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Arapiles in April-august

gladegp

7-Sep-2005
2:45:47 AM

Hi Aussies:)

I'm thinking about going to Arapiles some time during April-August 06 and stay for about 2 months. What weather will it be during this time of the year?
The thing is, I don't want to miss the skiseason here in Norway and I should, if I'm a good boy, study till mid June, but this can be changed if the weather in jun- july sucks.

What kind of weather are we talking about. 15-20 degrees and sun or 5 degrees with snow in the morning?

Thanks
Gustav, Tromsø Norway

Megan

7-Sep-2005
3:07:54 AM

Unless you get unlucky, the weather in Arapiles can be pretty damn good for climbing over Winter. Higher chance of rain, but plenty of clear sunny days. No snow at Arapiles, just frosty cold mornings that make you unwilling to leave your sleeping bag.

Average temperatures and rainfalls (and average number of rain days/month) for Horsham, to give you a rough idea for Arapiles:

APR - 8.5 - 21.5oC, 31mm (7 days/month)
MAY - 6 - 17oC, 47mm (11 days)
JUNE - 4.5 - 14oC, 50mm (12 days)
JULY - 4 - 13oC, 47mm (14 days)
AUG - 4.5 - 15oC, 49mm (14 days)

nmonteith

7-Sep-2005
8:55:58 AM

April to August is the WORST time to coem to Arapiles. Expect to spend at least a third of your trip in
your tent looking at the pouring rain.

Megan

7-Sep-2005
9:15:52 AM

Yeah, Neil has a point, I was trying to be positive because I've had some really good trips to Arapiles in winter. But now I come to think of it, I've also ended up soaking wet and miserable, huddled under a leaking tarp. The average rainy days/month tell the story.

nmonteith

7-Sep-2005
9:45:32 AM

Arapiles in winter is ok if you are only going up for the weekend - and you have read the weather report,
but if you are planning to stay for many months it is very very grim. There is almost nothing to do when it
rains - there is no big climbing caves, shops or shelters within walking distance of camp. The
campground also floods in heavy rain.

Eduardo Slabofvic

7-Sep-2005
10:35:53 AM

If there is drought, winter is excellent for climbing. You can't guarantee that there will be drought, but it is common. The time you want to come is our wet season, no snow though. This winter July was quite good (I hear).

My preferred time to climb at Arapiles is April and May, with September and October being a close second. If you want hot hot hot and more hot come in February.

BoaredOfTheRings

7-Sep-2005
10:38:56 AM

On 7/09/2005 nmonteith wrote:
>April to August is the WORST time to coem to Arapiles. Expect to spend
>at least a third of your trip in
>your tent looking at the pouring rain.

In a word, BOLLOCKS!!

I think the farmers and the people who want the lakes and water supplies to fill would like it to be like that but it just isn't the case. Spring is usually the time when it can rain all day, winter is generally dryer with the odd showery day. No weekenders is a bonus too!!

Arapiles weather is not to be confused with Grampians weather (especially southern gramps) as alot of the fronts that clip S.W. Vic tend to miss Arapiles.

dalai

7-Sep-2005
10:45:22 AM

What's the chance of a solo visitor finding regular climbing partners during the winter months?

Or will they have the good fortune of not having climbing partners and therefore spend all their time bouldering instead? (Arapiles bouldering is so underrated IMO)

nmonteith

7-Sep-2005
10:53:34 AM

On 7/09/2005 dalai wrote:
>What's the chance of a solo visitor finding regular climbing partners during
>the winter months?

There was no evidence of full timers up that way when i visted a month ago. We even scored the deluxe
Pines table, bench, tree setup for the weekend.

climbingjac

7-Sep-2005
12:08:42 PM

On 7/09/2005 nmonteith wrote:
>There was no evidence of full timers up that way when i visted a month
>ago.

I second that. Not a good time of year to turn up by yourself hoping to find other people to climb with.

Eduardo Slabofvic

7-Sep-2005
2:00:14 PM

That's right. Stay away. It was horrible out there today. All that blue sky and sun shine. Give me sleet anyday.

nmonteith

7-Sep-2005
2:20:50 PM

Not all Arapiles climbers can escape to a nice warm house with a shower at a moments notice!

In the dead of winter it is still dark at 9am - you might get climbing by 10 or 11am if it is warm enough.
By 4pm it gets wickedly cold so you have to return to camp - and then have to kill 15 hours before you
can think about climbing again. It is a struggle to do for two months straight thats for sure!

dan

7-Sep-2005
5:53:37 PM

You know where is great in winter... Frog. 20 degrees most days almost zero chance of rain. Also, Nowra is great (but dratmically over bolted, even the cracks!)

kieranl

7-Sep-2005
10:41:33 PM

If you turn up in April, you have april, may and half june to climb at Arapiles, meet people and sus things out. By then you should have made enough contacts to go north or elsewhere if the winter turns bad.

gladegp

8-Sep-2005
2:19:25 AM

Thanks everybody

I can get rain and cold weather at home, so I don't like the sound of that. Maybe I'll have to think about march-april or something. I'll try to work it out.

gfdonc

8-Sep-2005
12:02:00 PM

Before you give up on the idea, most locals forget how many clear, warm days we get in April and May each year. Best time for climbing I reckon.

The Keeper

3-Apr-2006
4:54:08 PM

I was at the Mt in early Sept-'04 - weather was deluxe (none of the hoary +35C stuff), and there were no corpses in the crapper - albeit there was enough evidence of former insect life therein to suggest it rivals Amazonia in season. The Pines were mellow - a rare tent encampment and the roos were basking. No evidence of insurgents from Queen'sland and the Nati pub was not far off a morgue in liveliness - tough to round up anyone for climbing, to practice some salient Canuck rugby songs, let alone a bit of street hockey. Was hot enough and even lured a huge goanna to forage around in the canopy for birds eggs. Hugh said he hadn't seen one in a couple of years and certainly not that time of year - so it was very good. Nice and quiet and pastoral. Looking out over the Wimmera reminded me of the Serengeti - (blotting the farms from mind's eye- add a few hundred thousand wildebeest, some zebra, a few crocs over in the lake, and maybe a few Queen'sland thylacine -like vixens (in lieu of other biting carnivores) and you would have Africa down under. It was all excellent and I plan on a second go round at some skeletons in my climbing closet at Araps this late summer (early spring down under). Yankee boulderers who harass the wildlife should be fixed from a couple of rusting carrots on Trojan or something equally appropriate for a few nights or consigned as a belay slave to the Pom who was dissing the Aussie rating system based on a gym episode in Melb (who in their right mind would be spending time in the gym with all those great crags out and about - hmm!) - and if it does rain - appreciate the great circle of life , renewal of the aquifers, read the latest issue of Rock and listen to Coldplay, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, and Anne Kirkpatrick as you sip some contraband insurgent Canadian "cold tea". Ah, the life down under.

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