Word around the campfire is that Gnarly Spider is off limits because of an angry farmer, is this true? I knew Elderslie and Richmond were out of bounds but I didnt even think Gnarly Spider was on private land?

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4 Comments

  1. Jon Nermut

    Yes, its definitely on private land, but the land owner has always turned a blind eye because people have been going up to monkeys bum for donkeys years. I think the landowner lives up the drive way to the right from where you park.
    However I think the land might have changed hands last year, and so the new owner might have changed their mind.
    Anyone know for sure?

  2. Jon Nermut

    Apparently the story is that the two paddocks at the front of the valley that you walk through to get to the boulder have changed hands, but the land that the boulder is on has not.
    So I wonder if there is a different way to get there that avoids walking up the valley?

    1. Anonymous

      The access problems are not your biggest concern at Gnarly Spider - it is the boulder itself. It has collapsed. The entire boulder has dropped around 2-3 feet in the right hand corner. This means that all the routes on the vertical side are now less than vertical and a doddle. Gnarly Spider itself and all the ones on the front are completely different and your bum now drags on the ground. It happened (I think) during the really heavy rains earlier on this year. Anyway ... as a bouldering venue it is now worthless!

      Mike Berry

      1. Jon Nermut

        RIP Gnarly Spider!