Climbing News

As the final plan of management for Kuringai Chase National Park makes clear, climbing without a permit in the park is only permitted on Barrenjoey headland. This means that the climbing area of Kalkari (in the western edges of the park) is now off limits to climbing, unless you obtain permission from NPWS. Good luck! ;-)

On a more mundane note - does anyone know any decent free web hosting sites? If so please email me. Geocities has been giving me the right royal shits lately.

During late November 2001, the bouldering wall at the small Sydney crag of Earlwood was retrobolted. An 8m climb of about grade 6 was "created", with 4 ring bolts and a chain. Local boulderers (who have been soloing the route for years) are incensed by this "development", and plan to remove the bolts after a period of public consultation. If you wish to voice your support or objection to this plan, please contact Nick Clow.

For more information on the issues relevant to climbers, see the Sydney Rockclimbing Club website, or keep an eye on the Australian Rockclimbing Newsgroup.

Before writing, please read the report (reproduced below). You can also read the SRC's submission here.

WAVERLEY COUNCIL CLIMBING BAN

P-01
Prohibition of abseiling at Diamond Bay Reserve and elsewhere (2-1-20)

Report dated 3 August 2001 from the Director, Beach Park & Recreation Services, about the proposed prohibition of commercial and other abseiling activities in Diamond Bay Reserve and elsewhere in the Waverley Council area.

Recommended:
That Council
(a) receive and note the information contained in this report;
(b) endorse the prohibition of abseiling and rock climbing in and around Rosa Gully and Diamond Bay Reserve as of 1 October 2001;
(c) prohibit abseiling and rock climbing activities in public open space in the Waverley Council area, excepting activities of the State Emergency Service, NSW Police Department, Australian Defence Force or similar organisations and for purposes specifically approved by the Director, Beach Park & Recreation Services.

Background
Council's dramatic-looking but only moderately challenging coastal cliffs offer several attractive locations for abseilers and rock climbers, particularly at Rosa Gully and adjacent areas at Diamond Bay Reserve, Vaucluse (see appended plan). Until late 1999 these locations were used without Council regulation by a variety of users including Police Rescue and State Emergency Services for occasional training; 'adventure' and tour enterprises for commercial purposes; and individuals for recreation.

An incident in 1999, wherein one of the commercial groups not only accessed the cliffs but took up much of the reserve normally used by local residents for passive recreation, triggered a review by the Parks Division of the Department of Beach Park & Recreation Services of the way in which this sort of activity is handled. The options considered were (a) do nothing, (b) prohibit such activity completely, and (c) in cooperation with the commercial users, implement a permit system controlling the frequency and nature of their activity.

In view of the facts that (a) such use was ongoing and unlikely to cease, (b) attempting prohibition using limited means such as signage could be riskier from a liability point of view than doing nothing, and (c) such activities could be regarded as legitimate use of Council's recreational resources, the prohibition option was rejected. Instead it was decided to trial a no-charge permit system, with a view to eventually implementing a stringent fee-paying licence system along the lines of the system used by the National Parks & Wildlife Service for areas such as the Blue Mountains.

Current System
Since September 1999 permits have been issued to four companies (The Edge, Outland, Bushsports and Peter Mackail), none of which are based in the Waverley area and few of whose customers would be Waverley residents.

These permits have been issued on a three-monthly basis and state conditions aimed at preserving safety and amenity, including a requirement to obtain Council permission for each occasion of use. Council has generally limited use of Diamond Bay Reserve, which is in the middle of a residential area and well used by local residents, to three days per week including one day per weekend, but actual frequency of use has been much lower. (One additional application was received for permission to conduct such activities off Ben Buckler Point; this was refused.)

Some complaints were received from local residents in the early days of the system, primarily about rowdiness by the fourth above-mentioned company. This company still holds a permit but quickly faded from the scene. Relations with the three remaining active companies have been good and no further complaints have been received. Nor have any accidents or mishaps been reported.

Ongoing Concerns
Nevertheless, risk management concerns remain about permitting abseiling and rock climbing in a small community reserve in a built up area, as opposed to relatively isolated locations such as in national parks.

