Mt Warning - NPWS REPORT - Chain replacement could be funded by gold coin donations

NPWS commissioned an engineering consultancy to provide costings for various options to restore access to the summit of Mt Warning. I obtained a copy through a GIPA (Freedom of Information) request. A link to the full report is provided below.

GHD Wollumbin risk and engineering assessment report 2021

I'll add a number of comments on the report, but it essentially concurs with my assessment that a new chain could be installed at a very small cost. In fact it could be easily redeemed through a gold coin donation from walkers in the first six months of operation.

Key findings of the report are outlined in the table below:

Comments

The number of incidents on the track (44 in 10 years or around 5 a year) is similar to other Grade 5 walks in the state. The risk context at 1 in 50000 for an incident requiring rescue is very low - 2 per year. The Great North Walk near Sydney gets dozens of rescues each year (I have been personally involved in some of them as an RFS member). Some parts of the GNW have similar shorter rock scrambles to Mt Warning - there is no indication the Great Walk North will be closed for either safety or due to covid - NPWS just looking for excuses.
Due to the high level of traffic there is little loose rock on the chain section and the risk of being struck by a falling rock are very low.
One option not considered is the option to do nothing - reopen the summit track without the chain. It was installed in the 1970s/1980s. Climbers prior to that had no major issues with climbing without the chain. When the park was opened in 1929 over 200 managed the feat including many school kids without the assistance of a chain. The track was so good people rode horses up to the level area below the rock scramble. What happened to allowing individuals to make up their own minds the level of risk they are willing to accept?
The suggested built structures and stairways are overkill, exorbitant, not required and will diminish the summit experience.
"Replacing the chain essentially as it was, would return the overall risk to public safety to previous levels". No! it would improve the risk. If constructed similar to the chain system at Angels Landing, Zion NP in Utah, the risk would improve significantly. Stainless steel components anchored directly into the rock rather than bolted like the previous system would be a major improvement. This is well within a $30k budget.
Re-route the track - There is absolutely no need to re-route the track!
The costs outlined are excessive but likely close to reality and sadly go to show how much bureaucracy and red tape has inflated the cost of construction in Australia.

Comments

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

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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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