Trip Report
Skeleton Ridge, The Needles - Isle of Wight
Tuesday October 18, 2016 1:12am
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Captain Scarlet on the super-exposed razor thin arête of the infamous ...
Captain Scarlet on the super-exposed razor thin arête of the infamous 6th and final pitch of Skeleton Ridge. À Cheval! ;-)
Credit: Bald Eagle
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Warm greetings SuperTopo'rs on a cool grey day from Bristol in the UK!

I've had a dig into the Bald Eagle vaults and here's a short film I made earlier this summer about a recent trip to the Isle of Wight for a sortie on one of the great UK Adventure Routes called "Skeleton Ridge" at the iconic Needles by Totland Bay. First climbed by the legendary Mick Fowler in November 1984, this 5 star HVS esoteric but "chalky delight" has gained cult classic status over the years and comprises about 160 metres of climbing over 6 pitches with some of the most outrageously face melting exposure you will find in the UK.

So on Saturday 28th of May at 8.15am, my buddies and I did a short ab into the Battery Moat just to access the abseil stake, followed by a 90 metre chalky and chossy rap into Scratchell Bay. Unsurprisingly chalk is rather a strange medium to climb and I thought it would be a bit like climbing feta cheese! However it is remarkably hard and solid (for chalk!) although there is always a wee nagging doubt that a hold or ledge may explode at anytime. Once established on the route, a rollercoaster ride of buttock-clenching ridge featuring amazeballs arêtes and fantastic fins of à cheval awesomeness on the edge of nothing are clambered whilst gaining around 90 metres in height all the way up to the Old Battery where we topped out just over 3 hours later at around 12 noon.

For any parties interested in climbing Skeleton Ridge please note that you require advance permission from the National Trust Administrator on 01983 754772 at the Old Battery and also to notify the Solent Coastguard on 02392 552100 on the day of your climb, before and after so that a rescue is not mounted unnecessarily. Although the climb is technically not that hard or sustained, with the crux 3rd and 6th pitches graded at about 4c, it is a serious and committing adventure requiring a 90 metre abseil into Scratchell Bay and the start of route is extremely tidal so make sure you get down well before low tide or you will be in for a wade or worse. I would recommend leaving a 50 metre rope in-situ at the top of the route due to the lack of anchors whilst most of the belays have an assortment of pegs in varying states of rusting decay which need backing up. We all carried rope ascenders as insurance in case of retreat and used a lot of large slings plus a few hexes and nuts on the route itself. It would also be fair to say that chalk is definitely not required so leave the chalk bags at home...

Anyway the entertainment was duly recorded so for anyone interested in viewing a short video featuring kestrels, time lapses, chalky shenanigans, exposure on steroids plus some aerial drone footage then this is the story of our trip:

[Click to View YouTube Video]

All constructive feedback welcome, please feel free to share and if you are ever visiting the UK, hopefully it will inspire a few of you lovely people to hop on a ferry to visit the Isle of Wight and climb on one of the great adventure routes of the UK! :-)

Cheers and Happy Climbing!

Dave

  Trip Report Views: 3,019
Bald Eagle
About the Author
Bald Eagle is a trad climber from the UK who likes to boldly go where quite a few people have been before... :-)

Comments
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
  Oct 18, 2016 - 03:18am PT
Looks like quite the adventure!
Are those the same cliffs allister Crowley use to climb on???
Looks a tad choosy.
thebravecowboy

climber
The Good Places
  Oct 18, 2016 - 07:03am PT
climbing coccoliths! super cool!

facemelting is a good word for that whippped-cream arete!
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
  Oct 18, 2016 - 07:30am PT

Just watched your Skeleton Ridge video. I should say your matron needs
to keep a closer eye on your unsupervised outings, lad. That sort of
thing will not bring you to a better grasp of reality, trust me. But
it was another nicely done video, if somewhat sphincter-tightening!
Oh, and those rusty pegs? Who put them in, Aleister Crowley?
BLUEBLOCR

Social climber
joshua tree
  Oct 18, 2016 - 07:39am PT
TFPU!

That looks pretty fun!
lars johansen

Trad climber
West Marin, CA
  Oct 18, 2016 - 08:14am PT
Once again, wonderful. I vaguely remember the article in Mountain with the Fowler group doing the FA. Didn't they use ice axes and crampons at one point?-lars
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
  Oct 18, 2016 - 10:47am PT
outstanding again!
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
  Oct 18, 2016 - 11:29am PT
Bloody well done lads. Good show.
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Oct 19, 2016 - 01:09am PT
Hi Ezra, brave cowboy, Reilly, BLUEBLOCR, lars, Munge + Micronut and a maa-hoosive thanks for taking the time to post some positive feedback and I really appreciate your appreciation!

