Grampians Road & Track Report 27th January

Posted on January 27, 2012

Hi All,

The latest Grampians Road and Track Report has just landed in my inbox, See below for any updates. You can also download it here if you want a copy yourself.

PV Staff have graded and reopened Sawmill Track, Boundary and Red Hill Roads in the Victoria Range area. These roads were affected by the Sawmill Fire a few weeks ago.The Mt Zero Road has become quite dusty and corrugated in places so drivers need to slow down and take care when driving on this road. Staff will grade this road next week depending on weather conditions as the road requires moisture for grading to be successful.
Hollow Mountain Walking Track Closure
Works will start on the walking track on the week starting the 7^th of February 2012. The track will be closed during this time and will reopen early March. The Summerday Valley climbing area and the walk to Gulgurn Manja Shelter will remain open.

Red Hill Road   Back Rd – Glenelg River Rd.   Public   2WD      Open   Good, but will be slippery after rain
Red Rock Road      Public   2WD      Open   Water across road in sections
Redman Track      Public   2WD      CLOSED
Reed Lookout Road      Public   2WD   Bitumen   Open   No Issue
Rose Creek Road      Public   2WD   Gravel   Open   Good, but will be slippery after rain
Serra Road   Glenelg River Rd – Grampians Rd   Public   2WD      Open   Good, but will be slippery after rain
Stapylton Campground Road      Public   2WD      Open   Good, but will be slippery after rain
Sundial Road      Public   2WD      Open   Good Condition
Syphon Road      Public   2WD      Open   Good, but will be slippery after rain
Wonderland Road      Public   2WD   Bitumen   Open   No Issue
Yarram Gap Road      Public   2WD   Bitumen   Open   No Issue
Zumstein Track (Shortcut)      Public   2WD      Open   Good, but will be slippery after rain

Beehive Track      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      Open
Black Range Road      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      Open   Good, but will be slippery after rain
Boundary Road      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      Open
Brim Springs Track      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      Open
Burrong Track (Shortcut)      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      Open
Cassidy Gap Road      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      CLOSED
Cooinda Burrong Road      Operational – Open All Year   2WD      Open   No Issue
Coppermine Track      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      Open   No Issue
Glenisla Crossing Road      Operational – Open All Year   2WD      Open
Golton South Track      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      Open   Good, but will be slippery after rain
Henham Track North      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      CLOSED
Henham Track South      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      CLOSED
Hines Track      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      Open   Wet / Slippery in Sections
Mt Difficult Road   Boroka Lookout – Lake Wartook   Operational – Open All Year   2WD      CLOSED   See Notes
Old Mill Road      Operational – Open All Year   2WD      Open   Good, but will be slippery after rain
Oslers Track      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      CLOSED   Very Wet
Phillip Island Track      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      Open   Wet / Slippery in Sections
Pines Road      Operational – Open All Year   2WD      Open   Good, but will be slippery after rain
Rosea Track      Operational – Open All Year   4WD   Sand / Gravel   CLOSED
Sawmill Track      Operational – Open All Year   2WD      Open   Good, but will be slippery after rain
Spears Road      Operational – Open All Year   2WD      CLOSED
Stony Creek Rd      Operational – Open All Year   2WD      Open   See Notes
Taylors Track      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      Open
Wallaby Rocks Road      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      Open
Yanganaginj Njawi Track      Operational – Open All Year   4WD      Open
Yarram Park Road      Operational – Open All Year   2WD      Open   Good, but will be slippery after rain

Bellfield Fireline      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      Open   Watch for Fallen Trees
Briggs Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      Open
Burnt Hut Creek Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      Open
Chinaman Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      CLOSED
Fields Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      CLOSED
Flagstaff Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      Open
Geerack Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      Open
Goat Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      Open
Homestead Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      CLOSED
Launders Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      Open
Link Track   Pohlner Rd – Smiths Rd   Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      Open
Lynches Crossing Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      Open   Good, but will be slippery after rain
Matthews Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      Open
Moora Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      CLOSED
Mt Cassell Fireline      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      CLOSED
Muirfoot Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      Open
Sanders Track      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      CLOSED
Victoria Range Road      Operational – Seasonal Closure   4WD      Open   Watch for Fallen Trees

