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.
When it comes to climbing in the Grampians, the Good Old Days are done. For instance, the classic route featured on our cover, Sandinista, is no longer legal to climb.
You recently got the third ascent of White Ladder (34) at Nowra and did the FA of the extension. For a short route it’s quite complicated, being comprised of Attack Mode, the White Ladder extension and now your new extension to White Ladder, can you break the route down for us? Oh it is a goodie. It’s a power-endurance classic and should be on everyone’s fridge list. It’s about 35 moves with a little procrastination rest before the final boulder….
Ben Cossey 🐕😍 just climbed The RED Project (35) at Diamond Falls, becoming the second Aussie to climb that grade. We had a little chat with him to find out more. Last weekend you climbed The Red Project, how did it go down? Hmmm, well, like any route, I tied in at the bottom and hoped to get to the top, it just so happened that the time I did it I didn’t fall off, which was nice. I had…
We chat to Vanessa Wills, one of the driving forces behind the formation of the Australian Climbing Association New South Wales Why does NSW need a climbing access association? The closures currently affecting the Grampians should be enough to convince climbers that a strategic presence and a credible voice in access is vitally important. Each state has different regulations concerning access to public lands. Therefore although the Australian Climbing Association Queensland (ACAQ) and the Australian Climbing Association Victoria (ACAV) share…
The fallout from the climbing bans in the Grampians/Gariwerd feels like it has progressed much like the fabled five stages of grief following a trauma: denial, anger, bargaining and depression; we don’t yet think we’re at acceptance. Mostly it feels like everything has spiralled out of control and broken apart into an ugly mess. Maybe it didn’t need to be this way; maybe it was always going to be this way. Here at VL, it’s fair to say that we…
