunge.
0:51:07 > 0:51:08HE LAUGHS
0:51:19 > 0:51:21JOHN LYALL: If you are climbing frequently
0:51:21 > 0:51:25to catch birds, as part of daily life, you also develop
0:51:25 > 0:51:31a camaraderie between each other, to set challenges and follow them
0:51:31 > 0:51:33and see if you can manage them.
0:51:33 > 0:51:38And that has got to be part of what happened here between those men.
0:51:38 > 0:51:45They shared an enjoyment of taking on that challenge and seeing
0:51:45 > 0:51:48if they could do it. I'm sure they had a great time. I would think
0:51:48 > 0:51:51it would be one of the most memorable experiences they've had.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55- That was exciting.- Yep, well done. - It is the way you did it.
0:51:57 > 0:52:01If in doubt - jump.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05Yeah, you got a good bit of speed when you leapt off there.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08I was impressed.
0:52:08 > 0:52:13I was quite jealous that you got the first half of it done in about five seconds flat.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16- I had to do all the hard work to get across that bit.- Brilliant.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18That went really smoothly. I don't think it involved
0:52:18 > 0:52:20too much effort for Dave to pull us across.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23And we are on the Stack of Handa.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26All three of us on the Stack of Handa.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31Success for Dave, Cubby and Donald after a week of work.
0:52:31 > 0:52:36For the first time, almost 140 years after the event,
0:52:36 > 0:52:38they have recreated the original expedition,
0:52:38 > 0:52:41using, as near as possible, the equipment of the time,
0:52:41 > 0:52:44but with modern safety techniques.
0:52:44 > 0:52:48It's taken one of the world's best climbers to achieve it.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51Obviously, if Donald
0:52:51 > 0:52:55was to fall from his crossing, it would have been absolutely certain death.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58'It's a really narrow channel.'
0:52:58 > 0:53:01It's not as if you are going to fall straight into the sea,
0:53:01 > 0:53:05but even if you did, from that height, you would certainly die,
0:53:05 > 0:53:10so the consequences of a slip are completely certain.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13We don't know what kind of weather conditions they had it in,
0:53:13 > 0:53:15but I can imagine, with the weather we have right now,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18my hands are numb just sitting here.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22If they were hand-over-handing up a wet rope, can't feel your fingers
0:53:22 > 0:53:25and potentially sliding back down it, you would need to use
0:53:25 > 0:53:28every bit of strength that you had to make it.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34A lot of rock climbers today would feel very out of their depth
0:53:34 > 0:53:39in a situation such as the Stack of Handa, just the whole ambience.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43It's very dramatic and quite imposing, actually.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49No-one knows what the three men from Lewis did before heading back
0:53:49 > 0:53:51over the chasm to the main island of Handa.
0:53:51 > 0:53:53They probably collected some birds or eggs,
0:53:53 > 0:54:00but as climbers, it's quite likely they did what climbers always do -
0:54:00 > 0:54:01move on to the next challenge.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04I will just move to the edge.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06OK.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09Right, a little bit of tension, please.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12And naturally, Dave McCloud can't resist these cliff, either.
0:54:12 > 0:54:14See you in a bit.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17'If you have gone somewhere that nobody else has seen before,
0:54:17 > 0:54:21'you have only seen it from one perspective.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23'Now you can see the mainland. That's fine.
0:54:23 > 0:54:27'Down below, you have got good rock, things that might be worth investigating.'
0:54:27 > 0:54:29OK, I'll keep going down.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33'To get to the stack, they are obviously adventurous guys
0:54:33 > 0:54:37'and, therefore, why not look around all the other corners while you are there?
0:54:37 > 0:54:41'So I think they potentially could have easily, very easily,'
0:54:41 > 0:54:46used rope and got down to any point on the stack and climbed back up again.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49Why not? It's not just the attaining the summit,
0:54:49 > 0:54:52but part of adventure is the journey getting there.
