About 30 years ago I was lucky enough to land on Balls Pyramid with some park rangers. The landing was really tricky as the sea was pretty choppy and the steep terrain. I was on an assignment filming the seabirds of Lord Howe Island. It was way too steep for my level of skill, basically zero, but I did scale about twenty metres or so before I said "stuff this for a joke" and came down. We, or more like the rangers, were looking for the endemic stick insect but missed out. I got some nice shots of some seabirds like the Brown Noddies and Grey Noddy or Ternlet. An unforgettable experience and the fact people have scaled the Pyramid is astonishing.

Thanks for your work, watched a nature program about this unusual island. A large stick-insect called Lord Howe Stick Insect, endemic to the island group but thought extinct since the 1920s, was rediscovered on the pyramid in 2001. A captive breeding program was introduced in Australia, with plans to reintroduce them to the main island.

That was a real adventure, it must have been an amazing experience. It was cool seeing this, especially as my first girlfriend's dad was part of the team, John Davis (hope you're going well Sophie!)

This was an excellent video. It was totally engaging, despite the narrator speaking English as a non-native, despite the very limited footage he had to work with, and despite not using the jokey, rapid-fire style that we associate with KZfaq. Great work - my first time on the channel and I’m about to subscribe.

We went there last year. It's quite other-worldly as it rises from the ocean. Hundreds of birds circling it and flying fish zooming across the waves. Amazing place.

Great video. I really enjoyed your presentation style. Makes a change from the stupidly fast pace many presenters seem to think is a good idea.

Appreciated the subtitles. Different type of climbing then I usually watch so it made for a nice change plus not a story I was familiar with. Thanks

While in the US Navy I was stationed aboard the USS Maury AGS 16 (Auxiliary Geographical Survey) from 1960 to 63. During that time the Maury conducted 9 month surveys of the Gulf of Thailand. I was a member of the Hydrographic Division, the division in charge of surveying and charting the data obtained. As we sailed the Pacific and South China Sea to and from the Gulf we stood depth sounding watches. I had the mid-watch the morning we passed over and charted the deepest part of the Marianas Trench, over 6500 fathoms. Navigation Dept. would keep us advised if our charted course would take us near submerged sea mounts, pinnacles such as Balls Pyramid, but that did not reach the surface of the seas. The transducer sonar signals emanating from the Maury's keel would reflect from the sea floor and return, being recorded on a graph that was marked every 5 minutes. The graph paper was a lengthly spool rolling across the face of the device that had to be replaced as the feed spool warned of its end. When a mount was expected the ship would slow and the graph would change from a straight horizontal etched line indicating the ocean floor, as an example 2000 fathoms, to a near vertical line on the graph. The marker would travel from the bottom of the paper to the top then start again, bottom to top over and over again until we sailed over mount's peak. Then the opposite graphing would start, from top to bottom of the paper, over and over until the sonar signal indicated it was again retrieved from the ocean floor. From the graph we could determine the pinnacle's height, depth from the surface and exact location. That information would eventually be implemented to update nautical charts as needed.

"the team spent the night with hammers raised against the large centipedes which were constantly advancing against them" This was very interesting. Thank you

What a UNIQUE climb! How beautiful - and dangerous. Centipedes?! In the night?! That's scary! I love your channel. It's so interesting. Thanks for posting this!

Fascinating rock. Many thanks for an excellent story, very well told, as usual on your channel.

I know the current owner of the sailboat Tai Hoa which went on that epic climbing expedition. Infact im heading sailing in Tasmania on it next week! Still has an old pic of the crew inside.

I sailed past this amazing peak in early 1982 and have never forgotten it 😊😊😊😊😊

Great video and interesting info. In 1980 I climbed Mt Gower, on Lord Howe, with a guide. We had a wonderful view of the Pyramid from the summit and I have some great photos taken with my old telephoto lens. It's fantastic to see your video of the Pyramid close up.

As a geology nut with a special interest in obscure volcanic provinces, I am surprised that I had never heard of this island before I watched this video!

Reminds me of shiprock in North west New Mexico

Never heard of this place - at 65, and surfer for over half my life. Internet has revealed much. Quite an adventure here for rock climbers. I tried I once, in my early days. Joshua tree, with experienced guys. repelling down was😊 so scary yet, so exhilarating. One time was it for me.

Ι remember David Witham back at the time he was chief instructor at the Outward Bound School near Sydney. I was only a small boy back then but I recall him always always joking around. He is still alive.

As a child I had read the book "Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver" by Michael Ende and imagined an island described there (where the two found the unipolar magnets) as Ball's Pyramid really looks like. This video has quasi confirmed the pictures in my head (which are there since 1966) ;)

Kind of reminds me of Ship Rock in New Mexico

Brilliant video… always love hearing about crazy Aussies! 💙 Ball's Pyramid is a spectacular sight, both from the air & the sea... and I can attest to how rough the water gets! I got to enjoy a scenic flight and a boat cruise around it with my family back in the 80's while on holiday on Lord Howe.... the boat was pitching & rolling so much on one side of the Pyramid that everyone onboard - including the crew - got motion sick! That whole area on & around Lord Howe Island is absolutely spectacular… a true nature-lover’s paradise with lots of unique flora, fauna & geology. 👌

Thank you for posting this interesting video

I sailed passed it in my boat on 2003. A spectacular rock.

A grand story of human achievement against the elements. Thank you for the presentation. G'day from Alaska.

I hope to visit it sometime, definitely my sort of travel location, although I don't think I'd be keen to climb it. Thanks for sharing that was very interesting.

I was going to add this to my bucket list, but then you briefly mentioned giant centipedes. I’m out.

