Story of the first successful ascent of Ball's Pyramid

Ball’s Pyramid lies about twelve miles southeast of Lord Howe Island in the Pacific Ocean. The formation is a remnant of a shield volcano and caldera that formed about 7 million years ago. Ball’s Pyramid is based on the Lord Howe Rise, part of the submerged continent of Zealandia.
The Ball’s Pyramid is 1,843 feet high, while measuring only 3,609 feet in length and 984 feet across, making it the tallest volcanic stack in the world. Ball’s Pyramid has a few satellite islets. On the west side about 2,600 feet away is Observatory Rock and Wheatsheaf Islet. On the southeast side of Ball’s Pyramid about 2 miles away is a pinnacle called Southeast Rock.
The pyramid was named after Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball, who discovered it in 1788. The first person to go ashore is believed to have been Henry Wilkinson in 1882, who was a geologist at the New South Wales Department of Mines.
Steep, eroded, and formed about seven million years ago, the Ball’s Pyramid is positioned in the center of a submarine shelf and is surrounded by rough seas, making any approach difficult. It sits off Australia, in the South Pacific Ocean approximately 400 miles northeast of Sydney, New South Wales.
It was first successfully climbed by a party from Sydney Rockclimbing Club in 1965 led by Bryden Allen.
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#BallsPyramid #LordHoweIsland #PacificOcean
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[@geofflongford2008]

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.

[@williambarry8015]

Going there to film seabirds is super cool also.

[@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665]

An they bought back the wetta to the main islands .... Lord Howes islands were the last place to be served by a flyingboat service.

[@PunaSquirrel]

Wow!!! That is awesome. Must have been quite the sight🤙🏼🌴

[@lornarettig3215]

What a lovely story; thank you for sharing 🤗

[@kimthreadgold2755]

Thank you for sharing your amazing experience. What you did that day, by deciding not to continue, demonstrated the following; Good decision making, respect for expert climbers and most important respect for yourself. Becoming an elite climber takes years. Most, I am sure , have almost died on numerous occasions. Watching a couple of videos on Facebook, buying the best gear and having $75,000 to climb Everest...doesn't mean you can or should.

[@davymckeown4577]

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.

[@eslnoob191]

I was hoping someone in the comment section would point this out. A truly incredible story!

[@michaelhill6451]

Lol. Yeah. That's what the world needs, more stick insects.

[@davymckeown4577]

@@michaelhill6451 Apparently they taste like chicken.

[@big566bunny]

@@davymckeown4577 Funny!? That’s what the Stickies say about humans.😮😮

[@davymckeown4577]

@@big566bunny I don't know. Hannibal Lector said we go well with fava beans and a nice chianti. From this I conclude human must resemble red meat.

[@oijosh6286]

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!)

[@fredbloggs4829]

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.

[@garysheppard4028]

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.

[@jc4evur661]

Kind of reminds me of Ship Rock in New Mexico

[@pikiwiki]

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

[@terrylandess6072]

This came out of nowhere like a real life horror story.

[@pikiwiki]

@@terrylandess6072 real life. that's the interesting part

[@MikeBrown-dk7or]

In Brazil, I was stung by a centipede. It was no joke. I felt hot and in pain for about 8 hours. Centipedes are very aggressive and rear up ready to fight.

[@pikiwiki]

@@MikeBrown-dk7or yes they do!

[@stediasse]

@@pikiwiki I was wondering why the successful party didn't seem to have issues with them. Did the first party make up stories about centipedes as an excuse?

[@kevindickey6020]

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 KZbin. Great work - my first time on the channel and I’m about to subscribe.

[@epicadventurearchives]

Thanks

[@georgesheffield1580]

Reminds me of shiprock in North west New Mexico

[@downtoearth1950]

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

[@mfsperring]

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

[@lisadolan689]

His English is excellent however the subtitles are cool. I agree. 🙂

[@danny26ini]

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.

[@AvanaVana]

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!

[@caillansainsbury6010]

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.

[@ansonlee3714]

Extraordinary

[@studebaker4217]

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

[@epicadventurearchives]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@jhors7777]

Thank you for posting this interesting video

[@werquantum]

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

[@judyo923]

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!

