Vertical Life takes a look at the new formed Grampians/Gariwerd Stakeholder Reference Group and tries to understand the process of stakeholder engagement and whether it has value or not Parks Victoria is undertaking stakeholder engagement as part of the formulation of a new Landscape Management Plan – there has been a change in the nomenclature away from ‘Park Management Plan’ (as it was previously known). This includes a Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG) and a series of community meetings both in…

Ryan Siacci outlines a hat-trick of Peruvian first ascents for Australian alpinist, Sebastian Pelletti The 2019 Peruvian winter has been a cracker for young Australian alpinist Sebastian Pelletti. Together with various partners he opened three new routes in the Cordillera Blanca, as well as managing four other ascents of ice and mixed routes near 6000m. Pelletti established a new route on both Huamashraju (5434m) and Huamashraju Este (5400m). Both were predominantly rock routes with some minor glaciation, and each went…

The newly formed Australian Climbing Association Victoria (ACAV) has made a significant move in its campaign to keep the Grampians/Gariwerd National Park open for climbers. The ACAV’s lawyers sent a letter to Parks Victoria (PV) on Monday 2 September asserting that the set aside determination for the Grampians’ climbing bans are invalid and that they should be revoked.

After the warmest summer on record (nothing to do with the climate emergency of course, let’s give the Libs another term!), the sending temps have finally arrived. And just like that, rock climbers all over the joint are sending projects like their postcards – maybe all that moaning and complaining that we do about ‘conditions’ needing to be right is bang on the money after all… She wasn’t the first cab off the rank, but perhaps the biggest send of…