Innholdsfortegnelse for March - May 2020 i Vertical Life

Since the discovery of rock art and other cultural heritage at Mt Arapiles’ popular roadside climbing area, Declaration Crag (known ot many locals as Taylors Rock), the site has received further assessment and, as part of that, the Minister for Aborigal Affairs is considering whether to make an interim protection declaration for the area, presumably with an eye towards ongoing protection. Before the minister can make this decision, however, he must consult with the wider community. As part of this process, climbers can make their own submissions here. You can also read more about interim and ongoing protection declarations here.…

According to Mike Tomkins (writing on the ACAV’s website), in October of last year the ACAV was informed by its lawyers that it didn’t have the legal standing to challenge Parks Victoria’s Grampians/Gariwerd climbing bans (Special Protection Areas) as the organisation hadn’t existed for long enough. Instead, the ACAV negotiated with the Victorian Climbing Club (VCC), which has been running since 1952 and was determined to have standing, with the VCC agreeing to become the plaintiff. According to the ACAV’s website, it was funding the challenge, ‘The ACAV committee voted to donate the majority of ACAV funds raised to date, towards a VCC/ACAV legal challenge against Parks Victoria. This money was paid into the lawyer’s trust account along with similar funding from the VCC.’ However, in March the VCC committee…

Earlier in January 2020, an unofficial callout for competitors was made to ClimbingQT’s 760+ members for the Victorian State Lead Titles. It was an important competition for the group who refer to themselves as QTs (pronounced cuties). For the first time at a Sport Climbing Australia event, a gender inclusive category had been added. In an endearing addendum to the call out, ClimbingQTs co-founder Riley Edwards wrote in typically modest fashion: 'If one of us wins, we all win.' This sentiment echoes throughout the group; the sounds heard most frequently at any QTs event are clapping and cheering to celebrate someone else’s climbing achievement. In this context, competitions and ClimbingQTs may seem an unlikely match, however it is this message of inclusion which at heart drives the LGBTQ+ climbing club.…

The 'whys' are often so trite as to be the least interesting part of any meditation on climbing, Macfarlane has not fallen into that trap. Instead, his is a beautiful book tracing the history of humans venturing into the mountains and exploring why, when once they were to be feared and avoided, we are now drawn to high and wild places. Macfarlane is a very good writer and in this book he demonstrates how mountains are not just physical places but are equally creations of our imaginations. Get this history and get ready to dream big. And, let’s face it, we are in a time when we will need our imaginations more than ever. Read it. (Bonus: if you are at all interested in language and nature then follow Macfarlane…

You got them Misery Tendencies. You got them grass-is-greener-o’er-there blues. Yep, envy. Psychologists have found that nearly all forms of happiness are products of the state of the person relative to either their past or their peers. Your happiness is not absolute, that means your misery is not either. You look at the routes your mate climbs, you look at the boulders people on IG are hauling themselves up, you see smiling, happy, training climbing people living their best lives and you think, shit, what about me? My life is drudge and I am quite shit. It’s tough to battle against this. In many ways, envy’s drives are not prima facie bad for us, you can get motivation from looking at what others can do, but be aware when you…

THE DILEMMA: I dabbed, but it was the tiniest of dabs, almost imperceptible, I don’t know if my spotters saw and I haven’t spoken to any of them about it yet, I claimed the ascent but the tick mark irks me a little, not like the Poe’s Tell-tale Heart, but I do feel a slight pang of something, will this pass over time and will I just accept the send or am I now cursed? Hamid, Crows Nest, NSW. ‘IF NO ONE SAW YOU DAB, CONGRATS, YOU'VE DONE THE PROBLEM’ WWRD: Whenever I think about dabbing, I remember the line from the Lizzo song, ‘I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m a 100% dab bitch.’ I generally assume that if it’s okay with Lizzo, it’s okay for anyone,…

This issue is digital, coming at you in the 1s and 0s but we hope that we will be back to print as soon as the COVID-infected air clears. If you aren’t a subscriber you will be able to pick up the new print editions of Vertical Life when we start producing them again from one of our preferred stockist best mates. Subscriber, random reader, on-the-dunny page turner, we love youse all. If you’re interested in throwing your weight behind the magazine, giving us a metaphorical belay, planting your feet and giving us a figurative spot, become a preferred stockist by dropping a line to tara@adventureentertainment.com ACT Bloc Haus blochaus.com.au Fyshwick ACT P: 02 6280 8830 E: boulder@blochaus.com.au @blochauscanberra @blochauscbr Canberra Indoor Rock Climbing canberrarockclimbing.com.au Mitchell ACT P: 02 6260…