Billywing Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Bomjinna Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Burma Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Carter Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Castle Rock Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Cranages Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Crute Link Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Crute Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
East Wartook Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Golton Link Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Griffin Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Happy Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Heatherlie Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Hut Creek Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Ingleton Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Kaylmna Falls Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Link Track   Serra Rd – Henham Tk   Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Long Point Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Lynchs Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Mair Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Pomonal Fireline      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Ricky North Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Serra Range Track   Glenelg River Rd – Syphon Rd   Operational – MVO 4WD CLOSED
Serra Range Track   South of Cassidy Gap   Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Seven Dials Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Shilcock Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Stockyard Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Terraces Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Victoria Range Track South      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Waterworks Track      Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED
Zumstein Track   Zumstein – Chinaman Tk   Operational – MVO   4WD      CLOSED

Hollow Mountain Walking Track closures and The Gallery Track repairs – Grampians

Posted on January 20, 2012

Hollow Mountain Walking Track
For those of you who like a little mid week action make note of this – Hollow Mountain Walking Track – Track closure February 2012 - Work will commence at the end of the school holidays and will continue for up to five weeks through February, however this track will be open to visitors on weekends. Work to be completed includes re surfacing of the walking track, installation of drainage and steps. Access to Summerday Valley climbing area and Gulgurn Manja Art Shelter will remain open during this time.

The Gallery Walking Track
For those climbers who are physically blessed to be able to climb the routes at The Gallery in the Vic Range, Grampians, you may have noticed last year that after the floods, the climbers access track was closed due to flood damage. Parks staff also laid branches across to deter people from travelling that way. Unfortunately, this caused climbers to then realign the track around the right hand side of the Aboriginal art shelter and through a revegetation area. Interestingly, years ago, PV worked with climbers to create a separate climbers track(the now damaged one) that directed them away from the shelter. This was for fear of erosion and impact to the site. So…not so good that this was occurring again.
Following a climbers query about the new track and the old one being closed, I contacted Dave Roberts, ranger at Halls Gap, who was very appreciative of the information and acted upon it quite quickly. Current situation is as follows:

PV have opened up the first part of the loop up until where the track heads up to the Gallery.So basically you head up there and back down, the same way. Please use this access and not around the right side of the art shelter. I have not yet had the opportunity to visit myself so any feedback on this would be appreciated.
It was also noted that there are some sections that are eroding quite badly on the climbers track so I will be visiting sometime soon to look at what we can do to control it. This is not a PV maintained track, care of this will be up to us climbers to maintain – this is the way that PV would like to see most of the climbers tracks managed. From my reports -” On the first part of the track there is one stretch where there is some deep erosion probably half a metre deep for 20 metres. The second part of the track is basically obliterated and probably needs marking with tape.“

I will be looking for volunteers after the initial inspection to help with the work and am hoping that those climbers that do use this track and the cliffs to climb at will be involved. Stay tuned!

*** Should there be any cairns remaining that are still directing climbers past the art shelter and revegetation area, please take it upon yourselves to remove these. Cheers!

Mt Arapiles Campground Host

Posted on January 20, 2012

For those who happened to be braving the heat at Arapiles over the Christmas to New Year break, you would have seen the Campground Host, Lee, in place – centre in the lower Pines. The Campground Host program is a new collaboration between Parks Victoria, CliffCare and Friends of Arapiles. With less Ranger presence in the park (yes, yes…some would say this is good) many of the issues that impact the Campground and Park are inevitably going to become more so. This program will allow us as climbers and users of the park to have much more of a hand in keeping an eye on things and educating those who might not be so clear on what some of the rules are and, more importantly why they are there.

From the feedback and experience Lee received in the week she was there, it seems that the Host was a welcome and appreciated addition to the campgrounds. This program is a work in progress for us and much of the feedback will be used to develop a plan that works for the park and for its users. A few points are listed below on some of the situations that Lee had to deal with. As she noted, diplomacy is a key skill to dealing with people.

