If the best thing about living in Sydney is the ocean then Martijn van Eijkelenborg is doing it right when he thumbs his nose at grimey Sydney blocs and instead opts for new sends by the scenic seaside WORDS: Martijn van Eijkelenborg, IMAGES: Richard McGibbon Sitting at the mouth of Botany Bay and pounded by powerful Pacific Ocean swells, Cape Banks is a new bouldering area for those who love their blocs with a heavy dose of sea spray and…
Vertical Life speaks to the author of Canberra’s new, all-singing, all-dancing bouldering guidebook, Duncan Brown, about the gestation and birth of his new baby. You can get a full copy featuring about 10 times more problems than Jay Z has here. Here at VL we have always assumed that Canberra was only home to lying politicians, porn merchants, dope fiends and desperate, run-out slabs, but apparently it also has some excellent bouldering. Can you give us a little bit of…
You’re a Victorian climber and you can’t get to the Grampians? Sick of the heinous undercut starts of the Omega Block at Camels Hump? Scared of the ant colony bumblies of Werribee Gorge trying to kill you with torrents of clumsy-footed rock fall? Do you like your atmos-fear? Can’t decide if you want to surf or climb? Looking for adventure*? Then get your arse to Phillip Island and the mostly-forgotten and long-maligned Cape Woolamai – sea-cliff climbing within an hour-and-a-half…
Logistics The Darran Mountains lie west of Queenstown and east of Milford Sound, in the southwestern corner of New Zealand’s South Island. The nearest airport is in Queenstown, where it is possible to fly direct from some Australian ports of origin. Alternatively, you can get to Milford Sound by bus from Queenstown, via Te Anau, although it is highly recommended you have a car if you intend to climb in this area as services are limited and you’ll need to…
Nalle Hukkataival shares his hand drawn topos to the latest Grampians hotspot Not so long ago the bouldering at the Gallery was a badly kept secret, and irrespective of how bad the secret was, most people couldn’t be arsed walking in anyway. But all that changed with the arrival of Nalle Hukkataival, Dave Graham, et al. Stunned by the quality of both the rock and the lines, they feasted upon the area and left behind a host of high-quality hard…
Send us Your Photos and Win! For us at VL, the best guidebooks are works of art, labours of love that operate as a reflection of climbers and our culture. Australian guides in particular have their own character, separate from those of other countries. As anyone who has climbed in Europe or America will know – where topo-heavy guidebooks proliferate – the very best Australian guides have soul and a sense of humour – they are more than the sum…