[@epicadventurearchives]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@andora2985]

I wonder if the “centipedes” were actually the Lord Howe Stick insect, which I believe is the largest insect in the world.

[@dukecity7688]

@@andora2985 The centipedes!! Yikes- that's terrifying.

[@vermicelledecheval5219]

​@@andora2985 I believe the same. These are actually some sort of local giant prehistoric stick insects thought to be extinct on the main island. Therefore they were collected to reform a new population so to preserve the species.

[@dulls8475]

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

[@williambarry8015]

Going there on a sailboat sounds like one heck of an adventure.

[@dulls8475]

@@williambarry8015 I was young and hope to do more. I am between boats! It was fun and in a well built yacht a safe adventure.

[@williambarry8015]

@@dulls8475 I've only been in a sailboat once. It was my brother's small single mast 30 footer at the most. We went out past the breakwater in San Pedro California. It was then that I realized how big that ocean was. I couldn't imagine going 20 miles in that thing let alone going hundreds. Since then I've had huge respect for people that go long distances in sailboats. I realized

[@gabrielplattes6253]

Loved it! ✌😄

[@offshoretomorrow3346]

Wow. Never saw it before.

[@fredflorist1682]

Closed Caption was excellent and necessary.

[@michaelangelo7511]

Very interesting and very well done. 👍🏻🇺🇸

[@MoreliaAustralia]

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.

[@rudolfglaser9664]

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) ;)

[@spikeyflo]

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.

[@aquaman7356]

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.

[@ananda_miaoyin]

I am a decent rock climber and a not so shitty sailor but I'll have to keep this one off of the bucket list. Sharks and giant centipedes are enough for me to stay away. I'll keep chillin with the rattlesnakes here in Northern Cali. Joshua Tree is a cool spot.

[@davidotness6199]

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

[@christophers5990]

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!

[@MoreFormosa]

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

[@apexxxx10]

*Please change narrator and INCLUDE METRIC MEASUREMENT! UNLESS YOUR VIDEOS ARE ONLY FOR US (UNITED STATES) CITIZENS!*

[@vilstef6988]

What an amazing, vertigo inducing place!

[@billyboyles]

I enjoyed the story and the presentation .thank you

[@attentiondeficitsquirrel7660]

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.

[@ripoffrecords]

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.

[@medea27]

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. 👌

[@Bando-fx4mf]

I couldn’t understand the iRabian language he spoke. Do you have English version???

[@normar3263]

@@Bando-fx4mf He spoke English clearly and better than you probably ever can

[@JodyRobson-oz8lx]

Need balls for that one

[@johnmacmillan627]

Fascinating. Thank you!

[@tedfurlo2268]

Beautiful, fascinating documentary. Thank you.

[@Fomites]

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

[@andrewtannenbaum1]

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

[@lisadolan689]

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

[@epicadventurearchives]

My pleasure!

[@lisadolan689]

@@epicadventurearchives 🙏☺️

[@Jyothife]

Wow great adventure and very good video. More please.

[@skcyclist]

Enjoyed it very much, thank you.

[@robmarino314]

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

[@100bgeagle]

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

[@nzmeateater]

Interesting vid, thanks for sharing,👍

[@taylorg8509]

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

[@Buford_T_Justice1]

This was GREAT! Thank you!

[@epicadventurearchives]

You're very welcome!

[@Nefville]

Great video, thanks!

[@robote7679]

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

[@seanmcardle]

Terrifying

[@crazyhorse5163]

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

[@kacornish1]

I had never heard of this place. Great video.

[@lau_dhondt]

Awesome adventure. Thank for the enjoyable vid

[@muumarlin1731]

Great video!

[@TheLucidor]

Nice work. Interesting story 👍

[@stuarthobart6844]

Well done👍

[@markjoyce3172]

The mess they made with the centipedes was horrific

[@rebeccahylant7695]

Amazing.

[@xenostim]

Super interesting and excellent narration

[@beakhammer2638]

Great video.Thanks . From Ireland

[@stevenmqcueen7576]

Very well done.

[@williambarry8015]

Excellent video.

[@steveaumann6335]

A most excellent video 👍👍.

[@epicadventurearchives]

Many thanks!

