CliffCare

It's great to see the posters of our Access Is No Accident campaign in the wild 🤩 Here's one inside The North Face shop in Canberra 👍

Access Is No Accident!

Come and visit us next week at the Astor Theatre. It's Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson Live on Stage 🤩

We'll have a little booth in the foyer 🍿🥤

https://www.facebook.com/events/386636245274378/

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

What can we say except a BIG thank you Bogong Equipment 🤩 We will take this as encouragement to continue our access work for the benefit of all climbers 👍

Victorian Climbing Club Climb for Grampians

Bogong Blog - What has Bogong Equipment been doing about Gariwerd/Grampians access issues? How we have been involved, and where we think the solution lies.

The details for the tree planting bee are up! 🌲🌳🐝

End of the Month@Arapiles/Djurite Climbing and Tree Planting Working Bee The month of June is a fantastic time to climb at Arapiles and also an ideal time for planting, with cooler weather and a bit of moisture in the ground. Why not come along and support the VCC and C…

Getting the Management Plan for the Grampians right is also important in the long run since it might be used as a blue print for other Management Plan reviews.

Let's work on this together 👌

Stakeholder Reference Group Participation Hi Climbers Waiting for the Second Parks Victoria (PV) is preparing a new management plan for the Grampians landscape, an area that covers the Grampians National Park and adjacent parks and reserve…

CliffCare updated their website address.

Parks Victoria notified us of an upcoming goat and deer aerial shooting project.

The planned activity is for 6 days of aerial shooting between the dates of June 22 and June 28, 2019.

Aerial Shooting at Grampians Gariwerd and Black Range SP Parks Victoria notified us of an upcoming goat and deer aerial shooting project.

Education display packs. Winging their way to a gym near you.

Central Gully Working bee - FOUND CLOTHING. There were a couple of items of clothing left behind after the working bee. If you have lost something drop a line describing and we will organize a return. Thanks.

This is happening tomorrow. 9.30 am at the top of the Central Gully Walking track.

We are pleased to announce that Uncle Ron Marks from Barengi Gadjin Land Council will launch the project with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony. Hope to see you there. Drop CliffCare a line to let us know. [email protected] Pick My Project

Project Launch – Upper Central Gully Walking Track Repair Project 2019 The launch date is now confirmed – Queens Birthday Weekend – 8th June, 2019. That’s only 2 weeks away. We’ve had a few hiccups but we are now rearing to go. The Pick My Proj…

And that's a wrap for me. Thanks all.
https://cliffcare.org.au/2019/05/31/access-environment-officer-report-may-2019/

Access & Environment Officer report May 2019 As announced by the VCC President on 6th May I have resigned from my my position as Access & Environment Officer. Today will be my last day although I will be seeing the project launch of th…

Crag care and etiquette is a make or break element of access. Wherever you go, follow the general rules of this and that's a great start. All cliff areas have their own rules and guidelines as well. Know before you go. Sharing some info from the Climbing Club of South Australia for Moonarie. Remember - Access is No Accident.

https://cliffcare.org.au/about/other-states/south-australia/

South Australia Climbing Club of South Australia 30/5/19 Reminder about expected responsible behavior at Moonarie Easter 2019 was probably the most popular weekend ever recorded at Moonarie. With the recent releas…

This week is the time to stop, breathe and reflect.

https://cliffcare.org.au/2019/05/27/national-reconcilliation-week/

National Reconcilliation Week This week is National Reconciliation Week. This is a great opportunity especially with the journey ahead for climbing, that we take the time to reflect, to learn and to understand. To embrace. Nati…

And we are finally here! Project launch and first rock moving event. Check out more on the CliffCare website and make sure to drop CliffCare a line to register your body for a spot of rock moving. There will be more information on the launch activities in another post coming soon.
https://cliffcare.org.au/2019/05/27/project-launch-upper-central-gully-walking-track-repair-project-2019/

Project Launch – Upper Central Gully Walking Track Repair Project 2019 The launch date is now confirmed – Queens Birthday Weekend – 8th June, 2019. That’s only 2 weeks away. We’ve had a few hiccups but we are now rearing to go. The Pick My Proj…

Wowee! Huge thanks to everyone who took part in this event and to the team at ClimbForGrampians May8 who made it all happen. Funds are always thin on the ground so this is so appreciated. More good work to be done! Best of all is the sense of community and awareness that this has generated. Access is no accident.

Have a great weekend all!

CLIMB FOR GRAMPIANS RAISED $10,669.36 | THANK YOU | Well done everyone!

Being aware is the first step.

