Right to Climb

  Re-open Ayers Rock Call me a minga, but from where I sat, the only people who resemble ants are the ones below who never experienced the spiritual climbing thrall of this view.  Fred Reiss 2017 Summit July 2018 The world-renowned walk (climb for some) to the summit of our greatest natural wonder Ayers Rock was closed to the public on Saturday 26 October 2019.  It's impossible to put a dollar figure on the social cost of the closure - the loss of awe and wonder for 100,000s of visitors, but we can estimate the economic damage and it is extraordinary. Figures from Parks Australia show a three year average (2014-2016) of 295,000 visitors prior to the ban being announced in late 2017. Visitor numbers exploded between 2017 and the end of 2019 as 1000s and 1000s of people tried to climb before the ban - figures for 2018-2019 show a whopping 395,338 park visitors, just shy of the Sydney Olympic year (2000) record of 396,456! Since the climb closure, tourism in the red center h...

I spoke with 2GB's Ben Fordham about the coming ban on climbing. The rich history of climbing by all people deserves to be celebrated. Parks Australia has erased history at the Rock. Tiger Tjalkalyirri and Tamalji 1947 you won't read about them in the official literature. Link below will take you to a podcast of it: https://omny.fm/shows/ben-fordham-full-show/july-29th-full-show Also soundcloud version:  https://soundcloud.com/user-256364995/ben-fordham-2gb-29-july-2019

A small collection of reviews of the Climb collated from recent posts on Trip Advisor... instagram.com/p/B0TUyCQJDpI/ So worth it!. Great climb to do as a family. When we arrived at Uluru the climb was closed due to high winds at the summit. We were told that they close it at the drop of a hat and they reassess the wind every 2 hours. If you are going to climb Uluru then make that the first thing you do during your visit in case they close it. Uluru looks very steep and you wonder how you are going to get up but you do and when it gets really steep then there are chains to pull yourself up with. There were willing kids as young as 5 climbing up with their parents although I would recommend that you make sure your child “wants” to climb as there were a few parents who had to take their children back down again in the early stages of the climb. Once you reach the end of the chains, you think you are at the top but alas no. There is still so much that you can’t see. There is a l...

There's been a rush of visitors heading to central Australia to exercise their cultural heritage in climbing Ayers Rock. This morning (22/7) I spoke with ABC Alice Springs Radio Breakfast Host Stewart Brash about the issue. The link below provides a podcast of the discussion: https://soundcloud.com/user-256364995/abc-alice-springs-interview-with-stewart-brash-22-july-2019 For the full episode visit ABC Alice Springs...  https://www.abc.net.au/radio/alicesprings/programs/breakfast/breakfast/11312106

There are just 100 days before darkness descends on Ayers Rock and visitors from all over the world will be barred from scaling it, denying them the chance of experiencing a human cultural tradition that was established 30000 years ago during the last ice age. The reasons for the ban do not stand up to scrutiny. They revolve around the actions of lazy bureaucrats sitting behind desks in Canberra remote from the Rock, claims of sacredness that go against the actions and views of the Traditional People and a false message about safety. In reality, the ban is all about petty politics and the corruption of power. On July 20 1873 explorer William Gosse accompanied by his cameleer Kumran scaled the Rock and provided humanity with a first-hand account of the incredible experience . Ninety-six years later on the 20 July, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo lunar module "Eagle" on the surface of the moon continuing the same tradition of human exploration of our...

This series of posts showcase the contents of the Last Logbook on Ayers Rock. Part 9: Cover and pages 151-170. Last July when I climbed the Rock with my daughters I left a blank 192 exercise book in a container at the summit memorial. The front cover looked like this: The text on the cover reads: Signing the summit logbook has been an important cultural institution at Ayers Rock since the 1890s. Sadly, since the late 1980s Park Management have denied Australians and International visitors the opportunity to record their achievement. The first climbers to leave a note marking their achievement were Allan Breadon and W Oliver on March 4, 1897: “We added a few stones to the pile and left two wax vesta boxes (tins) with names and date thereon.” Glass coffee jars held the names of climbers between 1932 and the 1950s. In September 1950 the jars held the names of about 70 climbers. Formal log books, termed the “Achievers’ book”, replaced the assorted collection of jars and tins lodge...

I spoke with ABC's Elias Clure for about 20 minutes about issues surrounding the Ban on climbing Ayers Rock in November last year. The interview was never broadcast. One wonders why? It's now available on soundcloud... https://soundcloud.com/user-256364995/abc-interview-with-elias-clure Shadow on the rock July 2018.

I had the great pleasure of discussing the coming ban on Climbing Ayers Rock with 2GB's Ben Fordham last Friday. Thanks Ben! I hope he gets a chance to climb before 26 October. Link below will take you to a podcast of it. https://omny.fm/shows/ben-fordham-full-show/geologist-marc-hendrickx-on-uluru

Farewell Disneyland The text and slides below are from my Presentation at this year's  Friedman Liberty Conference given on May 24, 2019.  Ayers Rock is not remotely reminiscent of Disneyland but if it was, what sort of mongrel would seek to shut it down? On the 26th of October in just 155 days the Board of the Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park with the blessing of Parks Australia will ban the climb to the summit of Ayers Rock. Along with the ban on climbing Park Authorities will also be removing the Summit monument, chain and 5 memorial plaques on the Rock. In breach of the lease agreement that requires Parks Australia to preserve, protect and manage cultural heritage to the highest possible standards we are about to see one of the greatest acts of cultural vandalism in recent history and barely a whisper has been raised in opposition. The exhilarating climb that reveals world heritage listed views has been undertaken by over 7 million visitors since the Park was decl...

This series of posts showcase the contents of the Last Logbook on Ayers Rock. Part 7: Cover and pages 111-130. Last July when I climbed the Rock with my daughters I left a blank 192 exercise book in a container at the summit memorial. The front cover looked like this: The text on the cover reads: Signing the summit logbook has been an important cultural institution at Ayers Rock since the 1890s. Sadly, since the late 1980s Park Management have denied Australians and International visitors the opportunity to record their achievement. The first climbers to leave a note marking their achievement were Allan Breadon and W Oliver on March 4, 1897: “We added a few stones to the pile and left two wax vesta boxes (tins) with names and date thereon.” Glass coffee jars held the names of climbers between 1932 and the 1950s. In September 1950 the jars held the names of about 70 climbers. Formal log books, termed the “Achievers’ book”, replaced the assorted collection of jars and tins lodg...

This series of posts showcase the contents of the Last Logbook on Ayers Rock. Part 6: Cover and pages 91-110. Last July when I climbed the Rock with my daughters I left a blank 192 exercise book in a tupperware container at the summit memorial. The front cover looked like this: The text on the cover reads: Signing the summit logbook has been an important cultural institution at Ayers Rock since the 1890s. Sadly, since the late 1980s Park Management have denied Australians and International visitors the opportunity to record their achievement. The first climbers to leave a note marking their achievement were Allan Breadon and W Oliver on March 4, 1897: “We added a few stones to the pile and left two wax vesta boxes (tins) with names and date thereon.” Glass coffee jars held the names of climbers between 1932 and the 1950s. In September 1950 the jars held the names of about 70 climbers. Formal log books, termed the “Achievers’ book”, replaced the assorted collection of jars and tins...