Council's Risk Manager has expressed concern at the tendency of such activities, when carried out in such locations, to attract the attention of onlookers including children and young people who may be tempted to immediately become involved in, or later and without supervision to duplicate, such activity, and at the practice of leaving in place pitons, etc, driven into rock faces. On 3 July 2001 he advised that 'We should follow the lead of the National Parks & Wildlife Service and not permit abseiling on any property where other people are; they only permit it in the bush and away from populated areas. The risks would be too high in leaving abseiling picks in the rocks for any other person to use, encourage other people, especially children to go and observe and become involved in the abseiling.' It should be borne in mind that in 1995 a 14-year-old boy fell into Rosa Gully, resulting in his death.

Further risk management concerns are raised by Council's recent decision to create a Cliff Walk through Dover Heights and Vaucluse. In order to address the implications of deliberately encouraging public use of cliffside locations, it is essential to the Cliff Walk project that new fencing be installed in certain locations, including Diamond Bay Reserve. Such fencing will be installed by the end of this year and is expressly intended to bar access to the cliff edge. The value and purpose of this fencing would clearly be negated by issuing permission to cross it for abseiling or any other purpose.

Conclusion
Primarily as a result of the accepted need to install fencing at Diamond Bay Reserve, but also due to other risk management concerns as outlined above, it is not feasible to continue permitting abseiling or rock climbing, or any access to the cliffs, at Diamond Bay Reserve.

At the same time the prohibition option, rejected in 1999 partly due to the liability risks likely to be created by inadequate infrastructure investment, becomes more feasible with the installation of fencing along the full length of the cliff edge.

Consequently, at the beginning of July the four firms currently holding permits were advised that such permits would expire on 30 September 2001, and that no permits would be issued and no abseiling or rock climbing permitted thereafter. Some objections were received.

As the same basic risk management concerns apply at every cliff location in the Waverley area, it is also proposed to ban abseiling in Council's public open space generally (excepting the legitimate activities of the State Emergency Service, NSW Police, Australian Defence Force or similar).

Recommendation
It is recommended that Council:
(a) receive and note the information contained in this report;
(b) endorse the prohibition of abseiling and rock climbing in and around Rosa Gully and Diamond Bay Reserve as of 1 October 2001;
(c) prohibit abseiling and rock climbing activities in public open space in the Waverley Council area, excepting activities of the State Emergency Service, NSW Police Department, Australian Defence Force or similar organisations and for purposes specifically approved by the Director, Beach Park & Recreation Services.

Geoff Reinhard
Director, Beach Park & Recreation Services

"Je Baise Mai Fraigne" on the Pocketed Wall at Thompson's Point has recently been rebolted as a result of one of the lower offs falling out. It now has 4 ring bolts and a double ring bolt lower off, and has been extended by about 3m. I don't know what grade it is now, but it looks a bit harder than it used to be (grade 20).

Before doing so, I recommend that you read the open letters Peter and David have written - available on the Australian Bouldering website.

The right hand ring bolt in the lower off at the top of "Country Special" (18) at Shipley Upper is loose. While there are still two remaining lower offs, they all appear to have been placed at the same time and by the same person. Take great care if you intend to lower off this climb.

Blue Mountains Cliffcare has submitted an open letter to the relevant government bodies recommending that the extension be modified to minimise the potential for impacts on the area. You can read it here.

Take care if you plan on climbing here!

Note that the road that leads from Mt Victoria towards Mt Boyce alongside the tracks is not open to the general public.

The ban covers climbing on the entire 3 sisters buttress, and includes the extremely popular "Mantleshelf" and "West Wall" routes.

Send in a submission now to help prevent the NPWS from yet again attempting to ban climbing at established crags.

For the first time since it's inception in 1993, the biannual Escalade Mountain Festival has been postponed. More details are available on the Escalade website.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Despite these positive comments, access to Cosmic and surrounding crags is still in dispute! Please don't climb at these crags as you'll only cause problems for those who are trying to organise permanent, legal access to these areas.

Don't climb there unless you want to risk having the area closed permanently!

As you'd expect, the Nowra police were about as useful as tits on a bull (the officer we initially spoke to didn't even know where Thompson's Pt was!), so I would strongly recommend that anyone who plans on parking at Thompson's Pt leaves their car totally empty and unlocked (perhaps even with the windows down). At least that way there's some chance the thieving scum will realise that there's nothing of value in the car.

The top set of Dixon's Ladders at Narrowneck in the Blue Mountains were removed during June. Access is now by abseil (either down the Herbaceous Gully or via the chains on top of 100' slab), or by walking down the Devil's Hole. The only way back up is to climb out.