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Crag & Route Beta

Area	Location	Sub Location	Crag	Links
All NSW	(General)	(General)	(General)

Topic Date User

Climbing banned Centennial Trev Blue Mtns - NPWS 30-Apr-2015 At 1:28:42 PM rodw

Message

On 30/04/2015 Jdodds wrote:
>I am all for keeping good ties with the NPWS, but I hope we all realise
>that this all came about due to very few complaints from bush walkers who
>have lobbied the parks service for this closure, they visit the area for
>all of 3 minutes whilst they take a few happy snaps of themselves standing
>on the arch and then vacate the area never to return again. I fail to see
>how they feel they have more say in what goes on in these areas, it is
>the climbers who actually spend countless hours here truly appreciating
>every nook and cranny and generally making return visits to send the proj
>or climb a different route. The bolts are in, so may I ask what the further
>damage is? A little extra chalk if anything.
>I would like to ask how NPWS justify the large steel fence's that require
>a 100mm core drilled out hole and then concreted in that adorn every lookout
>and section of walking paths where a walker may stumble off the cliff,
>this is a real eyesore and permenantly changes the parks landscape to allow
>access for people who can't come within a few Metres of a cliff without
>stumbling off.
>All reports from bush walkers and bush walking clubs visiting the area
>came 1 year after the equipping of the routes

I think you be surprised how often "remote" locations get visited. In this case with a quick 2 minutes search i see pictures from a "bushwalker" in Dec 2012...

http://www.dingogap.net.au/navigation/scenery/bluemountains/bluemountainsrange/darganarch.html

Considering FFA according to thecrag were just after that, Im guessing bolting was noted fairly quickly. Of course only a few will take offense and even fewer make noise but you only need one for NPWS to take note, look at regulations and decide accordingly.

I'm not as optimistic as Nick in regards to changing the status quo, I do not think the climbing community as a whole have enough numbers or clout to effect change....easier just to side with current regulation when pushed. or prompted like they did here.

This is not the first case an area has been shut down with no consultation from NPWS with the climbing community and very much doubt will be the last because I think officially climbers are in the same basket as base jumpers etc and viewed very far down the list of legitimate park users.