4 cases of dogs in the park. Some walking on leads some tied on long leads to cars. (no dogs or cats allowed at any time in the park, campgrounds inclluded)
2 cases of campfires as well as some enquiries re being able to have a fire (campfires are not allowed at Arapiles from November to April)
5 cases of campers set up in the day visitor area
3 administrations of first aid

As well there were numerous enquiries about the weather in the days ahead, where they could get various supplies, handling a few camper complaints about NYE party noise and general enquiries about the Campground Host role. Feeback was positive.

I would like to thank Lee for being our very first ‘host guinea pig’ and for handling each and every situation with diplomacy for a very positive outcome. She enjoyed the experience and has put her hand up for more. Thankyou Lee! I am still looking for more Campground Hosts at Arapiles so if you think it might be something you would like to try, please drop me a line at cliffcare@vicclimb.org.au

Grampians Road and Track Report – Bundaleer open today!!

Posted on December 23, 2011

Here’s the latest Grampians openings and closures. Good news is that Bundaleer can now be accessed. Mt Abrumpt is also open. See the following:
You can also download the latest colour coded map here

Mt Abrupt–open Friday 23 December 2011
The Parks Victoria flood recovery crew are very excited to complete works on the Mt Abrupt walking track. This popular walking track in the Southern Grampians, was badly damaged in January 2011 from an enourmous landslide that also caused significant damage to the Grampians Tourist Road. Even though a lot of work has been completed on this track, visitors do need to be aware of the risk of walking in a landslip hazard zone. Parks Victoria recomends that walkers should read the walk description on the attached sheet and to take note of the warning signage along the walking track.

Bundaleer Climbing area – access Stony Creek Road from Glenelg River Road
The Bundaleer climbing area will also open on Friday. Access to this area is along the Stony creek Road from Glenelg River Road to Rosea track. From the gate there is a 200m walk to the Bundaleer climbs.

Please note that access from the Silverband Road is not available.

Mt Difficult Road – Closed
Unfortunately Mt Difficult Road received quite a lot of damage from flash flooding early this week. The road will remain closed from Boroka lookout to Lake Wartook Picnic area until further notice. Access to Lake Wartook and Boroka Lookout is open.

Road & Track Closures

• Silverband Road (Silverband Falls Carpark to Sundial
Road turnoff)
• Glenelg River Road (Boreang Campground to Mt Victory
Road)
• Stony Creek Road (Rosea Track to Rosea Carpark)
• Henham Track
• Mitchell Road
• Redmans Track
• Mount William Picnic Ground Road
• Emmetts Road
• Mafeking Road
• Syphon Road (From Glenelg River Road to Sawmill Track)
• Moora Track
• Fields Track
• Rosea Track
• Homestead Track
• Oslers Track
• Mt Cassel Track
• Chinamans Track
• Sanders Track
• Mt Dificult Road
Campground & Site Closures
• Bomjinna Campground
• Kalymna Falls Picnic Area
• Golton Gorge Picnic Area
• Zumstein Area

Walking Track Closures
• Wonderland Loop (Halls Gap to Wonderland Carpark)
• Venus Baths
• Splitter Falls
• Bullaces Glen
• Mount Rosea
• MacKenzie Falls River Walk
• Zumstein Area (All walks)
• Tower Hill
• Red Gum Loop
• Bomjinna Track (From Bomjinna Campground to Mt William
Carpark)
• Brownings Loop (Mafeking)
• Golton Gorge Loop
• Tilwinda Falls
• Major Mitchell Plateau
• Fortress
• Wonderland remote overnight hikes.

Simon Carter’s Rock Odyssey presentation and book launch

Posted on December 16, 2011

CliffCare and the Victorian Climbing Club are sponsoring Simon Carter’s Rock Odyssey Show and book launch. This will happen on Tuesday 20th December. From all the feedback from the shows in other states, this promises to be a great night. CliffCare will also have a display up so you will be able to see some of the work that has taken place over time and you can also buy last minute Raffle tickets for the Raffle which will be drawn at the end of the night.