4 Signs Your Climbing Area is in Trouble What's wrong with these pictures? The signs that your climbing area is deteriorating can be difficult to see if you don’t know what to look for.

Register at Engage Victoria to keep up to date with the management plan review and provide input.

https://cliffcare.org.au/2019/05/10/grampians-landscape-management-plan/

Grampians Landscape Management Plan Want to keep up to date with the management plan review and provide input? Register here at Engage Victoria. First step. As announced on the 29th April, Parks Victoria will commence a review proces…

A huge, heartfelt thanks to all of the volunteers, participating venues, and our incredible climbing community for your support yesterday. A strong ethos of respecting the land is at the very core of what we’re about, and it’s exciting to see so much shared passion for this among our community ❤️🙏

Today is the day people! ClimbForGrampians. All the listed climbing businesses have come together to help raise funds and awareness around the access work happening for the Grampians. Get on down to one of the gyms or buy yourself something nice. Today is also the official launch date of the ACCESS IS NO ACCIDENT - CliffCare Education Project. This is not just about the Grampians. This is about what we need to do as a user group for sustainable climbing into the future in the Grampians or wherever else we may climb. Thanks hugely for your support. To the organizers, the venues, retails businesses and to all the climbers taking part.

May8 ClimbForGrampians

On May 8th, climbing businesses all over Victoria / South Australia have partnered to raise funds and awareness about the access work happening for the Grampians.

CliffCare would like to extend a huge thanks to all who have been involved in organizing this and the accompanying education campaign launch of posters and workshops.

This will also be an opportunity to launch ACCESS IS NO ACCIDENT. Developed by Tracey Skinner (), Simon Madden & Ross Taylor (), Florence Seow & Indie Ladan (), the campaign highlights actions that you can take to minimise your impact as a climber on the environment and help protect your access to crags. Along with the poster launch there will be workshop sessions at a number of gyms on crag etiquette. The workshops have been developed by Florence Seow, they are free and run by volunteers.

For every person who climbs at one of the participating gyms listed below, $5 will be donated to CliffCare.

Show up and show your support!

See below for a list of participating gyms and details. Each participating gym’s in-house event activities may vary. Contact the gym for further details.

Participating Venues:

Adelaide's Bouldering Club

Bayside Rock

Bogong Equipment*

Cliffhanger Indoor Rock Climbing Gym

Climbing Anchors*

Gravity Worx

Hardrock Climbing

The Lactic Factory

Northside Boulders

North Walls Indoor Climbing

The Rock Adventure Centre

Urban Climb Collingwood

The Wilderness Shop*

9 Degrees Lane Cove

*Participating retailers donating %10 of retail sales revenue.

May8 ClimbForGrampians

On May 8th, climbing businesses all over Victoria / South Australia have partnered to raise funds and awareness about the access work happening for the Grampians.

CliffCare would like to extend a huge thanks to all who have been involved in organizing this and the accompanying education campaign launch of posters and workshops.

This will also be an opportunity to launch ACCESS IS NO ACCIDENT. Developed by Tracey Skinner (), Simon Madden & Ross Taylor (), Florence Seow & Indie Ladan (), the campaign highlights actions that you can take to minimise your impact as a climber on the environment and help protect your access to crags. Along with the poster launch there will be workshop sessions at a number of gyms on crag etiquette. The workshops have been developed by Florence Seow, they are free and run by volunteers.

For every person who climbs at one of the participating gyms listed below, $5 will be donated to CliffCare.

Show up and show your support!

See below for a list of participating gyms and details. Each participating gym’s in-house event activities may vary. Contact the gym for further details.

Participating Venues:

Adelaide's Bouldering Club

Bayside Rock

Bogong Equipment*

Cliffhanger Indoor Rock Climbing Gym

Climbing Anchors*

Gravity Worx

Hardrock Climbing

The Lactic Factory

Northside Boulders

North Walls Indoor Climbing

The Rock Adventure Centre

Urban Climb Collingwood

The Wilderness Shop*

9 Degrees Lane Cove

*Participating retailers donating %10 of retail sales revenue.

