General Info on Alice Springs
Camping and Access
Ethics and Etiquette
General questions on climbing in Central Australia
| General Info on Alice Springs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What is the regions climate? |
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While climbing in Central Australia is possible all year round, the winter months offer a much better climbing temperature than you might experience in summer. Winter is an especially good time to visit, as the weather at most other Southern crags is generally cold and miserable. Not surprisingly the peak tourist season is the winter months (April - September). The days are often mild, sometimes warm, and always sunny (well not always, but the chances are pretty good). The night temperatures (all year round) usually drop about 18 deg below the day time temperature, so night temperatures in winter often reach 0 deg C - you'll need a warm swag, and a campfire to keep you warm. Summer months (October - March) are VERY hot, with temperatures often reaching 40 deg C or more (in the shade), and climbing at many cliffs is not recommended. However, climbing is still quite possible, providing you take the necessary precautions, and you stick to cliffs in the shade. You might also wish to visit one of the many water holes for a swim on the way back to Alice Springs. Although mostly dry, summer is the season where Central Australia sees
the most rain, and spectacular thunderstorms. Rivers are generally dry,
but can grow to full intensity with lots of rain. |
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Where can I buy climbing or camping equipment in Alice Springs? |
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There's good quality camping shop called Lone
Dingo, that is only 50m East of the 'Sails' in the Todd Mall. They
now stock the climbing basics - chalk, cord, tape, biners, some gear and
shoes. Although you're best to bring most of your own. More details are
in the contacts section. |
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Where do I find out more information on accommodation, or Alice Springs in general? |
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Visit the links
section, there are a couple of Alice Springs websites which have all this
info. Your local travel center might also be able to help with this. |
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What is the geology of the area? |
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| Hmm, I might have to consult a Geologist on this one. What
I (think I) know is that the area is substantially quartzite sandstone,
of varying hardness, and was probably laid down millions of years ago around
when there was a great inland sea. Somewhere in between the sandstone eras
was a relatively short limestone era (presumably when there was an inland
sea). A large range (The MacDonnells) then formed due to some major earth
movements and folding events (the range was once VERY high I have been told)
but has now been weathered down to an average of about 300m. The limestone
band was exposed from this folding and is about 500m thick. Some caves,
a lot of shitty rock, a few great crags are now to be found. >> top |
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| Camping and Access | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Can I camp at the crags, or are there designated camping areas? |
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Camping out under the stars in Central Australia shouldn't be missed. Clear skies and thousands of stars are almost guaranteed. Camping in the dry river beds is highly recommended, offering easy access and minimum impact camping. You can camp at (or near) many crags described in this guide. Please take all your rubbish away, bury your shit, and don't camp just beside the road, or at tourist areas (unless permitted). BC = Bush Camp at crag |
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Do I need to bring a tent? |
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| No. A groundsheet, or piece of canvas is all that you need
to put your bedding on, unless you're lucky enough to score a swag (canvas
bedroll). Nights in winter do get very cold though, so you'll still need
plenty of warm stuff. Of course if you can't stand the thought of sleeping
under the stars, then you can bring a tent if you wish. >> top |
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Do I need a 4WD? |
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| Unless stated, all of the crags in this guide only require
two wheel drive. Some areas such as Mt Benstead require 4WD to get close
to the cliff, and other more remote areas (not listed) require 4WD access
- especially for crossing or driving up soft-sand river beds. Otherwise a 4WD comes in handy when finding more remote camping spots. >> top |
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Are the water holes safe to swim in? |
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| Despite what many people think, there are no crocodiles in
Central Australia (they reside about 1000km N in the tropics). Finding a
nice cool waterhole in summer is like nothing else, and is the only way
to finish off a hard days climbing. Beware if the water holes are very low,
as they might contain algae (good or bad stuff I don't know). If the water
looks good, then most likely it is. Ask the rangers, or locals if you're
not sure. >> top |
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| Ethics and Etiquette | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ethics will often vary from crag to crag. As a general rule, climbing around or above any tourist areas is not allowed and please stay off crags where climbing has been banned. Heed the advice of park rangers and landowners. Regarding protection, natural pro is used wherever it exists, and some crags have a no-bolting ethic. There are no sport specific crags in Central Australia. It is important to the local climbing community that you don't cause
any trouble, as this climbing is all they have, and any attention drawn
to careless or senseless climbers could result in closures. |
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Aboriginal custodians have requested that visitors to Uluru do NOT make the regular tourist climb, as it goes against their traditions and customs. Despite the request, you can still climb up the North Western corner - the tourist route. Apart from that, there is absolutely no climbing of any sort allowed in the park - at either Uluru, or the Oglas (Kata Tjuta). If you go there (and it's highly recommended that you do), you'll see why. The place is amazing just to look at, and you don't mind not being able to climb when you see the power of the place - and how bad the rock is :-). >>More. |
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| A Sacred Site is a an area that is of significant cultural
importance to the local Aboriginal people who have lived on the land for
the past 40,000 years or so. Many of the major sites (gorges, water holes,
etc) have become tourist attractions, but for many sites, the exact location,
and importance of each area is not marked in black and white, so you must
exercise a degree of caution, and respect for anywhere you visit, and use
your common sense. Please read the 'Access and Ethics' notes for each crag. >> top |
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Can I place bolts? |
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| At almost every crag in Australia that is within a national
park, bolting is technically illegal. This is certainly the case in Central
Australia. All crags near tourist attractions, or in the gorges should remain
entirely bolt free, and don't place ANY bolts on cliffs where there are
none already - there is probably a good reason for it. Crags on private
land should be assessed crag-by-crag, and permission should be obtained
from the owners where possible. If you do want to bolt something, then consult
the locals first. >> top |
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| General questions on climbing in Central Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Climbing at nearly all crags requires at least some natural protection. If you're climbing on natural gear, then bring a full rack, with cams to size 3, bolt plates, plenty of nuts, draws, etc. If you just stick to the sport type crags, then all you need is: |
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| Central Australia is vast, and when you think that most of
the established climbing areas are based within 2km of a major road, there
must still be shitloads of climbing still out there. That said, most of
the regions with the best gorges and cliffs do have roads leading to them,
and those that remain to be discovered are likely to be very remote and
largely inaccessible. It would pay to have some local experience (i.e. live
there) before going off on some wild adventure to find new areas, and permission
should be sort before establishing or bolting any climbs. >> top |
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What abbreviations are used in this website? |
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All the usual for East (E), West (W), North (N), South (S), Left (L), and Right (R). I have also taken the liberty of assigning a star to good climbs that are well worth doing. I have not used the standard three star ratings, which I'll leave for a proper guidebook editor to worry about. Stars are relative to Central Australian climbing only, and should not be compared with other areas.
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| >> top |
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| If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to email me. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||