- Latest about Taipan from GWRN
- New PV sign says tour operators can climb in Victoria Range SPAs
- The Roses Gap Recreation Centre mystery
- Minister’s letter confirms expiry of Interim Protection Declaration at Arapiles
- Aboriginal Victoria denies Special Protection Areas are associated with Aboriginal Heritage Act or Regulations
- Draft Grampians Landscape Management Plan “hoped to be out for public comment by the end of this year”
- Graffiti rampant in Grampians according to PV
- Roundtable 5 announced – then delayed?
Arapiles Protection Declaration Expires
- Arapiles’ Brain Death Boulder (Dyurrite 1) Interim Protection Declaration expires without renewal
- FOI docs reveal archeological work is never put out to tender
- Castle Crag & Mitre Rock potentially on the chopping block
The following is a quick look at the timelines and discrepancies associated with the closure of the Dyurrite 1 site – known to climbers as the Brain Death Boulder at Arapiles.
Continue reading Arapiles Protection Declaration Expires
Legal Action in the Supreme Court (Plus Formal Complaints)
- October 2020 sees climbers vs PV in court
- VCC submits a formal complaint to Victorian Ombudsman’s Office
- ACAV submits formal complaint to Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists
- New FOI documents reveal dodgy archeological procurement from PV
- Victorian Climbing Management Guidelines launched
Divided We Fall
- Community divided over recent closures
- Bans a big legal bluff
- New Grampians & Arapiles guidebooks cancelled
- 22% of Arapiles bouldering now off-limits
- Grampians Peaks Trail installs “huts” for commercial use
Continue reading Divided We Fall“Taipan was supposed to be what was left for us to climb, now that’s gone too”
Taipan, Spurt and Bundaleer – “Temporarily” Banned
- Parks Victoria announce “temporary protection zone” around Australia’s best climbing areas
- All access, including bush-walking is prohibited as of today
- Climbing access organizations VCC & ACAV were given no advance notice of these bans
- Gariwerd Wimmera Reconciliation Network has been consulting with PV & TOs about these site closures since at least June
- Bans cannot be adjusted until after new management plan is announced (next year at earliest)
Declaration Protection – It’s Official
Many people woke this morning to the dramatic news on the radio that Arapiles was now closed. Thanks ABC for giving us all a pre-coffee heart attack! Lucky it was just media hype. But what really happened is newsworthy all the same.
Continue reading Declaration Protection – It’s Official
Expert Advice – Chalk or Nature?
• We get an expert geologist’s opinion of the Sandinista white streaks (spoiler alert – #notclimbers)
• PV closes Camp Sandy – because of flood damage?
• and then proceeds to go on a chainsaw choppy frenzy at Andersen’s & Sandinista.
Parks Victoria Admits Heritage Regulations “Unsustainable”
- PV questions if regulations are an effective use of Gov funds
- Cultural heritage plans have led to minimal overall benefit
- Excessive costs led to heritage protection project cancellations
- PV only completed protection work at 4% of Vic rock art sites in 2017
The Sandinista Scandal – White Lies from PV
Could Parks Victoria mistake natural white rock & bird poo for climbing chalk in their rush to ban climbing? Yes they could. What you are about to read is one of those big moments where the ineptitude of the PV’s assessment process of rock climbing areas is exposed for what it is. A flawed and amateur attempt to quite literally white-wash climbers in the worst possible light whilst shirking any responsibility. Think the “bolt in art” fiasco was bad? This is better.
Continue reading The Sandinista Scandal – White Lies from PV
Bundaleer SPA (and 8 other reasons we should be worried)
• Bundaleer SPA announced & more to come
• PV’s assessments stall midway through the Grampians
• Guides face even harsher restrictions
Save Grampians Climbing 