Alastair Crowley was reputed to be an excellent climber and mountaineer but the first ascent of Skeleton Ridge was by the legendary Mick Fowler and L.Smythe in November 1984 so I think it is safe to say that Mr Crowley did not climb on these cliffs! Unless anyone knows otherwise... ;-)

And Lars yes the FA team did use axes and crampons on the route but I struggle to see what use they would have been for Skeleton Ridge as the chalk is so hard, unlike the area of cliffs used for the Red Bull chalk climbing challenge! Nowadays using axes + poons on Skelly Ridge is considered a flawed ascent!

Happy Wednesday:-)

Cheers Dave
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
  Oct 19, 2016 - 10:30am PT
Beautiful footage by the way also. That drone/afar footage made the whole thing kind of relaxing......gave the feeling that the climb was no rush and that it was just a nice long day on the rock/chalk. Were you placing any actual protection or just using all that rubbish rusty fixed gear all day. My guess is that those belays would pull in the event of a fall. Did they inspire much confidence?
Rick A

climber
Boulder, Colorado
  Oct 19, 2016 - 09:51am PT
Spectacular and a joy to watch.

Thanks, mate!
newport

Sport climber
UK
  Oct 19, 2016 - 10:28am PT
Bald Eagle has also shot some drone footage of the Old Man of Hoy which is equally inspirational and worth seekng out .
Iirc, Alesteir Crowley climbed Etheldreda's pinnacle at Beachy Head - also chalk, maybe where the confusion arises?
I love these drone shots!
Rhodo-Router

Gym climber
sawatch choss
  Oct 19, 2016 - 12:41pm PT
So no chalk bag?


Or maybe just a bunch of granite powder...
looking sketchy there...

Social climber
Lassitude 33
  Oct 19, 2016 - 03:06pm PT
Great Vid. Makes one want to get out there an do some adventure climbing.
Studly

Trad climber
WA
  Oct 19, 2016 - 03:34pm PT
That was cool.
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Oct 20, 2016 - 01:32am PT
Hey micronut and thanks! Ironically the most worrying part of the day was the 90m rap down the adjacent very loose cliff into Scratchell Bay as it was pretty horrendous being first man down sorting out the rope! As for gear we used all the fixed pegs etc but backed them up wherever possible and the 2 leaders used a lot of large slings, a few nuts and some hexes. As the belays were all backed up I'm reasonably confident they would have held... ;-) Cheers Dave
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Oct 20, 2016 - 01:34am PT
Hey newport I completely forgot and yep you are right Mr Crowley did climb Etheldreda's Pinnacle at Beachy Head so that is probably where the confusion was! :-) Cheers Dave
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Oct 20, 2016 - 01:36am PT
Hi Rick, Rhodo, sketchy and Studly thanks a million for taking the time to post your kind words! I can confirm the chalk bags were definitely left at home... ;-) Cheers Dave
Rustie

climber
Coeur d\\\\\\\'Alene
  Nov 1, 2016 - 01:52pm PT
Another thought provoking outing and sweaty-palm video.
Arn't you supposed to use ice tools for that stuff?!
One knows better than to ask why there are no very deep, glue-in, SS anchors, for the belays at least, but it's sobering to see the climbers pulling so gingerly on the laybacks.
A refreshing change of pace from all the immaculate granite we get around here.
Thanks........
Rustie

climber
Coeur d\\\\\\\'Alene
  Nov 1, 2016 - 02:42pm PT
OK Sorry..........I missed the other comments.

So......Ethical Considerations suggest the use of sharp points would be ungentlemanly.
Do you still use ice tools on the really soft stuff?
I am glad that hexes and long slings are still proving adequate for those long pendulum falls.
The Brits have always been an inspiration when we consider how we can soften our imprint on our home planet.
It's truly Magnificent.

But when I consider reining in my own excesses, my mind tends to stray to that other magnificent exploit: The Charge Of The Light Brigade.
I fear I may have Feet Of Clay after all.

Still......I look forward to your next airborne adventure. Thanks.........


NutAgain!

Trad climber
https://nutagain.org
  Nov 1, 2016 - 02:59pm PT
This looks like it would be a very fun outing, nice position. If my fate takes me to the UK with time to spare for climbing, this would probably be on the short list.