When last we reported on the Australian Climbing Association Victoria (ACAV) it had just held a Special General Meeting (SGM) to try and resolve issues between members of the committee and its president, Mike Tomkins. A majority of the committee wanted to remove Mike for reasons outlined in a letter to members released on 16 December 2019. The letter revealed relations between Mike and many of the committee had soured, with Mike threatening to sue some committee members for defamation in the lead up to the SGM. In the letter, signed by Vice President Jackie Bernardi, Mark Wood, Hanh Le (previous secretary), Leeanne Lindorff (then serving secretary), Lauren Coman, Mike Rockell, Steven Wilson, Aaron Lowndes and Goshen Watts, it stated that, ‘Mike climbed in a Special Protection Area (SPA) of…

Sometimes you don’t notice the things that are right under your nose. This season massive fires burnt much of Australia’s east coast, including the Blue Mountains. The fires had a huge impact. Friendships were made as people banded together to fight the blazes – and a sense of community flourished. Yet, a lot of beautiful green bush was scorched to black, and local streets and cafes that would normally be buzzing with tourists were like ghost towns. Red tape appeared across many access roads and trails to our beloved crags – CLOSED. What do you mean we cannot go to Elphinstone? Diamond Falls, too? What about multipitching at Perry’s? Nope! What the fuck? This feels like Grampians. Where are we gonna go frothing? There was one unforeseen positive, though: the…

We love the Baffle Days podcast put out by Amanda Watts and Tom O’Halloran, elite climbers, knowledgeable and engaging interviewers, they bring a broad understanding of climbing mechanics, history, training, lore, nutrition, competing, frothing, sending and all things #climbinglyfe. Listen to all of them but we reckon you could do worse than dive in with episode Episode 14; Stuart Wyithe. Stuart was the first ‘Strayan to climb Oz’s most iconic hard route, Punks in the Gym (32), way back in 1993. The conversation between the Bafflers and Stuart takes in Punks, the early days of developing Nowra and how he became – of all things – an astrophysicist. Climbing is not rocket science but Stuart has some intersting things to say about the two. Nowadays he is the head of…

How did the idea of Pretty Strong come about? Basically it was a film I wanted to see. I had always been motivated by images of women in climbing. I started creating them myself because that’s what I was motivated by, and finally we (our production company, Never Not Collective) figured why has this film not been made yet? Someone needs to! What inspired the name? We brainstormed with a lot of names. In the end we liked the play on words with Pretty Strong. ‘You're pretty strong for a girl’ is a sentiment that has followed women in many sports, including climbing, and throughout history. Then there’s the fact that women in society are often solely praised for their physical attributes, so the ironic use in this context of…

The sun dips slowly toward the horizon as my legs dangle off the edge of the portaledge, swinging lazily above the 700m straight drop to the Yosemite Valley floor. I’ve been up on the mighty El Capitan for a week now, by myself, grinding away at the logistical puzzle that is solo aid climbing. My body is bruised, my hands are cracked and muscles ache that I didn’t know existed. Yet, as my humble dinner slowly heats up on the stove, the only expression my face can manage is to beam the biggest smile back at the incredible scene in front of me. Golden light ricochets back and forth across the walls of the valley. Half Dome stands proudly off in the distance, commanding the scene. I feel as if…

Gale force winds threw me down the moraine slopes on the approach though Silence Valley in Torres del Paine. Despite the conditions, a sense of freedom washed over me and I was excited to once again find myself in this wild place where I had learned to climb big walls. Through trial and error and luck, I had managed to summit all four of the Towers of Paine over the last couple of seasons, and had come in search of an adventure led by a blurry photo and faint memories of reddish granite. Recent tragic events in the mountains had led me to redefine my passion for the adventurous side of climbing, trending away from the constant progression of harder, more technical and inherently dangerous climbing. I had pondered what…

Michael Hillan and Simon Bou died in a fall at Moonarie in August 2019. Michael was married to Jane, the father of Alicia and Richard, and a professional architect. Mike was about 40 when he read an article on climbing Aconcagua in an airline magazine. Interested, he joined a guided trip, which due to illness and poor leadership, quickly became shambolic. At top camp many clients were ordered not to go higher. The next morning the leader was surprised to find Mike’s tent empty – he was, of course, on the summit enjoying the view. Back home in Adelaide, Mike discovered climbing gyms and never looked back. I met Mike in 2001 when preparing for a New Zealand trip organised by Luke Adams. Mike completed a Technical Mountaineering Course at…

In early 2020 fires began in the Orroral Valley and burned through approximately 80% of Namadgi National Park as well as many surrounding parks and reserves. The majority of the Canberra’s granite crags lay within fire-impacted areas and will be undoubtedly affected. What the effects are is currently unknown. For reference, the fires of January 2003 burned so hot that granite cracked and exfoliated, changing many existing climbs, some of which no longer exist anymore. At bouldering areas like Pierces Creek, where the fire burned hottest, some boulders even cracked completely in half leaving new splitters. For now, Namadgi National Park and many surrounding areas remain closed to the public, with damage likely to forests and trails exacerbating erosion and requiring revegetation. It goes without saying that all crag closures…