[@2011Matz]

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

[@MrInfinitefinality]

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

[@monicapushkin3274]

This place is so magnificently terrifying !!

[@Dowell318]

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.

[@ValensBellator]

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

[@katgrey6239]

This looks like godzilla in hibernation!!!

[@borgimplant]

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

[@markinnes4264]

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

[@bob456fk6]

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.)

[@sipius22]

It takes balls to do that!

[@Andrew-df1dr]

Please use the metric system.

[@kwd3109]

As an American, I appreciated the use of the imperial measurements. It made understanding the distances and heights much easier and therefore this well presented film more interesting.

[@Andrew-df1dr]

@@kwd3109 As an American you should understand the metric system as it's so simple to use. Literally units of ten. As a person not living in Liberia, Myanmar or the USA, I understand the imperial system as we are taught it in school. Indeed here in Australia, we changed from the imperial to the metric system in the 1970s. As the metric system is far superior to the imperial system in every way.

[@epg9274]

It’s in imperial because this happened in the 60s in/with people from the British commonwealth who used imperial at the time so all the original measurements from the sources would be in imperial if you converted it to metric you get really weird numbers that just don’t sound right as estimated distances and really people should know how to use both oh and I’m not an American my contrary is mostly metric and I would say more or less the same if some American was saying the same about metric measurements

[@apexxxx10]

@@kwd3109 *Please change narrator and INCLUDE METRIC MEASUREMENT! UNLESS YOUR VIDEOS ARE ONLY FOR US (UNITED STATES) CITIZENS!*

[@clarkg9805]

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

[@frankyjoy222]

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.

[@lawrencet83]

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.

[@phototrap1]

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

[@zonzeven]

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.

[@perrydoig2872]

I had the same thought at first, but if you compare a 100ft terrace at the summit to the fact that it’s an almost 1900ft pinnacle, it makes more sense.

[@filmflour]

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

[@maxprivate3805]

It needs a golf course.

[@Foxyfreedom]

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

[@joeanderson8839]

You have to have some big balls to climb it.

[@clydesimpson1462]

They call it Balls Pyramid because you need a set to climb it.

[@TimClatworthy]

🤣🤣👍👍

[@Bird22]

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

[@KS-hj6xn]

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

[@douglasthompson2740]

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.

[@tedsmith6137]

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

[@dominiclester3232]

Debatable! It’s well north of NZ and the Tasman sea is between oz and NZ...

[@tedsmith6137]

@@dominiclester3232 North of the Tasman Sea is the Coral Sea. Still not the Pacific Ocean.

[@warrenolmsted]

But the Tasman Sea and Coral Sea are simply divisions or sections of the Pacific, in the same way that states or provinces are part of a country. It’s perfectly correct to say Ball’s Pyramid is in the Pacific Ocean.

[@86BBUB]

Semantics. Most seas are considered subdivisions of oceans in general conversation. Nobody cares about the IHO's arbitrary designations.

[@dominiclester3232]

@@tedsmith6137 Thanks! I didn’t know that and there is probably lots of smaller seas I’m ignorant of.

[@wyqtor]

This is probably the steepest mountain that Australia has.

[@IonianGarden]

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

[@dennisfitzgerald9434]

Wow. Man Eating Centipedes.

[@ianobrien3248]

I wanna know more about the angry centipedes.

[@markw999]

10:24 - Where did the aerial shot come from?

[@TraphouseTCG]

Raise Zealandia now!

[@willisknapick4405]

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

[@Davemurray2880isaindian]

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

[@deldridg]

Well, I've learned something there. Having had years of regular holidays at LHI, now I know it's part of Zealandia, despite being in NSW! Cheers and thanks - Dave

[@Davemurray2880isaindian]

@@deldridg perhaps we could decide these things by, say, rugby tests?

[@deldridg]

@richardmchugh7884 As much as I hate to admit it, I think that would be far too risky for us poor little Skippylanders! Assuming you are a Kiwi, I absolutely love your homeland and we love to travel to your fine shores. Have done Tongariro several times! Cheers, Dave

[@MartinK1991]

Good thing is there is water all around if you fall.

[@eduardobarragan1426]

That's the piece missing from half Dome