Chockstone Forum

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

Chockstone Photography

Australian Landscape Prints

Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

Topic Date User

Grampians Access 2019 14-Feb-2019 At 7:51:28 PM The good Dr

Message

If you look at the management plan it gives an idea where the likely affected areas will be. One of the other issues is that there is no definitive list of sites available and the list that exist is kept secret due to the potential for mailicious damage to those sites by idiots (fair response). I know of some sites in caves on tousit tracks with significant and continually occuring graffiti that will not recieve the same level of attention as the climbing areas. Raising these inconsistencies will eiher be ignored or harden various attitdes. A shame really as protection of these sites should be applied equally to all user groups.

My proposal would be for climber representative(s) to assist in assessment of cultural heritage sites with a view to mitigation of the risks of damage. Some sites may have climbing banned and this would be fair.

In terms of the effect of bouldering on destruction of vegetation and local microenvironments, this is has an added level of complexity. Boulders and shaded areas can be significant habitats for sensitive species and bouldering can be destructive. How this is managed needs further discussion.

I have no answers, but it may be the case that for continued access, restrictions need to be put in place and adhered to, otherwise we will end up with a situation like Hueco Tanks.