We are all but fish in a pond or in the sea. We are the product of our circumstances, we might imagine ourselves independently thinking, autonomous, conscious beings, but we are really just animated sacks of pressed sausage meat being guided around by the remote controls of our pasts. It is for this reason that I can’t really be that proud of me for hating banal motivational quotes and the cookie-cutter, you-can-do-it-ism of FitSpo – I was just born this way, or maybe raised this way. But man I love Reza Alipour, World’s Fastest Vertical Man, the Persian Cheetah. Partly my disdain of run-of-the-mill IG-inspiration is derived from being an Australian. In conventional Australia one is not really supposed to be earnest (yes, I know national character is murky and…

It was the night before the Lead event of the 2019 World Cup in Tokyo and Roxy Perry was trying to manage pre-event nerves when she checked her emails. What she found would batter her emotions and unsettle her preparation – an anonymous troll had sent her an abusive email. How did receiving the anonymous abusive email the night before a big competition affect you? First I was in disbelief. I was mad at myself for even checking my email. Then I was hugely heartbroken. There was actually someone out there who had the audacity to steal what I’d worked so hard for. I’d recently been through a period of struggle with my headspace and body image, and I was finally at a point where I felt comfortable and confident…

Long before everyone posted everything on YouTube you had to buy feature films on DVD or even something called VHS (WTF?) to get a fix of hardcore climbing porn. In these modern times of churning, overwhelming abundance it is all but impossible to imagine this strange past when it was hard to slake your thirst for climbing videos, but in a way that just made them all the more special. The Dosage series endured through many iterations but you should go way back to where it all began, Episode 1, and get a taste of what things used to be like, complete with period music, weird editing, odd intros, a young Chris Sharma, Klem Loskot going full Klem(!), and some goddamn historically significant climbing. It’s a classic film, and as…

THE DREAM: After watching Jimmy Webb climb Off the Wagon sit start (V16), I had a nap and dreamt that I did it. Once I campused over to the finishing jug, I suddenly had an air horn in my hand that I was blasting and all my spotters started arguing about whether it was a jungle horn or a dub siren. No one spotter was an identifiable friend, just this amalgamation or personification of the good feelings I have towards all my friends. Ronnie 'Lite wight' Coleman, Melburn, VIC. ‘SUCCESS WITHOUT CELEBRATION IS A KIND OF MADNESS’ THE MEANING: Sirens can be warnings, but the only warning in a dub siren is to buckle up for the droooooppp!!!! Ronnie, the good news is that there is no peril in this…

No matter how much we learn about nutrition and food, the evidence holds strong that eating more plants equals better health. People who eat primarily plant-based diets have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and generally have lower Body Mass Indexes (BMI), which makes it all the more shocking that only 7% of adults and 5% of kids eat enough veggies on any given day. But it’s worth asking if a strictly plant-based diet is a game changer. Being plant-based doesn’t necessarily mean being vegan. There is lots of variation, from vegans who eat no animal products to people who will eat eggs or dairy, all the way to flexitarians who occassionally eat meat. In general though being plant-based means you eat a lot of, if not only, foods…

Coaching and training programming, whether for climbing or any other sport, is equal parts art and science. Understanding the science is critical, but there is art in understanding the needs of the individual, figuring out how to apply the science so that they make improvements and stay motivated all whilst keeping it fun. The Science First up, we need to understand what good science is and what is merely opinion dressed up as science. It’s not always easy to tell, especially if you have your heart set on using the Next Big Thing to get an edge and Unlock Your Ultimate Potential in Under Three Weeks so you can Realise All Your Dreams. The best way to decide if information has merit is to check the source. Who wrote the…

From his first tentative steps onto the rock as a teenager in southeast Queensland in 1960 until he emigrated to the USA in 1974, Rudolf Edmund ‘Ted’ Cais pushed Australian climbing standards to new heights. Although not as adept at – or indeed as interested in – marketing his personal achievements as some of his peers, he leaves behind a legacy of bold and visionary climbing routes. Perhaps more importantly, he leaves layers of camaraderie and personal experience that extend well beyond climbing into everyday life. A few weeks before his 13th birthday, Ted made his first climb – a solo ascent of Crookneck’s steep, loose, crumbling North Face. Initially mentored by Bert Salmon, he extended his climbing interests through the YMCA Ramblers bushwalking club and the influential University of…

Being broad of shoulder and thick of skull, my teenage years and early 20s were spent smashing around a rugby paddock where strange superstitions are commonplace. I always put on my left sock and shoe first, and liked to be the second-to-last to run onto the paddock. From early on I learned that a particular habit or piece of clothing could help gain victory. After my mediocre rugby career ended in the mid-’90s I went trekking in Nepal and before I left I figured I would need something to keep my bald head warm, so I bought a beanie. Well, the trip went well, and I rediscovered that the outdoor life was for me. Being from Sydney’s north, I found the emerging bouldering scene and quickly fell headfirst into that…