The only written account of climbing prior to 1992 is a guide produced in 1973 - A Guide to Rock Climbs in the Northern Territory by Helen and John Griffiths. Much of the pre 1992 info comes from this guide.

1968 - 1972
Climbing in Central Australia began in 1968 with the arrival of Gordon and Pam Oates. An English girl Pauline Mason also climbed with them, and they managed the first ascents of the area. All their climbing was in the immediate vicinity of Alice Springs; Honeymoon Gap; Wigleys Waterhole; and Standley Chasm. As accurate route details are not available, these climbs have not been included in the guide

After 1969, no more climbs were recorded until July 1972 when Andrew Thomson and Keith Lockwood attempted to climb the 'Kangaroo Tail' on Uluru (Ayers Rock). They succeeded in climbing about 140m before one of the park rangers ordered them down (with shotguns at hand) - It should be noted that there was no signs or regulations back then.

1972 - 1973
Climbs began to be recorded with some regularity when Helen and John Griffiths moved to Alice Springs in August 1972. Their first climbs were close to Alice Springs, at Heavytree Gap, the climbs (not listed in the main guide) were: Willy Willy (13), The Shadow (7), The Cobbler (7), Dead Finish (5) and Tiptoe (5). The pair also completed routes at Emily Gap; Jessie Gap and Burt Bluff. During this time Fergus Hughes also began climbing with them and the three attempted to climb Chambers Pillar, a fantastic monolith that rises 68m from the plain on the edge of the Simpson desert. Lack of equipment and extremely poor (crumbly) rock forced a retreat.

At the beginning of 1973 Keith Seddon arrived in Alice Springs, and teamed up with John Griffiths. Together they investigated Serpentine Gorge, putting up Terrapin, and also climbed at Jessie Gap. When Helen Griffiths arrived back after 3 months away, the three climbers opened up many new areas: North Face of Mt Gillen; Ooraminna Pinnacle, Corroboree Rock, Trephina Gorge and Glen Helen. They also did the first ascent of Chambers Pillar in June 1973. Just weeks before, in May, Keith Lockwood & Andrew Thompson managed to complete the serious Kangaroo Tail. Both of these climbs are very serious and illegal undertakings, and are not listed in this guide for obvious reasons.

Alice Springs: June 1974 - December 1976
I learned to rock climb thanks to some climbers passing through the Alice with whom I no longer have contact. We survived the brittle sandstone and lurking snakes, and did numerous climbs, including ascents at Heavitree Gap (beside the tracks), Emily Gap, Trephina Gorge, Simpson's Bluff, and one particular climb to the East of Alice on a prominent pinnacle that was quite a showpiece [Corroborie Rock!]. We were devout followers of Chouinard clean climbing dogma - placed no bolts, and didn't use chalk.

The group of climbers active in Alice Springs at the time were: Ken Jones (Wales); Jill Watkinson, Ted Malthouse, John Hart (all Aus); Tom Moore (US); and Peter Walton (Scot). Ken Jones and Peter Walton were both accomplished mountaineers who somehow landed in Alice on extended travels. Both Ken and Peter separately had climbed with Sir E. Hillary and Tenzing in Europe - this was interesting as Ken arrived in Alice just after Peter left, and thus they never met each other.

Ken had a mountain rescue background and started a program to train Alice Springs based Emergency Response teams in roped rescue techniques in 1975.

One of the great disappointments we had was being turned down by authorities to climb those beautiful domes in the Olgas [Kata Juta].

Currently Bill lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA).

There is unfortunately no info or evidence of climbing from the 80's era (although I did come across an early model camming device halfway up Emily Gap)! So we fast forward to the 90's...

In 1992 Keiran Culhane, a keen climber from Canberra came to town, and after 18 months of investigation managed to find the only two local climbers. One of these was Catherine Fitzpatrick who climbed by taking novices out to the cliffs, and teaching them as they climbed. The other climber in town was Roark Muhlen-Schulte. Roark was a experienced climber with a reputation for putting up hard, bold routes.

1990 - 1993
The modern age of Centralian climbing started in the early 1990's when Roark was living in Alice Springs. It is rumored that Roark (pretty much single handedly), was responsible for placing most of the bolts that now exist, and putting up some very good climbs along the way. Although confirmation has never been forthcoming (despite attempts in the past to contact him), it is safe to assume that it was he who bolted Ormiston, The Quarry, The Unknown, and possibly Charles Creek, and can be credited with many of the ascents.

The only published material we have is from the annual visits of Simon Mentz, who came up to climb with Roark. Together, they were responsible for pushing Centralian climbing standards with the first ascent of Tjilka (26) in 1992. Simon Mentz also climbed with James McIntosh and Jan van der Meulen, putting up new routes at The Unknown, and Trephina Gorge.

In 1993 Roark was married, and left Alice Springs - but not before climbing Pre-Nuptual Adventures at Serpentine, with Simon Mentz. Simon thought Roark quite mad at the proposal of climbing a 50m crumbling overhang, with no guarantees of any worthwhile protection. But compromising on a line between them, they came up with something quite brilliant.

In the latter part of 1993, another two keen climbers came to town. Damian Auton and Libby Evans from Melbourne, who soon hooked up with Keiran Culhane. They repeated the local routes, and put up many new climbs along the way - keeping a record of all their climbs for the convenience of future climbers. Old friends and some new friends joined this small climbing team, and they became known as the infamous Yerba's.

1994 - 1996
In 1994, a climbing wall was built at the Alice Springs YMCA. This was due much to the efforts of Damian Auton (fittingly, a building inspector), who designed the wall, and oversaw the construction. Local businesses, and government grants funded the project, and the apprentice scheme provided the labour. The opening of the wall brought renewed interest from retired climbers, and with plenty of beginners willing to try climbing, the climbing population in Alice Springs grew to more than ever before. In September 1994, a climbing competition / fun day was held at The Wall, complete with spectators, and some impressive up and coming climbers.

Interest in climbing grew, and in March 1995 the Yerba's put out a local climbing rag called 'Crank It', which soon grew to become a sort after publication on local (and not so local) climbing news. They produced six issues over 18 months and are now a collectors item if you're lucky enough to own one.

Goshen Watts arrived on the scene with annual trips from 1994, and teamed up with the Yerba's to complete many new routes, a second ascent of Tjilka, and later to put up the new hardest route at Mt Benstead. In 1996 a group of high profile Victorian Climbers including Malcolm Matheson (HB), Glen Tempest, Simon Mentz, Chris Peisker, Michael Hampton, and quite a few more, arrived for a whirlwind tour of the centre. New areas were opened up including Kings Canyon, Mt Conner, Ross River, Glen Helen, and even more new routes at Ormiston. HB also pulled off an onsight ascent of Tjilka, claiming it was more like 25 (which it probably is). Soonafter, climbing at Tjilka was officially banned, and bees have now taken back residence - just past the crux.

Damian, Libby and Keiran left Alice Springs for cooler climates in late 1996, leaving just a few local climbers to continue the scene in Alice Springs. Keiran is currently in Japan, while Damian and Libby live in Melbourne.

In the recent years, climbing in Central Australia has been continued by a few local climbers, who despite efforts to contact them, have chosen to make no contributions to this guide. This is unfortunate, but they have continued the efforts to keep the scene alive, and that is the main thing. An new guidebook has just been completed for Central Australia, details on the homepage.