Stac an Armin
Encyclopedia
Stac an Armin based on the proper Scottish Gaelic spelling (formerly àrmuinn), is a sea stack in the St Kilda
archipelago
. It is 196 metres (643 ft.) tall, qualifying it as a Marilyn
. It is the highest sea stack in Scotland and the British Isles.
The name Stac an Armin means stack of the soldier/warrior, and evidence remains showing it was used by people living nearby as a hunting grounds. It is not believed to have been inhabited year round, but has hosted some (involuntary) extended stays. Climbing the rocks was once done to collect eggs and has continued in the form of recreational sport. The island was once home to the now extinct Great Auk
, and rules exist to protect the bird habitats and breeding grounds.
Stac an Armin is 400 metres (¼ mi) north of Boreray
and near the 172-metre-high (564 ft) Stac Lee
. Stac an Armin is separated from Boreray by a channel "so littered with rocks" that it should not be sailed, though sailors write passionately about the views.
's description in the early 18th century. Martin wrote about the island after the Scottish writer had visited St Kilda in 1697 and included a few anecdotes about the stack in his A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland published in 1703. It was the first comprehensive book on the archipelago
, to which was appended "A Late Voyage to St Kilda". Martin calls the island "Stack-Narmin."
It was never inhabited full-time, but hunting its bird population helped sustain the way of life of the population of St Kilda, as evidenced by the buildings they left behind. There are no fewer than 78 storage cleitean on Stac an Armin and a small bothy
, built by the St Kildans. Martin describes these cleitean as "pyramids" and wrote they were used to "preserve and dry" birds, especially the "solan goose" (northern gannet
). Martin observed one harvest that brought in 800 birds. In addition to the geese, the islanders used Stac an Armin for harvesting great auk
s, gannet
s, and puffin
s, as well as their eggs. The numerous birds that lived on the island were an important source of sustenance for the people of St Kilda. The dependency of the local population on seabirds was memorialized in a poem by the American poet Deena Linett, "Mary Clare Writes From Uist, 1730":
The longest recorded period anyone ever spent on the island was about nine months. Three men and eight boys from Hirta
were marooned here from about 15 August 1727 until 13 May 1728. As luck would have it, Hirta suffered a smallpox
outbreak while the eleven were on the stack, and thus the islanders were unable to man a boat and retrieve them until the next year. Such temporary accidental occupation of the island may have been a regular event, since Martin Martin also relates, in an anecdote in A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, how a group of some twenty men were stranded on the island for a couple of days after the rope that held their boat broke. They survived by fishing, and communicated to their wives that they were alive and well by lighting "as many fires on the top of an eminence as there were men in number." Martin adds, curiously, that the wives were so overjoyed that they managed to produce a record harvest of corn that year.
The archipelago as a whole was evacuated in 1930, and bequeathed to the National Trust for Scotland
in 1957. Hunting birds is no longer allowed, and the stack is visited only by scientists and the occasional journalist, and, perhaps, some who climb it illegally.
On Stac an Armin, in July, 1840, the last great auk
(Pinguinus impennis) seen in the British Isles was caught and killed. A then 75-yr. old inhabitant of St Kilda told Henry Evans, a frequent visitor to the archipelago, that he and his father-in-law with another man had caught a "garefowl," noticing its little wings and the large white spot on its head. They tied it up and kept it alive for three days, and then killed it by beating it with a stick, apparently because they believed it to be a witch. The last known specimens in the world were killed a few years later either in Eldey
, Iceland
, or off Newfoundland.
, barefoot or in thick socks, using ropes pleated of horse hair. Modern ascents
are few; some may have been done illegally. Peakbagger.com reports no climbs, and Mountaindays.net has no routes, information, or comments; however, chatter among online groups suggests attempts are made. The only verifiable modern ascent happened in 1969, when a group which included Dick Balharry and John Morton Boyd
made a number of ascents in the archipelago, which included climbing Stac an Armin.
Climbing Stac an Armin (and Stac Lee), though attractive ("St Kilda presents some of the most challenging climbing in Britain") is complicated by a number of factors. The climb of Stac an Armin itself is described as "little easier than Stac Lee," but the topography makes it a "major expedition" and "the weather can make nonsense of any landing plans." The stack is accessible only with difficulty; more importantly, since the entire archipelago is both a National Nature Reserve
and a World Heritage Site
(principally for the cliffs and seabird colonies) managed by Scottish Natural Heritage
(SNH), climbing is strictly regulated since it potentially disturbs the natural and cultural heritage and particularly the rich birdlife; according to the 2003 Management Plan, "For natural heritage interests, natural processes will normally be allowed to continue without intervention."
