News just in… Parks Victoria and the Victorian Government continue their destruction of the Australian climbing community by enlarging climbing bans at Arapiles and ignoring the majority users in any form of consultation.

[update – we have now published our detailed analysis of the impacts of the bans on our much longer article Arapiles Climbing Ban – The Plan. The following information on this page is now no longer the current information.

• Parks Victoria publishes the long awaited draft Dyurrite Cultural Landscape (Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park) Management Plan Amendment – on a Monday afternoon on the day before a public holiday. Fuckers.
• Permanent bans affect half of Arapiles climbing and now includes The Pharos, Yesterday Gully, Mitre Rock and even Tiptoe Ridge!
• Original bans on Declaration Crag, Tiger Wall, Castle Crag and plenty more remain.
• Commercial guides to have exclusive use of Bushrangers Bluff sunny side. So parents with kids – you can scram off to Summerday Valley – hold on – no you can’t.
• Infrastructure to be installed to support a “cultural tourism experience” and to replace rock climbing as primary use of the park. Read the BS press release here and prepare to vomit a little.
• No consultation was had with Climbing Victoria or Outdoors Victoria about this plan
• Gariwerd Wimmera Reconciliation Network (GWRN) provided a detailed 54-page report to BGLC assist the formalization of these bans – but kept this document secret from the wider climbing community.
• The public have 28 days to respond to the draft management plan – but – “this consultation will not be reviewing any changes to the areas that need to be protected.”. Sorry PV – that’s not consultation.
• There are no public community meetings scheduled. It’s like they actually don’t want to hear any feedback?
• It’s a wipeout folks. The literal beating heart of climbing in Australia has been ripped out and discarded.
• More analysis to come in days ahead…

New to this issue? Have a read from our archives – 2019 – Is Arapiles Next? for some background. There are plenty of other articles over here.

What can you do to help?

Check out our comprehensive and regularly updated page on how you can help Save Arapiles Climbing – there are plenty of ideas – from email addresses of the people in power, petitions to sign, groups to join and articles to read for the backstory behind the bans. We even tell you how to protest by climbing. This page be updated on a regular basis.

Most importantly – go climbing at Arapiles. Go there this weekend. Organize a roadtrip from interstate. Be on the rock and be proud and present. Hiding away and pretending it will all go away didn’t work for the Grampians – and it won’t work for Arapiles. Love Arapiles – its simply the best climbing community on the planet and we need to work to keep it that way.

List of Banned Arapiles Crags

This list is preliminary – more to be added as we continue our research.

– Declaration Crag

– Bushrangers Bluff

— Back Wall (Guide only)

– All of Colosseum Wall Area (ALL WALLS – Colosseum Wall, The Thimble, Comic Strip Wall)

– King Rat Area

— White Mice Walls

— Light Fingered Gully

— Bum Rocks

– Pilot Error Area (ALL WALLS – Pilot Error Cliffs, Cobwebs Gully, Louise Lane Wall)

– Atridae

— House of Atreus

— Agamemnon Area

– Organ Pipes Gully

— Organ Pipes Gully Left Side

— Organ Pipes Gully Right Side

– Upper Central Gully

— The Torture Chamber

— Skyline Walls

– Central Gully Right

— Minstrel Pinnacle

— Major Mitchell Gully

— Ali’s Area

– Bluffs

— Denim Wall

— Blockbuster Ledge

— Dead Eye Dick Wall

– Tiger Walls (ALL WALLS)

– Castle Crag (ALL)

– Voodoo Area

— New Image Wall

– The Pharos

— Front Wall and West Face

— Uncle Charlie

— South Face

— Back Wall

– Pharos Gully

— Ethereal Buttress

— Cheops Buttress

— Yesterday Gully (Upper and Lower)

– Pinnacle Face (ALL WALLS)

– Northern Group

— High Dive Gully

— Mermaid Avenue

– Far North

— Intrepid Gully

— Leasehold Wall

— Echidna Wall

— Werewolf Area

– Mitre Rock