0:54:52 > 0:54:54So why not rope down a little bit,
0:54:54 > 0:54:57climb back up and see what they can do?
0:54:57 > 0:54:59OK, that's me down!
0:54:59 > 0:55:02OK, well done!
0:55:02 > 0:55:04'Our experience this week
0:55:04 > 0:55:08'just further supports my belief that these people were climbers,
0:55:08 > 0:55:12'very technical-orientated climbers. They would have to have been'
0:55:12 > 0:55:16to organise and premeditate the whole trip to that crossing.
0:55:16 > 0:55:23'They were professional climbers and, although they were
0:55:23 > 0:55:26'not professional climbers through choice, I suspect,
0:55:26 > 0:55:29'in the way that we are professional climbers, you can't help but think
0:55:29 > 0:55:32'that they are going to develop a love
0:55:32 > 0:55:35'for being in that environment in the way that we do.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37'We love taking people into the mountains
0:55:37 > 0:55:40'and teaching them how to climb and when we are not working,
0:55:40 > 0:55:43we go off and do it ourselves, as well.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47'So I don't see why it should be any different for these people.'
0:55:49 > 0:55:50Well done.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52- Good, good.- Excellent.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56- Good climb.- Yeah, I believe you.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00- It's quite a drop to the sea. - Yeah.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04Sorry, guys, I didn't find any birds.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07- It's been a complete waste of time. - It's been a waste of time.
0:56:07 > 0:56:08LAUGHTER
0:56:11 > 0:56:15But there is an unhappy twist to the story of the first ascent.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17Eight years after the climb,
0:56:17 > 0:56:21Malcolm McDonald, the mastermind behind the enterprise,
0:56:21 > 0:56:24is said to have argued with the local minister.
0:56:24 > 0:56:28He left Lewis with a friend and settled on the uninhabited island
0:56:28 > 0:56:32of North Rhona, over 40 miles north, in the Atlantic.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35A year later, both men were found dead.
0:56:38 > 0:56:39As the first recorded ascent,
0:56:39 > 0:56:42the remarkable achievement of the three men of Lewis
0:56:42 > 0:56:44earns its place in the history books.
0:56:44 > 0:56:48Scotland can claim to have invented modern climbing.
0:56:48 > 0:56:53It absolutely wasn't an English invention.
0:56:53 > 0:56:57It's well and truly Scottish. It started in the North West,
0:56:57 > 0:57:01on some of the most interesting and exciting rocks in the UK,
0:57:01 > 0:57:03yet we were at the forefront of world climbing.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07It makes me feel very proud
0:57:07 > 0:57:12of the idiocy of these guys who did it for recreation.
0:57:12 > 0:57:14I just envy them that they were able to do it,
0:57:14 > 0:57:20as I envy my father and his generation in this community here,
0:57:20 > 0:57:23where they were able to undertake these climbs
0:57:23 > 0:57:25and come away unscathed.
0:57:25 > 0:57:30'Donald McDonald must have been a very, very competent man.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33It sounds from the accounts that we have heard
0:57:33 > 0:57:37that going climbing on the cliffs without a rope
0:57:37 > 0:57:39was just something they did for fun.
0:57:39 > 0:57:44We are obviously fascinated in their lifestyle.
0:57:45 > 0:57:49It's interesting that they had that outlook that life was about -
0:57:49 > 0:57:53at least partly about - enjoying themselves and having fun
0:57:53 > 0:57:58and doing this feat of daring or adventure
0:57:58 > 0:58:00or whatever you want to call it.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05They have done this through enjoyment. They have come
0:58:05 > 0:58:10along to make their mark, I suppose, as men.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12Total respect.
0:58:14 > 0:58:19It just leaves me with a great, sort of, thought
0:58:19 > 0:58:23of a bygone civilisation, really,
0:58:23 > 0:58:27a generation of people that there will never be again.
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