It's been a while coming. Will be showing at a gym near you starting at the May8 ClimbforGrampians event.
https://cliffcare.org.au/2019/05/03/poster-campaign-launch-cliffcare-education-project/

Poster campaign launch – CliffCare Education Project In the early years of my role as VCC Access & Environment Officer, I started developing an idea for an education project for climbers and climbing. The CliffCare Education Project (CEP). For me…

Updated FAQ page from Parks Victoria. Some of the updated content addresses LTO's and the queries around the operators continuing to use SPAs.
In particular questions 12 and 13

https://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/grampians-national-park/plans-and-projects/rock-climbing-faq

Parks Victoria - Rock climbing in the Grampians National Park Rock climbing is a significant recreational and sporting pursuit for many people. We acknowledge the physical, social and economic benefits rock climbing brings to our communities across the state.

https://cliffcare.org.au/2019/05/02/grampians-update-pv-meeting-1st-may/

Grampians Update – PV meeting 1st May Yesterday VCC/CliffCare representatives – Tracey Skinner (Access & Environment Officer), Philipp Hammes (VCC Vice President) and myself (Paula Toal, VCC President) – met with Simon Talbot and o…

There have been many recent conversations about this. Here's why we need to hold off on those big buildup cleanups for a bit. Hold that enthusiasm though.
https://cliffcare.org.au/2019/04/30/grampians-chalk-cleanups-a-collaborative-process/

GRAMPIANS & CHALK CLEANUPS – A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS There have been some recent conversations on social media in light of climber impacts and how the community could manage them as we move forward. Many of them make sense and have been used successf…

Parks Victoria has communicated that some changes have been made to the Rock climbing in the Grampians National Park FAQs page predominantly around the review of the Grampians National Park Management Plan. This will commence in July, 2019 and is expected to take approx 12 months.

As it notes - 'Crucial to the review will be the partnership with Traditional Owner groups and a robust and consultative engagement process with key stakeholders from the conservation, tourism, recreation and rock climbing sectors, among others, to ensure that the park is protected for current and future generations.'

Please visit the link here. Further updates when we receive them. Thanks.
https://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/grampians-national-park/plans-and-projects/rock-climbing-faq

Parks Victoria - Rock climbing in the Grampians National Park Rock climbing is a significant recreational and sporting pursuit for many people. We acknowledge the physical, social and economic benefits rock climbing brings to our communities across the state.

With engagement and the right information and education, we can do this -

https://www.accessfund.org/open-gate-blog/climbing-and-respect-for-indigenous-lands?fbclid=IwAR2_nHFTZ8zCCsxW7_8MhbMC1kMUUheg1TNdLq1FWpSjBeBuX6pIH7O0aR0

Climbing and Respect for Indigenous Lands On the approach trail to the world-famous Happy Boulders in Bishop, CA, you might notice a shallow, perfectly circular depression indented into the volcanic

https://cliffcare.org.au/2019/04/26/rockclimbing-article-and-misinformation/

Rockclimbing article and misinformation Disappointingly, much of the content in the below from Parks Victoria once again fuels the misinformation out there. It doesn’t give an informed account of what rock climbing is and provides…

Grampians Community Update 24 April 2019
Update on maps, GAWG activities and planned meetings.
https://cliffcare.org.au/2019/04/24/grampians-community-update-april-24/

Grampians Community Update April 24 A short update on some GAWG activities and further information from Parks Victoria. They have sent us copies of maps that enlarge the northern end of SPAs and included legend and grid references. T…

The Grampians community update provided last Thursday gave a bit of information on the Grampians Access Working Group (GAWG). We also provided a link to the CliffCare website where you could read a little more about the group and short profiles of the members working for you. Just in case you didn't click through - here it is.

WHAT IS THE GRAMPIANS ACCESS WORKING GROUP(GAWG)?

The VCC (Victoria Climbing Club) is recognised as the peak body of climbing in Victoria and has a long history of working with land managers. CliffCare was created in 1998 and employs an access officer to deal directly with education, advocacy, and environmental projects, which are an integral part of maintaining access.

The creation of the Grampians Access Working Group (GAWG) was initiated by CliffCare to focus specifically on the SPA’s (Special Protection areas) and closures in the Grampians. In order to quickly respond the bans, VCC/CliffCare selected volunteer members of the climbing community by identifying people with critical skills needed to respond to the bans. The team is made up of media specialists, lawyers, cultural heritage experts, long term climbers, guides, technology specialists, education specialists and administrative support. Given the complexity of the situation we face, we anticipate that this diverse set of skills will allow GAWG to effectively promote the interests of climbing to other stakeholder groups and land managers. We are currently undertaking negotiations arising from the current access issues and developing a strategy to promote a sustainable future for climbing in Victoria. GAWG’s association with the VCC and CliffCare enables direct engagement with land managers and government processes not otherwise afforded to individuals.

WHO IS ON THE WORKING GROUP?