Location:
1000 £ Bend 361 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne
7.30pm for 8pm show start

For a nice glam poster of the event check this out: SimonCarter show flyer

Mt Arapiles Campground Host Program

Posted on December 12, 2011

CliffCare Victoria, Friends of Arapiles and Parks Victoria are working on a new collaborative version of the Campground Host Program. I will put up some further info on this over the next week.
The first trial run of this will be from Boxing Day 2011 until New Years 2012 Our campground host will be Lee, who some of you may have met over the years. She is a long time climber, long time Araps visiter, camper, climber and one could possibly say she has earlier dirtbag credentials. Great lady and think she will defintely be a caring eye for Araps and the campground. She will be there to offer information and guidance on what is available at Araps and the various rules and guidelines that are in place. Hopefully steering some of those who may not know, what’s hot and what’s not when it comes to looking after the area.
She is not there to bust any balls, be they male or female or family ones so be open to any information she can offer. There will also be information available at her tent area, on CliffCare and Friends of Arapiles, and the work they do,
Our meetings and training days with PV have been positive and the manual that we are required to write up for the program has been discussed and worked on by Louise Shepherd and myself. This is expected by both sides to be a work in progress. Lee is keen and available to take on more of the Campground Host stints but if there is anyone that thinks they might be up for it, please drop me a line. We are aiming at having a host on all the school holidays, long weekends etc. It is not an onerous role but great experience if you are looking for some skills to write up on your CV especially if you are interested in Land and Conservation, Ranger work etc.

Grant funding outcomes

Posted on December 9, 2011

It’s taken a while for the official news to come through on the two Community Group Grants I applied for. So it’s good new and not so good news.

The great news is that we were successful with our grant application for upgrade work to the Burnley Bouldering Wall. This will focus on improving the area itself rather than the wall.
The grant money will fund a matting path/pavers between the two walls.
Bicycle racks will be installed.
An interpretive sign will be errected explaining the wall and bouldering to less climbing knowledgable visitors.

The gravel area between the two walls has been commented on many times over the years. Switching between climbing on each one means much of the gravel gets walked around and onto the mats not to mention the soles of climbing shoes not liking gravel too much.

With many of the people who visit the wall riding their bikes there, space for parking them is becoming limited. These racks will provide more safe space for locking up bikes should you want to and keep the bikes out of the main climbing wall area.

The wall is a facility that is used by many, some are climbers and some are families and visitors who are curious about the background of the wall and the techniques of bouldering. This interpretive sign which will be situated near the path end of the vertical wall, will give a condensed outline of bouldering.

Work days will be organized for this in the new year so stay tuned via all the channels such as VCC website, cliffCare website,facebook pages and Chockstone. Drop us a line to let us know you’re keen to help out.

And the not so good news:

Our ongoing project at Mt Arapiles, the Pharos gully Repair project unfortunately missed out on funding this year. We are coming very close to the end of this project and there is no way that this setback will hold us up. Never fear rockhaulers…..I have plenty of rocks still for you to haul. We shall have to find some funding in other ways in order to continue to employ our stonemason.

walter our stonemason on section of Pharos Track

Again, keep your ear out for future work bees. I’m sure lack of funding didn’t stop the Egyptians from hauling rock for the pyramids and so it shall be with the Pharos Gully Repair project

Access & Environment December report

Posted on December 5, 2011

On Saturday 19^th November, I visited Mt Rosea and Bundaleer for an inspection visit in order to ascertain if and what work would be required to prepare these climbing areas for re-opening.

Being woken up by thunderstorms and pelting rain at about 4am in the morning was not the best sign for the Saturday morning visit of Mt Rosea and Bundaleer. But come to think of it, the last time I did such an inspection visit was after the 2006 fires. And it rained then. Classic Rosea inspection weather! Wet weather gear was packed by all. Along with myself, I had organized a small team of interested climbers to attend. Steve Monks, Kieran Loughran, John Stone, Frank and Sylvia Van der Peet and Cameron Abraham all dragged themselves out of a warm bed for the 9am meet at the Parks Depot in Halls Gap. There we met with David Roberts where we carpooled into 2 cars and headed off. First stop via the Stony Creek Road and Rosea Track was Bundaleer. After heading through the locked gate and driving a little way, it was soon very obvious as to why there was a locked gate and why after a few 100 metres, we couldn’t drive any further.