I enjoyed the story and the presentation .thank you

Closed Caption was excellent and necessary.

Thank you for your efforts Narrator 🙏☺️ once again, excellent content.

Extraordinary

Beautiful, fascinating documentary. Thank you.

I'm really glad u put the big red arrow in the thumbnail or I wouldn't have been able to see the island. Thanks!

Wow. Never saw it before.

your a good narrator, your accent and the music are very relaxing, lulls me to sleep.

Great story. Imagine drinking alcohol in that situation. Sounds like government overreach, banning mountain climbing because of safety. Perhaps certification is in line though.

Great story, well-told :-) Thank you.

I was listening without reading the subtitles and I thought you were saying “farties” and I was very confused when they had so much gas. But I’m sure your English is better than my ability to speak your language. Great content.

Loved it! ✌😄

Fascinating. Thank you!

Wow great adventure and very good video. More please.

Very interesting and very well done. 👍🏻🇺🇸

What an amazing, vertigo inducing place!

Totally different subject...Ball's Pyramid is 1,877 ft. tall. The tallest wave ever recorded was in 1958 in Alaska, 1,720 ft. If you were 157 ft. below the summit, you would be swept away. That's a big wave.

The comment about centipedes got me doing some research. It turns out that there is a giant stick insect that went extinct on Lord Howe Island due to rats. But a small number of the insects were discovered much later on Ball's Pyramid. The Ball's Pyramid insects are being bred in order to bring back the species

What a curious structure , climbing it seems like a logistical nightmare

Interesting vid, thanks for sharing,👍

Excellent thank you. I never even heard of that place.

Excellent work here I was so curious on how it was first climbed thank you 🙏

I sailed on Tai Hoa on weekends when Lloyd Williams and others were practicing sun-sights for the trip to the Pyramid.

Please use the metric system.

Enjoyed it very much, thank you.

Great video, thanks!

The hell with the rock, the tuna and wahoo fishing must be off the charts!

Nice work. Interesting story 👍

I had never heard of this place. Great video.

I'm curious how deep is the water in that area? What a beautiful place to visit.

The mess they made with the centipedes was horrific

This story is really adventurous and fun. Advice for the future slow down and annunciate a little more without subtitles its hard to understand at times. As well as share the story with enthusiasm its such a cool story yet its shared in a yawn 'this is boring enjoy' type of mood.

Great video!

Awesome adventure. Thank for the enjoyable vid

Well done👍

Amazing.

Need balls for that one

Thanks for a great story. Giant centipedes...that sounds, ehhh, cool?

Terrifying

I can't believe they were still using natural fiber rope in 1965 on their climb. Much heavier and weaker than modern synthetics of the time. I would have thought climbers would have long since gone to the stronger lighter gear by the mid sixties.

I'd be captured by pirates before I even got to the balls pyramid.

To be correct, Ball's Pyramid is in the Tasman Sea, not the Pacific Ocean.

Thank you for this video, I have a question about the text at 11:53 : "The summit was a small level platform about 30 yards in diameter ..." Are you sure about the size ? On 30 yards one could land a chopper. It looks like a 30 inch platform.

Why do people put forced cc on videos? KZfaq has the option if I need it.

Great content.

Very nice video ! Its the remnants of a giant petrified tree

How deep is the water around Ball's Pyramid? I take it the cliff continues quite a way.

A most excellent video 👍👍.

Ball's Pyramid is part of the Australian state of New South Wales.

A similar formation can be found at Pinnacle Rock, south side of St.Mattews Island Alaska. Volcanic.. Very tall sheer cliffs. Rugged and looming. Probably impossible to land safely and dangerous to climb. I thought it looked like Superman's Island. Lol

This was GREAT! Thank you!

This place is so magnificently terrifying !!

After reading the title to this, my first thought was that the uploader mispelled Baal. I guess that's not the case.

This is a great video ! Thank you ! Actually, I never heard of this place, it's quite fascinating. 🙂 Some people had a problem with the narrator's accent. (I can read English, I had no problem.)

It's called Ball's Pyramid because you better have big ones to climb it.

Super interesting and excellent narration

So it's, in terms of a continent, it's in New Zealand not Skippyland

Great video.Thanks . From Ireland

Only crazy people want to climb such dangerous situations like this place. It is a very interesting story to see and learn about, thanks.

They brought a bottle of champagne but not a cup? 😂

This looks like godzilla in hibernation!!!

That's the piece missing from half Dome

Very well done.

It takes balls to do that!

You don't supply the leader with supplies...not on a short route like this. One person belays the leader...the team switches off leaders as people become tired or encounter terrain too difficult for them. You often go up and down many times...and its rare that one person put up an entire new challenging route...especially in a place like that.

Was gonna say…no one knows where lord Howe island is. Thanks for saying off of Australia. Makes way more sense

Use metrics too, please...!! There is an overwhelming majority in the world that uses this system of measurements...

Excellent video.

Omg it has centipedes on it? When I saw my first centipede, I'd be like "Sorry guys, I'm going home." I can't stand those buggers.

I wanna know more about the angry centipedes.

It was sad to hear about the brutal way they drove pins into that ancient rock, just to claim a first ascent. Man's ego knows no bounds. I'm glad to hear that further climbs are regulated and that the wildlife there which had gone unmolested for so many years is safe once again. I hope these men removed all their trash, leaving the environment clean of all traces. Great video as always, thank you.

Looked at the tiny screen shot of a mountain in my KZfaq suggestions an thought this was a Minecraft video.

It's crazy how government limits access to select land and activities due to "environmental" and "safety" concerns. This seems to be the growing global trend, with no end in sight.

Surprised Alex didn't try this ascent. Say with Caldwell.