Paula Toal
VCC President. Passionate about climbing, for being close to nature and exploring places that people who don’t climb will never have the privilege to experience. Having a holiday home in Halls Gap, the Grampians is a special place for her. Senior tourism industry professional. 30 years of international experience in strategy, innovation, tourism, partnerships, stakeholder relationship management, capability & capacity development, financial and facilities management and project management and systems implementation across tourism and events, manufacturing and consulting industries in both private and public sector organisations.

Tracey Skinner
VCC Access & Environment officer – CliffCare. Lives near Mt Arapiles and the Grampians. Employed as Access officer for 11 years. Extensive knowledge of Victorian access. Successful advocacy and access negotiations in Grampians and Victorian wide. Education officer. Member of Grampians Advisory Group and Mt Arapiles Tooan State Park Advisory group.

Adam Demmert
25+ years climber and developer. Works as an Instructor, Trainer and Assessor for the Australian Climbing Instructors Association (ACIA).
Instructor and guide for Licensed Tour Operators in the Grampians and Mt Arapiles
Member of the Arapiles Rescue Group

Simon Weill
Climbing for 29 years. Climbing and bouldering in the Grampians has been the center point of my adult life. We have built a home in the Grampians area so my son will have the same opportunities to enjoy this amazing place, as I have.

Steve Monks
30 years of exploring and climbing in the Grampians. Professional mountain guide (IFMGA) and Instructor/assessor for ACIA. Member of Arapiles advisory group and rescue group. Long-time involvement with access issues in the Grampians and Arapiles.

Ross Taylor
Writer, editor and co-founder of Vertical Life magazine. Grew up in the Grampians and has been climbing in the area for more than 30 years.

Simon Madden
Writer, editor and co-founder of Vertical Life magazine.

Adam Merrick
Local climber lives in Grampians. Ecologist for Trust for Nature.
Worked for Grampians PV for many years as Education Officer.
On advisory boards of GHCMA and Ararat Rural City.
Represents the Western Victoria Climbing Club

Florence Seow
Background in law, tertiary experiential education and indigenous rights research. Lectures in the public interest law space, and researches Indigenous rights in international human rights law.

TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP

Peter Flowers
Media & Communications Advisor.
Senior corporate communications professional with experience operating in complex and fast-paced environments. Skills and experience include media relations, strategic communications, and stakeholder management.

Nina Scott-Bohanna
Media and Communications

Mark Gould
Climber for 25 years, guide, member of CFA high angle rescue team. Mark is providing technology support to the team.

Meg Dennison
Background in psychology and academic research. Skills include data analysis and technical writing. Meg is providing administrative support.

CULTURAL HERITAGE & ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS

Roark Muhlen-Schulte
Cultural Heritage Advisor.
Roark has been working for Aboriginal organisations in the Northern Teritory and Western Australia since the mid 1980’s. In more recent times Roark has worked in Queensland on the Gold Coast and to establish several Victorian Representative Aboriginal Parties (RAP) groups. He has worked extensively as a consultant for government and private industry. Roark has recorded rock art in the north west of Australia and been involved in documenting numerous Aboriginal sites ranging from scar trees to artefact scatters and stone artefact quarry sites. Roark is currently the Chairperson of Australian Association of Consulting Archaeology (AACAI Victorian chapter)

Nate Perry
Reconcilliation Advisor
Nate has a number of years of experience in the area of reconciliation. He has worked for government and non-government organisations in Australia, Latin America and the United States building relationships with indigenous peoples. He has a background in community development and anthropology and is an experienced climber based in Bendigo.

LEGAL
Adrian Hoel

CANCELLED WORKING BEE
Central Gully Sat 20th.
In case you haven't seen the updates on the volunteer post - due to unforseen circumstances this working bee has been cancelled. There will be another one announced soon. Save your muscles for the big day.
Thanks to all those who were interested in helping out.

Grampians Community Update. Thank you all for your patience. Make sure you also check out the link in our update to read a little about the group and see what our approach is and who is on the group.
https://cliffcare.org.au/2019/04/18/grampians-community-update-april-18-2019/

GRAMPIANS COMMUNITY UPDATE APRIL 18 2019 WHAT IS THE GRAMPIANS ACCESS WORKING GROUP (GAWG) The Grampians Access Working Group (GAWG) was formed in February this year by the Victorian Climbing Club and CliffCare to respond to the unexpecte…

An Easter update for Grampians climbing.
Community update coming soon.
https://cliffcare.org.au/2019/04/18/grampians-easter-update/

Grampians Easter Update What do I need to know to climb in the Grampians this weekend? Where can I climb? All closures as noted previously are still in place. Please respect all bans in place. Take a copy of the map that …