Chockstone Forum

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

Chockstone Photography

Australian Landscape Prints

Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

Topic Date User

Warning : Theaves operate at Blue Lake. 25-Aug-2004 At 11:00:29 AM julian.A

Message

Had an interesting time on the main range last week.

On Friday 13th August my friend Jeff left his tent pitched about 150 meters from the Snowy River. Inside it he left a garbage bag with some gear - Ice axe, crampons, harness, etc.

We arrived back on the tuesday morning to find Jeffs tent partially buried from the weekend storm, but ALL his gear missing. A short ski towards Blue Lake brought us to a campsite. Inside one of the tents was all of Jeffs gear, (oh yeh, and the drivers licences of the the tent owners - thanks boys).

After three seperate conversations over the next two days I have no doubts at all that despite their claims of minding the gear, and their plan to hand it into the police at Perisher, they actually planned to steal the gear.

They had no answers to my simple questions of - Why burden yourself more by carrying extra equiptment further into the backcountry, knowing they would have to return back past our tent to get to Charlottes Pass ?

Didn't they agree that by removing the gear they were potentially endangering someone who may be relying on that gear to be there ?

Wouldn't it be easier to just tell the police of the location, if they were so worried ?

Why remove the gear on Monday, when they were staying till Thursday ?

Of course the trio of Novercastrions had no answers to these.

Neither I or Jeff had experienced this sort of thing before in Australia, (Jeff has been climbing at Blue Lake since 78). Be warned folks, don't leave anything, or hide it well. I certainly will be in the future.