On 24/02/2009 nmonteith wrote:
>I wonder if it works both ways. If a big group of climbers complained enough
>to Parks Vic that we now have to walk too far to access the crags would
>they then be forced to improve the roads? It seems like however gets the
>first complaint in gets the last word. I presume there has now been more
>climbers visiting the area than bushwalkers, thus the climbers have more
>weight in the argument?
I was going to say the same thing... It seems that climbers are the bastard children of Parks... No one REALLY wants to acknowledge us unless they think we are doing something wrong.. I can guarantee that parks arent going to spray paint arrows for us or build signs to guide us into our areas, or build little structures showing access to our areas. Climbing as a hobby/sport/lifestyle provides employment for the guides who work in the Grampians, it is not a few random people. We are an INTERNATIONAL climbing destination and most weekends of the year, climbers are the only ones in the campground.
I dont get we are always the ones having to compromise to keep the equal users (some might argue lesser users - the 'bushwalkers' not the tourists) happy. We have just as much right to have easy access to our areas as they do to theirs.