Here’s the latest Gramps road and track report. Rather than copy and pasting it all here, I think I will just stick with a download – Road Report -17 Feb 2012 although you can catch it in its entirety every week on the Grampians tab. Exciting stuff these options I provide 
Thought this might be an interesting topic to ruminate on and promote some lively debate whilst also informing the climbing community of a recent accident.
I was speaking to the Grampians Head Ranger last week re Rosea and re-opening timelines, work that needs to be done by them, by us etc when he told me of a rescue that took place the week before at Rosea. It being a currently closed area and all. This happened after hours and he didn’t really have too many more details from the SES except that it was a broken ankle. I did explain, and he is aware of this, that the information re Rosea and its current closure has been distributed to the climbing community. But of course, there will always be a small minority who choose to do their own thing and go ‘under the radar’. Which,being a small minority, for most of the time, stays under the radar. Except of course when you need/or want a rescue. Dave did ask me to reiterate to the climbing community, ‘ the respecting of closed areas’. Which I am doing now.
So climbers – thoughts?
With Christmas and the new year out of the way, comes the time I have to sit down and try and put down what has been happening in the wonderful world of Access since I last sat down and typed the Argus report. Hmm….. where to begin.
Grampians
Bundaleer opened as planned just before Christmas. As noted in my last report, the area itself stood up well to the floods and no extra work has been needed. The road situation is still ongoing and because of this access into the cliff via the usual ways has slightly changed. The only access is via Glenelg Road then Stony Creek Road. You will need to park near the intersection and then walk down the Rosea Track past the road closed sign. This has been approved by PV as a way for us to access the cliff. At this stage, you are unable to access Bundaleer via the Silverband Road. This is currently closed due to VicRoads starting work on the lower section of the road. Rosea is still currently closed – will be organizing a work day soon to do a little work on the area before it is accessible.
The Gallery
The Gallery in the Vic Range, Grampians was impacted by the floods and the climbers access track was closed due to flood damage . Due to this climbers then realigned 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. 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.
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.
Hollow Mountain Track closures
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.
You Yangs
Although the details have yet to be worked out, it looks like the grant money we obtained for work at the You Yangs in 2010 (and put on hold because of the flood and park closures) will be put towards building a retaining stonework wall in the Urinal Wall area. Some work has already taken place stabilizing the area as well as repairing and rebuilding the steps to the climbing area but the remaining problem now of loss of vegetation further out from the base is a very real one. Currently we have some branches to deter people from moving further into the trees when waiting at the base of the climbs but as Urinal Wall is a group climbing area, this will become more eroded bit by bit. Though nowhere near as extensive as Summerday Valley stonework, the same concept will be applied.
Campground Host - Arapiles
The Campground Host program ran for its first trial run at Arapiles. I have written a small separate article for this so you can find out how it all went. (see an earlier post or visit the Campground Host Very positive feedback and think it will be a good move forward for the campgrounds. I am still looking for people who might be interested in being a Host. Free camping, a worthwhile experience for you and contributes to climbers having a hand in how the campground is run. For more information, drop me a line – cliffcare@vicclimb.org.au
Burnley Wall
Having been successful with a grant for facilities upgrade to the Wall, we can now start to put the plan into practice. A new matting path will be put down between the two walls, bike racks installed and an interpretive sign will also be erected at the far end of the vertical wall closes to the bike path. I will announce some dates for working bees shortly for this so hope that those who use the wall will rock up and help out for a couple of hours.
Volunteer Opportunities
Graphic Design. I am looking for some graphically talented people to help with the CliffCare Education Project. This project will consist of a number of elements that will require graphic design work – first off I am looking at posters. Drop me a line cliffcare@vicclimb.org.au
Cheers,
Tracey
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 7th 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
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!
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.
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
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.
• 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.
