Blog from April, 2007

I've been having a play on Google Maps, adding tasmanian climbing and bouldering locations.
Check it out: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&msa=0&hl=en&msid=115102596344199739296.00000111c43697ba392d0

In some cases it is quite useful, in others not.

BEN LOMOND RAP STATIONS REMOVED

Just letting climbers know that the bolted rap stations at Frews Flutes and the Pavilion on Ben Lomond have been removed. Ben Lomond is now a completely bolt free zone and will remain that way. This includes every cliff on the massif, including Stacks Bluff, Africa, Pavement Bluff, Ragged jack and the Northern escarpment. The bolted abseil anchors were a compromise to the traditional ethic that has prevailed on the mountain since 1971. This was done in consulation with national Parks and wildlife whose policy declares the bolts to be illegal structures. Descent from Frews Flutes can easily be made via the broad gully about 100m east of Robins Buttress.

by Gerry Narkowicz

Mother Cummings Peak (Western Tiers)

Anyone  know of any routes done here? Any details much appreciated.

Gary

From http://www.abc.net.au/news/items/200704/1892689.htm?hobart

Body recovered after Federation Peak fall
Monday, 9 April 2007.

A man has died while climbing Federation Peak in Tasmania's south-west.

He fell from the summit of the peak yesterday afternoon at about 2:30pm AEST. The jagged summit of Federation Peak can only be reached by a near-vertical climb.

His companion set off an emergency beacon and was found by police yesterday evening.

But the search for the dead man's body was considered too dangerous in the dark and was put off until first light this morning.

The body has been flown to Hobart in the police rescue helicopter.

The coroner is investigating the man's death. The victim's name has not yet been released.

From SMH :

Climber plunges to death from Tas peak

April 9, 2007 - 1:39PM

A climber has plunged to his death while attempting to scale Tasmania's Federation Peak, 90km west of Hobart.

Rescue workers were scrambled to the mountain after a fellow climber set off an EPIRB emergency positioning beacon at 2.30pm (AEST) on Sunday, Tasmania Police said.

A police helicopter located the dead man's friend four hours later but rescuers postponed trying in the dark to recover the body until Monday morning.

The victim's name has not been released and the coroner is now investigating the fall, police said.

Federation Peak, which soars 1,224 metres in the Arthur Range of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, is considered to be Tasmania's toughest climb, according to Tourism Tasmania.

I doubt very much if it was a climber - the bushwalking route to the top is amazingly exposed and requires scrambling up to grade 6 or 7 hundreds of metres above Lake Geeves.

I just had a few beers over lunch with Tony McKenny and Dave Humphries.
Amongst other things, we discussed the possibility of reviving the CCT.

Tony's idea is to make the club as online as possible - a virtual club, so as to minimise all the crap you have to do for an association - meetings, minutes, officers, constitutions, membership, bank accounts etc etc. We would still have to have an AGM and a public officer, but there aren't all that many legal requirements.

The main purposes for the existence of the CCT I can see are:

• Advocacy: representing climbers' views to government as orgs such as National Parks and the Wellington Parks Trust
• Guidebooks: being the publisher and copyright holder for guideboooks, such as the upcoming Pipes guide
• Standards: publishing codes of conduct, and things like policies on bolting

I am more than willing to create a space on this site for the CCT, involving a set of pages, a membership list, and a forum. In order to resurrect the CCT it will require at the least a new constitution, and some new members. Wouldn't be anything to grand to start with, but it could grow if people get keen.

Ideally, if we can manage it, membership would be free or very low cost.

So, are people out there keen for the resurrection of the CCT? Would you be a member?

Jon.