The 2003 Management Plan is quite specific about the dangers of climbing in St Kilda: the object of prescription 21.5 is to "Ensure that breeding seabirds are not disturbed by climbing on the cliffs," though the Plan suggests the allowance of climbing the cliffs under strictly monitored circumstances. Prescription 26.4 states that a policy that satisfies climbers and does not violate the Trust's mission is to be developed. The Trust's strict but preliminary position on climbing was formalized quite explicitly:
The Mountaineering Council of Scotland, in a review of the plan, "recommends that the NTS celebrate the historical importance and the cultural heritage of the climbing on the Islands of St Kilda."
St Kilda, Scotland
St Kilda is an isolated archipelago west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom and three other islands , were also used for...
archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
. It is 196 metres (643 ft.) tall, qualifying it as a Marilyn
Marilyn (hill)
A Marilyn is a mountain or hill in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland or Isle of Man with a relative height of at least 150 metres , regardless of absolute height or other merit...
. It is the highest sea stack in Scotland and the British Isles.
The name Stac an Armin means stack of the soldier/warrior, and evidence remains showing it was used by people living nearby as a hunting grounds. It is not believed to have been inhabited year round, but has hosted some (involuntary) extended stays. Climbing the rocks was once done to collect eggs and has continued in the form of recreational sport. The island was once home to the now extinct Great Auk
Great Auk
The Great Auk, Pinguinus impennis, formerly of the genus Alca, was a large, flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus, a group of birds that formerly included one other species of flightless giant auk from the Atlantic Ocean...
, and rules exist to protect the bird habitats and breeding grounds.
Stac an Armin is 400 metres (¼ mi) north of Boreray
Boreray, St Kilda
Boreray is an uninhabited island in the St Kilda archipelago in the North Atlantic.-Geography:Boreray lies about 66 km west-north-west of North Uist. It covers about , and reaches a height of at Mullach an Eilein....
and near the 172-metre-high (564 ft) Stac Lee
Stac Lee
Stac Lee is a sea stack in the St Kilda group, Scotland. An island Marilyn, it is home to part of the world's largest colony of Northern Gannet.-Geography and geology:Martin Martin called the island "Stac-Ly"; other sources call it "Stac Lii."...
. Stac an Armin is separated from Boreray by a channel "so littered with rocks" that it should not be sailed, though sailors write passionately about the views.
History and people
The first written account of the island was Martin MartinMartin Martin
Martin Martin was a Scottish writer best known for his work A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland . This book is particularly noted for its information on the St Kilda archipelago...
's description in the early 18th century. Martin wrote about the island after the Scottish writer had visited St Kilda in 1697 and included a few anecdotes about the stack in his A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland published in 1703. It was the first comprehensive book on the archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
, to which was appended "A Late Voyage to St Kilda". Martin calls the island "Stack-Narmin."
It was never inhabited full-time, but hunting its bird population helped sustain the way of life of the population of St Kilda, as evidenced by the buildings they left behind. There are no fewer than 78 storage cleitean on Stac an Armin and a small bothy
Bothy
A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are to be found in remote, mountainous areas of Scotland, northern England, Ireland, and Wales....
, built by the St Kildans. Martin describes these cleitean as "pyramids" and wrote they were used to "preserve and dry" birds, especially the "solan goose" (northern gannet
Northern Gannet
The Northern Gannet is a seabird and is the largest member of the gannet family, Sulidae.- Description :Young birds are dark brown in their first year, and gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years.Adults are long, weigh and have a wingspan...
