Rock climbing in Australia originated in Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania in the early 1920s, and spread to the rest of Australia after WWII. [1]
In 1998 it had a 0.3% participation rate for both genders. [2] It has been featured in magazines like Vertical Life. Competition climbing is managed by Sport Climbing Australia, and has seen a surge in participation since rock climbing's inclusion in the Olympics. [3]
Like Europe and America, the climbing culture of Australia has its roots in alpinism and exploration. Early European exploration was focused in southeast of New South Wales in the Blue Mountains. There, the seemingly endless sandstone walls and the imagining of the landscape represented in the local newspapers helped to spread interest climbing peaks. Between 1927 and 1938 there were 150 articles, most of which are accompanied by photographs. It became traditional to set peaks on fire after reaching them, to signal success to the rest of the ascensionists' party on the ground. [1]
Little is known about rock climbing in Aboriginal Australian culture, but today many mountains are sacred sites. [4] [5]
The difficulty of the climbs gradually increased, with some stylistic differences between Queensland and NSW climbers, with the former often climbing free solo and NSW climbers relying heavily on ropes. [6] [1] Some of the early bold ascents include Crater Bluff (9) by Eric Dark and Dorothy English in 1936, and Federation Peak (5) in 1949. [7]
Australian climbing began pushing into higher grades in the late 1950s with the first grade 17. [8]
In the 1960s John Ewbank developed the Ewbank System for grading climbs, the world's first open ended system.
The Grampians National Park commonly referred to as the Grampians, is a national park located in the Grampians region of Victoria, Australia. The Jardwadjali name for the mountain range itself is Gariwerd.
A climbing route is a path by which a climber reaches the top of a mountain, or rock/ice-covered obstacle. The details of a climbing route are recorded in a climbing guidebook and/or in an online climbing route database, and will include elements such as the type of climbing route, the difficulty grade of the route–and beta on its crux(es)–and any risk or commitment grade, the length and number of pitches of the route, and the type of climbing equipment needed to complete the route.
In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent, is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers and climbers were focused on reaching the tops of iconic mountains and climbing routes by whatever means possible, often using considerable amounts of aid climbing, and/or with large expedition style support teams that laid "siege" to the climb.
Sport climbing is a type of free climbing in rock climbing where the lead climber clips into pre-drilled permanent bolts for their protection while ascending a route. Sport climbing differs from the riskier traditional climbing where the lead climber has to insert temporary protection equipment while ascending.
Frog Buttress is a cliff on the north-west side of Mount French, in the Moogerah Peaks National Park near the town of Boonah in Queensland, Australia. It became famous when local rock climbers Rick White and Chris Meadows discovered it in 1968. Since then, 400 routes have been established by climbers including Henry Barber, Kim Carrigan and Tobin Sorenson.
Mount Warning, a mountain in the Tweed Range in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, was formed from a volcanic plug of the now-gone Tweed Volcano. The mountain is located 14 kilometres (9 mi) west-south-west of Murwillumbah, near the border between New South Wales and Queensland. Lieutenant James Cook saw the mountain from the sea and named it Mount Warning.
Mount Barney is a mountain within the Scenic Rim Region in south-east Queensland, Australia. It lies approximately 130 kilometres (81 mi) south-west of Brisbane, not far from the Queensland - New South Wales border, and forms part of the McPherson Range. It is a popular destination for bushwalkers and campers. Mount Barney is the sixth or seventh highest mountain in Queensland and is often regarded as one of the most impressive parts of the Scenic Rim. The mountain consists of two main peaks,, and smaller subsidiary peaks. East Peak is probably the most popular destination for bushwalkers.
Mount Lindesay is a rural locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. It borders New South Wales. In the 2016 census, Mount Lindesay had a population of 3 people.
Mount Cordeaux is a mountain near Brisbane, Australia and rises 1,135 m. It lies to the immediate north of Cunninghams Gap in the Main Range National Park. It is known to the Aboriginal People as Niamboyoo, however, the meaning is unknown. It appears that early usage on names for the mountain varied, as a 29 September 1897 report in the Warwick Examiner and Times, refers to "the well-known Cunningham's Gap, with its twin sentinel peaks, Coonyinirra and Niamboyoo".
The Warrumbungles is a mountain range in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The nearest town is Coonabarabran. The area is easiest accessed from the Newell Highway which is the major road link directly between Melbourne, Victoria and Brisbane, Queensland and cuts across inland New South Wales from the north to the south.
Jerry Moffatt, is a British rock climber and climbing author who is widely considered as being the best British rock climber from the early-1980s to the early-1990s, and was arguably the best rock climber in the world in the mid-1980s, and an important climber in the history of the sport.
Mount Arapiles is a rock formation that rises about 140 metres (460 ft) above the Wimmera plains in western Victoria, Australia. It is located in Arapiles approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of the town of Natimuk and is part of the Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park. Arapiles is a very popular destination for rock climbers due to the quantity and quality of climbs. It is one of the premier climbing sites in Australia along with the nearby Grampians. The Wotjobaluk name for the formation is Djurid.
Federation Peak is a Tasmanian mountain with a sharp spire-like shape, which marks the southern end of the Eastern Arthur Range in the Southwest National Park. The peak, approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) south-west from Hobart, was named after the Federation of Australia.
John Ewbank was an English-born Australian rockclimber. He was born in Yorkshire, England in 1948, but emigrated to Australia at the age of 15. He is best known for his development of the Ewbank System, used in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa for grading climbs.
Michael Fowler is a British rock climber, ice climber, mountaineer and climbing author. He is internationally noted for his alpine climbing, and was awarded the Piolet d'Or three times, with Paul Ramsden, in 2003, 2013, and 2016, for alpine-style first ascents of faces in the Himalayas. Fowler was one of the first British rock climbers to free an E6-graded traditional rock climbing route, and the first ice climber to free a consensus grade VI mixed climbing Scottish winter route.
The Wheel of Life is a 21-metre (69 ft) long sandstone bouldering route on the roof of the Hollow Mountain Cave in the Grampians of Australia. When first solved, it was graded at 8C+ (V16), one of the world's first-ever boulder routes at that grade. With subsequent repeats, it was graded at 8C (V15), and some consider it to really be a sport climbing traverse route, at the sport grade of 9a (5.14d).
Geoff Weigand is an Australian rock climber and road cyclist.
Andrea Hah is an Australian rock climber based in Blue Mountains, known for being the first Australian woman to climb grade 33 with her ascent of Tiger Cat, and her appearance on Australian Ninja Warrior.
Dorothy Butler —better known as Dot Butler—was an Australian bushwalker, mountaineer and conservationist.
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