Rosea Track near Bundaleer

To say that there was some rutting in the road would be a serious understatement. More like there was a road attempting to travel through the rutting- as you can see by the photos. After a bit of discussion about repair progress and insurance coverage for such events – interestingly, the Insurance will only pay for the top orange layer of construction added soil. The rest of the damage in the soil below this is up to PV to find the funds for. Insurance companies – you gotta love em! We then headed up the climbers access track to Bundaleer. The same track where in 2008, we spent a day building and repairing the track following the fires.

Bundaleer access track- previous work still going strong

Well, we obviously did something right as the track is still holding court. Bar a few areas that have had a little wash down and were troublesome areas from the start. But definitely gets the tick of approval and can’t see any reason why this track can’t be used.

Once we were finished with Bundaleer it was off to Rosea – reversing back up the section of road we travelled on to the intersection. We then travelled down the Silverband Road to finally arrive at the Rosea carpark. Have to say it was lovely to be back at Rosea after quite a long time since my last visit and the low lying mist gave Rosea its usual atmospheric feel. The official walking track was good for the most part, with just a few sections that were rutted. We then veered off left at the signage intersection to travel along the climbers access track. Besides the usual abundance of bracken along the track all looked good and was holding up well. Some of the work we had undertaken following the fires had definitely done its job. The stabilizing work we had done on a small collapsed section of track would definitely have prevented that whole section from collapsing and being washed away. Various landslips along the way seemed to have missed our track – but of course, they were only the babies! ,A little further along, the track wasn’t so lucky, as was a huge swathe of land.

Mt Rosea - the newly created gully that crosses our access track

Basically, the track just suddenly ended as did all the vegetation. Huge, bare new gully from very, very top all the way down cutting through to Silverband. While these photos give you an idea it still doesn’t do it justice. The power that must have been behind all that water and moving earth! After much oohing and aahing, we travelled across the new gully to where the track began again and continued on our way. Again for the most part the track is fine and stable. Just before the last switchback to the cliff base a massive tree has come down over the track. It is possible to scramble underneath this. On the other side of it there has been some smaller trees come down, lots of branches covering the track and some slip and wash away of the track.

Damaged track section before last switchback.

After this the switchback itself is fine and the track continues up to the base. We travelled to the top of the Giant Staircase which has held up brilliantly and doesn’t really appear to have suffered much in the way of wash away and erosion. Possibly a few loose base stones here and there but certainly nothing that you wouldn’t expect from a rocky track.

So, the question is where, what and how does this leave us, the climbing community. Well despite the awesomeness(cos that’s the only word that describes it!) of the landslide damage to Rosea, not too bad really. There will be no repair to the newly created gully. That’s nature creating something new and will become just another part of the Grampians environment. Over years it will revegetate and generations from now will only see it as we currently see treed gullies. And probably none the wiser to the event that created it. After discussion with Dave, we will delineate a new track from one side to the other giving it a little stabilizing work. And with Nature having done most of the work of clearing everything, this really shouldn’t be a big job. The trees down on the track will make access along the track a little more difficult but even if nothing was done, you could still travel along it. The larger tree will need serious cutting equipment to move it and Dave has indicated that this is something he could help out with, along with another tree a little further before this. We are more than capable to cut, remove and clear the track immediately after the large treefall…and for the most part, that’s it for Rosea. As the access track to the cliff base is a climbers access track, the climbing community will take responsibility for maintaining this track and take care of any erosion issues that occur on the Giant Staircase. Time frames for opening are dependant on a few things. The main issue is the road access. Dependant on Vicroads plan of attack for their work on the lower Silverband road, there is the possibility that we may be able to access and use the Rosea carpark on weekends. This decision does rest with Vicroads though and their contractors work plan. The Rosea carpark will be used by them for their vehicles and materials etc. Possibly we can access it via a walk in from the Sundial carpark if the reopening of that section is not possible. Alternatively the access would be via the Stony Creek Road. It would mean having to access it via the longer way around – Mt Victory is now completely open. Would be great before Christmas but probably not likely – stay tuned as I will have some better timelines shortly.

