In between bemoaning Covid lockdowns and the excitement of celebrating climbing in the Olympics, there’s a few items of interest that have popped up in the last few weeks to update the access situation in Victoria.
Continue reading New management plan delayed indefinitely – PV out of cash for surveysAll posts by goshenw
July: Crag Stewards, campaigns and T-SHIRTS
No news yet from Parks Vic about the final management plan. We can only hope they are taking their time to consider all the submissions very carefully. There is definitely pressure on PV to develop a reasonable plan, one that is actually manageable (Tip: It’s in the title, PV). But there is no indication yet as to whether they are LISTENING to this advice. Which, it should be said is coming not just from climbers.
Keep an eye out this weekend on the Climbing Discussion Forum (Facebook) for a post from Mike Rockell, who will be running a last ditch email campaign to ensure PV make sensible determinations, and not just ‘full-steam ahead’ with their own corporate agenda.
The Goal: That the Minister ensures that the Final Plan properly allows for rock climbing to continue in the future, without excessive limitations beyond what is truly necessary to protect cultural heritage and environmental values.
Note: There’s a temporary pause on this, but we’ll post when more info becomes available.
T-Shirt Campaign
Save Grampians Climbing just ran a T-Shirt Crowdfunding campaign (a few more shirts are available – see below); and we’re proud to announce that over $1,300 has been raised, and donated to Crag Stewards Vic (and from a few coloured chalk sales). The campaign also covered SGC hosting costs for another year. Thanks everyone who contributed.
Crag Stewards Victoria – Official Launch
Crag Stewards Victoria is having it’s official launch this weekend.
It’s on this Saturday at 5 – 6:30pm at the NC2, (62 Main St), Natimuk. There will be 1h of presentation / discussion – followed by some Q&A. All welcome (you’ll just need to scan the QR code on the way in), and wear a mask.
Crag Stewards Victoria is all about climbers taking action to protect the cultural and environmental values at the places we love to climb for future generations to enjoy.
Stewardship objectives:
- Establish a Network of Crag Stewards
- Assess and monitor the impact of climbing on cultural and environmental values
- Collaborate with Traditional Owners and Land Managers
- Promote understanding and respect for traditional cultures
- Encourage best climbing practices with the climbing community
If you can’t make it, then you read more about what Crag Stewards is about by visiting the website: https://cragstewards.org.au
A few more T-Shirts available!
If you missed out on one, or someone asks where they can get one – then for a limited time, they still can: Please direct them to the Arapiles Mountain Shop, who has a good range of sizes and colours available for sale. Also, Dick from Rock Adventures in Geelong has a few, and you can also order direct from us (very limited numbers).
They $39 ea plus $10 postage.
1 x Small (Natural colour)
3 x Med (Black)
1 x Large (Black)
You can order these via our contact form (we’ll reply with purchase information).
GRAMPIANS t-sHIRT cROWDFUNDING
Save Grampians Climbing asked climbers what climbing areas that are now on the banned list (either permanently or temporarily) are most important to them. See survey results here.
We organised the hundreds of responses into a ‘Word Cloud’, and the resulting image is especially powerful, so we decided to get a T-Shirt printed to be reminded about what is at stake, and to never forget these amazing places.
Continue reading GRAMPIANS t-sHIRT cROWDFUNDING
Climbers Survey Results
Back in Dec/Jan, Save Grampians Climbing invited climbers to complete a survey on the Gariwerd/Djurite access situation in order to gauge community attitudes and understanding of the issues, and gain feedback about these.
Continue reading Climbers Survey Results
Ashlee Hendy – A submission from the heart
We wanted to share this story (permission obtained) from Ashlee Hendy, of Natimuk, who is a long time climber, and is super passionate about climbing, Gariwerd (Grampians), and Djurite (Arapiles). This is her submission for the GGLMP, which is a bit different and tells a personal story that we can all identify with, even if sometimes it’s hard to put those feelings into words.
Continue reading Ashlee Hendy – A submission from the heart
Climber’s survey – Have your say
This survey has CLOSED and results are being analyzed.
Save Grampians Climbing have put together a climber’s survey and we’re inviting all climbers that have visited Arapiles or the Grampians to fill it out, or as many as possible. Please share to your friends, clubs and networks. Survey will remain available for a few weeks over the Christmas / New Year period, but it only takes around 10mins to fill out.
Continue reading Climber’s survey – Have your say
Last Person on the Planet
This is a guest post by Andreas Kupke, who in the last 8 years, has climbed in the Grampians more than anybody I know, and would be out there most weekends of the year (that is a lot of climbing). He had a preference for mid-grade sport climbing (not like my tendency for more obscure Trad), so has a good handle on the climbing numbers, increasing or otherwise, over that time.
Continue reading Last Person on the Planet
My Letter to the Ministers
On Wednesday 19th, there is going to be motion / debate at the Victorian Parliament, and the ACAV requested that climbers contact members of Parliament to voice their support for the ‘Lockout Motion’ and to share their personal story about what the Grampians means to them. Since I haven’t shared my story yet, here is my letter:
Continue reading My Letter to the Ministers
A Story From the Valley of the Giants
This a quick personal story from Caillan Sainsbury (published with permission) that appeared on Facebook a week ago, and we thought it worth sharing with other climbers, as this IS what climbing means to most of us.
Continue reading A Story From the Valley of the Giants
The Aus – Sling Their Hooks?
On the weekend there was a fairly positive article about the Grampians bans in Murdoch Press. The Australian (Free), and Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun (Subscription). The original headline (see the hardcopy below) is a shocker*, but the article itself is actually well researched and without any PV zingers.
Continue reading The Aus – Sling Their Hooks?