nicolaoutdoors

Hanging Rock, Victoria is most famous for the 1967 Joan Lindsay book, Picnic at Hanging Rock, which was adapted for film by Peter Weir in 1975. Since the autumn colours were in full display, I thought a trip to Mt. Macedon and a walk up Hanging Rock would make a pretty day trip with my parents who have been visiting from the UK.

my parents on the "trail"

on the summit

It really is a very pretty and interesting place. The rock is, well, pretty cool. But how comes it is okay to put up ugly signs, lay asphalt pathways right up to the rocks and insert railings and steps but it’s not okay to climb?

There are several ‘Hanging Rocks’ around the world:

1. Hanging Rock, New Zealand, where you CAN climb

2 Hanging Rock, Iowa, USA, where you CANNOT climb

3. Hanging Rock, North Carolina, USA, where you CANNOT climb

4. Hanging Rock, Victoria, Australia, where you CANNOT climb

Only one out of four is open for climbing. (Actually, there are even more, but most are not even rocky.) So, except in New Zealand, there seems to be some bad karma for climbers associated with the name …

Some excerpts from the management plan published by the (Victorian) Hanging Rock Reserve:

The Committee of Management, being an incorporated body, are covered from liability by the insurance cover of the D.C.& E. The threat of potential litigation should not be a reason therefore for banning climbing.

The Hanging Rock Reserve Committee of Management should, however, make it clear that it does not actively promote climbing at the rock …

All reasonable precaution must be taken to minimize any potential risk of an accident occurring. Signage at the entry to the rock should clearly state that climbing is a dangerous sport, and should also set out any regulations regarding the control of climbing.

It is recommended that climbing be regulated.

Climbers need to be precluded from areas where they may conflict with the public

Removal or replacement of existing bolts that are loose or dangerous should be carried out by an expert from a recognised climbing organization e.g. the Victorian Climbing Club with its own insurance cover, contracted on an annual basis by the Committee of Management.

No new bolting will be allowed without the authority of the Committee of Management

An informal hardened access path will be constructed as appropriate around the base of the rock for the length of the climbable area. The path shall be out of bounds to the general public, being closed off by a locked gate in the vegetation protection fence, but able to be accessed by climbers when they pay a deposit and collect a key from the kiosk.

After all this, the last line is somewhat hilarious:

It is hoped that this approach will overcome the need to heavily police and further regulate the sport.

The VCC have been in negotiations for eternity to allow access again and, I know, if I cared enough (and could avoid bonking the heads of idiots together), I could get involved with climber access issues.  There are, of course, many, many places were climbing is banned and/or heavily regulated for a variety of reasons, some good, some completely inane.  I wish I had the patience to deal with people, but I just want a quick fix for the world, where people stop thinking that they ‘own’ things like mountains, have ‘entitlement’ over other people and can, instead, learn to work together to preserve, manage and enjoy the beautiful environments that we have around us.

I recently read an eloquently put observation from Steph Davis for the deregulation of base-jumping in the US after experiencing the easy experiences of mountain culture in Switzerland:

“There is no fuss, no disagreement, no cry for outlawing of anything, no criticizing certain user groups as being different or “crazy” or risky, no exclusionary rules that cost time and money to enforce. The Swiss simply evaluate potential conflicts, propose a reasonable solution, and everyone moves forward. It’s all so… easy.”

views from the rocks