A guide to climbing Ayers Rock

Climber's Handbook: a guide to climbing Ayers Rock

The book is coming together nicely, just a few more words to put down and first draft will go to the Publishers soon.

A mocked up cover below.

A guide to climbing Ayers Rock

Available from Connor Court soon!

A Guide to Climbing Ayers Rock

Since the handover of Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park to its traditional Anangu owners in 1985 “the Climb”, that great Australian outback institution, undertaken by about 7 million Australian and international tourists has been neglected, disparaged, maligned and ignored by the Board and Managers of the National Park.

In October 2019 baring a change of mind of the Board, or successful legal action, the Climb will be officially banned for cultural and safety reasons that do not hold up to close scrutiny. Sadly, since the early 2000s those who have undertaken the climb, have been made to feel guilty about simply enjoying the natural world. This should not be the case.

Official documents, fact sheets and other official information fail to provide park visitors with any useful information about the Climb. Why? Because it’s a cultural tradition Parks Australia and the Board want to bring to an end. The limited information that is available is strongly biased against the Climb. It’s highly inaccurate and insufficient for visitors to properly prepare themselves, and give them the tools to enjoy and fully engage with one of the world’s great pilgrimages. With a rush of visitors expected before the Climb is officially closed for good, and for those unable to visit, but still wanting to learn more, the Climber’s Handbook will redress the imbalance and provide useful, reliable and accurate information to visitors about this Australian cultural icon.

The Climber’s Handbook is a celebration of the climb. It will provide the general public and those tourists and past visitors still interested in exploring the natural world, without being made to feel guilty by contradictory and irrational messages, with all the information they need to successfully and safely complete this physical adventure and fully appreciate the glory and wonder of the natural surrounds that can be viewed from the summit.

The Handbook is packed with historical information, facts, photos and figures providing all the answers to the questions about the climb people were too afraid to ask. Who climbed it first? Who was the first woman to climb? The first family? Are there any other routes? Has anyone completed a traverse across the Rock? What is the best time of year to climb? What’s the best footwear? How many people have died and how did they die? How did the death of one climber result in the release of Lindy Chamberlain from Darwin’s Berrimah Prison? What you can see from the summit? It’s not just a desert out there! Just why are the Traditional Owners closing it? Answers to these questions and more will be found in the Climber’s Handbook.

The author is geologist Marc Hendrickx. Marc worked for the Northern Territory Geological Survey in the late 1990s and has completed the Climb a number times. The first time in 1998, in the company of Matt Golombek, Science Director of the Mars Pathfinder Mission. The most recent in July 2018 with his two daughters. Marc has maintained an interest in the Climb over many years but was taken by surprise when the UKTNP board announced on November 1 2017 that the Climb would be banned in October 2019. He immediately set out to provide information to counter specious and false claims issued about the Climb by the Board and Parks Australia, establishing the “Right To Climb” blog and an online campaign to overturn the ban. The Climber’s Handbook will provide the facts about the Climb that for long have been buried.

Mount Warning: Aboriginal claims about summit climb are contested

"How can the public experience the spiritual significance of this land if they do not climb the summit and witness creation." Ngaraakwal Elder Marlene Boyd RIP NSW NPWS have the following description about Aboriginal attitudes to people climbing to the summit of Mt Warning on their webpage about the walking track: Wollumbin, which means ‘cloud catcher’ to some Aboriginal People, is a traditional place of cultural law, initiation and spiritual education for the people of the Bundjalung Nation. Under Bundjalung law, only certain people can climb the summit. Out of respect for their law and culture, consider not climbing the summit. These claims, including the very name applied to the mountain, are contested and it seems there is another story that NSW NPWS have not properly acknowledged and have long kept from public attention. We came across this article from the Daily News February 24 2007 about Ngaraakwal Elder Marlene Boyd that makes for interesting reading. It seems

Mt Warning - Summit signing, time capsule

A Mt Warning Visit, summit signing Drove up the long road from Sydney, leaving early to grab a beer at the Mt Warning Hotel at Uki in the afternoon. There's a nice view of the summit from the smoker's deck. The tip of the mountain was catching clouds and then letting them go. I met Roger, a one-legged ex- navy seal and former security guard to Gloria Estafan. He was an interesting bloke, sucking a large Cuban cigar and slamming spiced rum on ice. He had one eye, apparently, he had lost the other blue pearl in a firefight with Somali terrorists in the Persian Gulf. We had a brief discussion of current affairs and the insanity of public parks being closed for no good reason, and vandalism of the tourism industry by a woke broken Bureaucracy - just light conversation. I mentioned I had a mission that might suit him and he agreed to join in. We headed to the Mt Warning Rainforest Caravan Park. Mt Warning from the Mt Warning Hotel Roads around the area are still not repaired from la

17th death on the Rock

17th death on the Rock ABC report that a 76 year old Japanese man collapsed on the steep part of the climb and despite first aid, was not able to be revived. The elderly Japanese man likely died as a result of heart complications, probably brought on by existing (perhaps unknown) medical conditions and over exerting himself. He appears to have died revelling in the opportunity life provides. RIP Brother of the Rock. Our thoughts with his family and the first attenders who did their best to treat him. It's sad, but life goes on, and so should the climb. His death marks the 17th death ON the Rock since 26 May 1962 when 16 year old school boy Brian Strieff, on a school excursion with Carey Grammar, wondered off the main path in heavy fog on the way down and fell to his death. ABC's report indicate it is the 37th death, but these figures from Parks Australia have not been substantiated. It seems that many of the deaths Parks Australia claim to have occurred ON the Rock occurr

Right to Climb

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