). Martin observed one harvest that brought in 800 birds. In addition to the geese, the islanders used Stac an Armin for harvesting great auk
Great Auk
The Great Auk, Pinguinus impennis, formerly of the genus Alca, was a large, flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus, a group of birds that formerly included one other species of flightless giant auk from the Atlantic Ocean...
s, gannet
Gannet
Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.The gannets are large black and white birds with yellow heads. They have long pointed wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up...
s, and puffin
Puffin
Puffins are any of three small species of auk in the bird genus Fratercula with a brightly coloured beak during the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among...
s, as well as their eggs. The numerous birds that lived on the island were an important source of sustenance for the people of St Kilda. The dependency of the local population on seabirds was memorialized in a poem by the American poet Deena Linett, "Mary Clare Writes From Uist, 1730":
Hirta
Hirta is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, on the western edge of Scotland. The name "Hiort" and "Hirta" have also been applied to the entire archipelago.-Geography:...
were marooned here from about 15 August 1727 until 13 May 1728. As luck would have it, Hirta suffered a smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
outbreak while the eleven were on the stack, and thus the islanders were unable to man a boat and retrieve them until the next year. Such temporary accidental occupation of the island may have been a regular event, since Martin Martin also relates, in an anecdote in A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, how a group of some twenty men were stranded on the island for a couple of days after the rope that held their boat broke. They survived by fishing, and communicated to their wives that they were alive and well by lighting "as many fires on the top of an eminence as there were men in number." Martin adds, curiously, that the wives were so overjoyed that they managed to produce a record harvest of corn that year.
The archipelago as a whole was evacuated in 1930, and bequeathed to the National Trust for Scotland
National Trust for Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...
in 1957. Hunting birds is no longer allowed, and the stack is visited only by scientists and the occasional journalist, and, perhaps, some who climb it illegally.
The last great auk in Britain
Great Auk
The Great Auk, Pinguinus impennis, formerly of the genus Alca, was a large, flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus, a group of birds that formerly included one other species of flightless giant auk from the Atlantic Ocean...
(Pinguinus impennis) seen in the British Isles was caught and killed. A then 75-yr. old inhabitant of St Kilda told Henry Evans, a frequent visitor to the archipelago, that he and his father-in-law with another man had caught a "garefowl," noticing its little wings and the large white spot on its head. They tied it up and kept it alive for three days, and then killed it by beating it with a stick, apparently because they believed it to be a witch. The last known specimens in the world were killed a few years later either in Eldey
Eldey
Eldey is a small island about off the coast of the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest Iceland. Located west-southwest of Reykjavík, the island of Eldey covers an area of about , and rises to a height of . Its sheer cliffs are home to large numbers of birds, including one of the largest Northern Gannet...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, or off Newfoundland.
Climbing the stack
Native St Kildans have climbed Stac an Armin and other cliffs in St Kilda for centuries in order to harvest birds and eggs; they climbed alpine-styleAlpine style
Alpine style refers to mountaineering in a self-sufficient manner, thereby carrying all of one's food, shelter, equipment etc. as one climbs, as opposed to expedition style mountaineering which involves setting up a fixed line of stocked camps on the mountain which can be accessed at one's leisure...
, barefoot or in thick socks, using ropes pleated of horse hair. Modern ascents
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
are few; some may have been done illegally. Peakbagger.com reports no climbs, and Mountaindays.net has no routes, information, or comments; however, chatter among online groups suggests attempts are made. The only verifiable modern ascent happened in 1969, when a group which included Dick Balharry and John Morton Boyd
John Morton Boyd
Dr John Morton Boyd CBE was a Scottish zoologist, writer and conservationist. He was a pioneer of nature conservation in Scotland....
made a number of ascents in the archipelago, which included climbing Stac an Armin.
Climbing Stac an Armin (and Stac Lee), though attractive ("St Kilda presents some of the most challenging climbing in Britain") is complicated by a number of factors. The climb of Stac an Armin itself is described as "little easier than Stac Lee," but the topography makes it a "major expedition" and "the weather can make nonsense of any landing plans." The stack is accessible only with difficulty; more importantly, since the entire archipelago is both a National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserves in Scotland
National Nature Reserves in Scotland are established by Scottish Natural Heritage. Until 2004 there were 73 National Nature Reserves in Scotland, as per the list below...
and a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
(principally for the cliffs and seabird colonies) managed by Scottish Natural Heritage
Scottish Natural Heritage
Scottish Natural Heritage is a Scottish public body. It is responsible for Scotland's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and scenic diversity. It advises the Scottish Government and acts as a government agent in the delivery of conservation designations, i.e...
(SNH), climbing is strictly regulated since it potentially disturbs the natural and cultural heritage and particularly the rich birdlife; according to the 2003 Management Plan, "For natural heritage interests, natural processes will normally be allowed to continue without intervention."
The Mountaineering Council of Scotland, in a review of the plan, "recommends that the NTS celebrate the historical importance and the cultural heritage of the climbing on the Islands of St Kilda."