Bundaleer is on the cards to open before Christmas. Work on the Rosea Track is targeted to begin start of December. Regardless of this, there are still some options to be able to access the area. Just might mean a little more of a walk with access stopping up towards the intersection of Rosea Track and Stony Creek. With regards to any work we may need to do at Bundaleer – well that is minimal and the opening is certainly not dependant on that.

All in all it was a very positive visit and day not only from the Bundaleer and Rosea aspect but also from a relationship perspective between the climbing community and the land managers, Parks Victoria. David Roberts is keen to continue moving forward in developing the relationship we have with them in a positive way. Many thanks to Dave for making time in his schedule.

Lower section of Silverband Road or where it used to be

Reopenings, Repairs and Volunteers

Posted on November 11, 2011

Been a busy last two weeks with all sorts of events, news and tasks to do, coming to the fore.

I visited the You Yangs on Saturday 5^th November to have a look at the work that had taken place due to the floods.
The park is still very heavily rutted in many areas but the climbing areas that CliffCare was originally going to work on have had quite a bit of work done. We will be heading into the You Yangs sometime in the new year to look at doing some work with the grant money CliffCare was awarded with.

work at Urinal Wall area

work at Royalty Wall area

work at Gravel Pit Tor area

I will be starting work on Rosea and Bundaleer openings in the next couple of weeks (That doesn’t mean it will be open in the next few weeks, just starting the process) I will be looking at the sites and our climber access tracks and determining if and what work will need to be done due to flood damage. Besides my initial visits to the area, I am looking at setting up a small group of people to be involved in these areas in the longer term . In a sense, climbing custodians. To work with me, if and when works need to be done and importantly to keep an eye on the area so any issues can be reported to me and we can resolve them sooner rather than later.

Recently I was nominated for a Parks Victoria Kookaburra Award. Parks Victoria’s Kookaburra Awards recognise and honour individuals and groups who have made an outstanding contribution to Victoria’s parks The awards are held bi-annually.The Awards are open to all volunteers, both individuals and groups, who participate in activities across the Parks Victoria estate.

This award belongs to all the volunteers who have happily(?) hauled rocks for me up and down the steep track of the Pharos Gully. This is really hard work and never ceases to amaze me how the volunteers push themselves and carry just a little bit more than they are asked to. Well done all and thanks so very much. Be seeing you again soon???

Award recipients

For further info on this

Access & Environment Officer Report Nov 2011

Posted on November 11, 2011

Hi All,

This is actually half of the last monthly access report. Had already posted the other half in the last post on Rosea and Bundaleer.

Black Hill is seeing much more traffic these days so it is inevitable that the climbers impact will need to be watched and managed. For the most part a small crew of regulars do keep an eye on it and shore up any sections that look like they need stabilizing. Recently though a section required a little more manpower than the usual two so in a small gully section near the route Milawa, some subtle stone steps were put in place. I would imagine that extra bits of work will take place over the next few years as there are a couple of other sections that could benefit from a little stabilizing. For climbers to the area, and to any area in fact, try to stick to the rocky sections on steeper tracks wherever possible. And if you notice any of our climbers access tracks becoming worse for wear, drop me line and I can see what we can do. Having said that, if you can see that a few wel l placed rocks here and there will help control the situation make the effort. Secondary tracks starting up next to already existing tracks is also a problem this will eventually cause loss of vegetation between the two as the erosion spreads over a larger area. Placing some large branches/brush on the newly developing track will hopefully deter those who are just absent mindedly walking along wherever a track seems to appear. And this is how many of the tracks will start. If you do see a large collection of branches that are lying across tracks have a quick look around. You will most likely see another track – the proper one. As climbers access tracks, for the most part are kept as subtle as possible, sometimes you need to take a little time to assess your surroundings and possibly look at your guide or maps again. All of these small steps help a great deal in preventing extra work, extra impact and in the long run, continued trouble free access for climbers. It really is a no brainer.

Cheers,

Tracey

CliffCare Victoria

Access issues and updates on all Victorian cliffs.