And an inflatable kayak would seem to be appropriate for tagging the summit on some of those islands!
StahlBro

Trad climber
San Diego, CA
  Nov 1, 2016 - 03:09pm PT
Quality stuff lads. The white "stone" and the sea all around. Great positions for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Hendo1

Trad climber
Toronto
  Nov 1, 2016 - 04:27pm PT
What a wonderful video.

I've been to the Needles a number of times (not for climbing) but never got close enough to realize how smooth and hard the chalk is. I always assumed it would be like drywall gypsum.

What was the final anchor at the top? A steel bar pounded into the chalk? It wasn't obvious in the video.
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 2, 2016 - 03:36am PT
So......Ethical Considerations suggest the use of sharp points would be ungentlemanly.
Do you still use ice tools on the really soft stuff?
I am glad that hexes and long slings are still proving adequate for those long pendulum falls.

Still......I look forward to your next airborne adventure. Thanks.........

Hi Rustie yep using axes and poons are not necessary as the chalk is too hard on Skelly Ridge and would not make any impression anyway. Red Bull hold an annual speed climbing competition on some chalk cliffs also on the Isle of Wight and the chalk there is very soft allegedly... :-)
Another vid coming soon so watch this space! :-)
Cheers
Dave
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 2, 2016 - 03:41am PT
Looks really fragile. Trouser filling. And check out the big pile of it that fell off the one side. Oy.

Thanks for the adventure. Nicely done !

Hi NutAgain, Tami and StahlBro and thanks a million for your kind words. Remarkably the chalk on Skeleton Ridge is actually very hard + solid and rather nice to climb on! :-)
Cheers
Dave
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 2, 2016 - 03:53am PT
What a wonderful video.

I've been to the Needles a number of times (not for climbing) but never got close enough to realize how smooth and hard the chalk is. I always assumed it would be like drywall gypsum.

What was the final anchor at the top? A steel bar pounded into the chalk? It wasn't obvious in the video.

Thanks everso Hendo and we used a 50 metre pre-placed rope, rigged from some metalwork on the Old Battery WW2 lookout post, all the way back to the top of the final pitch 6! :-)
Cheers
Dave
Nick Danger

Ice climber
Arvada, CO
  Nov 2, 2016 - 03:00pm PT
What am awesome video of another nutter day. I would love to do something like this if I ever get to the other side of the pond. That last pitch looks really skinny, were you singing in a higher octave at the end of the climb???
Boffo performance dudes, I do look forward to new videos in the future.
Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber
San Francisco
  Nov 2, 2016 - 04:55pm PT
Very cool and original, thank you for sharing!
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 3, 2016 - 03:10am PT
What am awesome video of another nutter day. I would love to do something like this if I ever get to the other side of the pond. That last pitch looks really skinny, were you singing in a higher octave at the end of the climb???
Boffo performance dudes, I do look forward to new videos in the future.

Hey Nick and Vitali thanks a bunch for your kind words! Yup that super-exposed 6th and final pitch was thinner than an anorexic After Eight mint and we were definitely singing soprano at the end! Another new vid coming out soon so watch this space... :-)
Cheers
Dave
Gnome Ofthe Diabase

climber
Out Of Bed
  Nov 7, 2016 - 08:51am PT
BUMP,

Wow!
Not one of the old coots? We will have to up the postin'

I'm not sure what to pick ?
Your suggestions? Or post up.

I posted the 'Cenral Groove' in Flames, next, the ' Green Bridg' of Pembroke
It will be in that other thread....Cool Bridges . .

And this one here. .

http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Old-Man-of-Stoer-sea-stack-in-Scotland/t13058n.html
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 4, 2016 - 02:48am PT
Hey Gnome I was busy filming but here's a few images of the day I clicked off! :-)
Cheers
Dave






Sierra Ledge Rat

Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
  Nov 6, 2016 - 04:39pm PT
Sick
ontheedgeandscaredtodeath

Social climber
Wilds of New Mexico
  Nov 6, 2016 - 07:20pm PT
Love it!!
FRUMY

Trad climber
Bishop,CA
  Nov 6, 2016 - 09:00pm PT
TFPU
Bald Eagle

Trad climber
Author's Reply  Nov 7, 2016 - 01:40am PT
Love it!!

Hey Sierra, ontheedge and FRUMY thanks guys and happy climbing! :-)
Cheers
Dave
Stewart Johnson

Gym climber
top lake
  Nov 7, 2016 - 08:28pm PT
Proper!
Go