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(vent) Rosea Access

gfdonc

21-Sep-2009
1:54:03 PM

Hi,
Anyone know what the issue is with the access to the descent route on Rosea?
I understood a working bee was held last year.

On the weekend, 3 of us who are Rosea veterans all missed the descent route. On retracing our steps, we found a large pile of brush and fallen timber has been placed over the path at the turn-off from the main walking track, making it completely impassable. The descent route can only be reached by bush-bashing around the obstruction (as we did), or taking the short-cut that enters the descent via steeper ground.

We've placed a couple of cairns at the short-cut but this isn't a good option.

I can only assume Parks have made some effort (it was a major obstruction) to try and prevent the descent route being used.

Firstly, there is a safety issue. Climbers need to be able to find the way back down. If 3 climbers who have made over 20 descents of Rosea between them can miss the turn off, what hope do any visitors or newbies have? Since the cliff has some fairly long middle-grade routes, the chances of benightment now are pretty high.

Secondly, there is an issue of public interest. There were 3 cars in the car park on Sunday, all climbers, so arguably there is little need for a walking track but a 100% requirement for a sensible climber's descent route. In other words let's ensure the majority of users of this part of the park are catered for, and not at the expense of the minority.

My suggestion is to add a "Climbers Descent Only" sign and remove the debris from the path.

There, my spleen feels so much better after all of that fresh air.

ajfclark

21-Sep-2009
2:04:18 PM

Is this the same decent mentioned in this thread?

gfdonc

21-Sep-2009
2:09:24 PM

Yes - but the obstruction wasn't in place to that level when I was there last, in (late) December 2008.
I recalled there was a log or two, something that meant you could still access the track if you knew where you were going, but enough to divert walkers down the correct path.

The current mess is completely impassable and in fact the track wasn't recognisable - someone has spent some time to gather that much fallen timber and stack it up.

The suggestion about the sign was a good one. Anyone suggest a way forward?

kieranl

21-Sep-2009
2:10:54 PM

I haven't been up there for a few months so it sounds like this has been done since then.
As to a sign, my feeling is that a "Climbers Only" sign won't be acceptable to Parks. I thought they were actually looking at putting a sign at the junction similar to the one five minutes from the carpark - indicating to walkers which way to the summit and carpark, leaving climbers to take the path with no signpost.
Blocking off access to the GS would be a retrograde step. Perhaps Parks want us to put in rap routes instead.
In regard to safety, the main issue is to keep walkers off the Giant's Staircase and there are far more walkers than climbers. Most days that I have been there over the past 18 months there have been few (or no) climbers but many (some, many relatively) walkers.

There are 4 messages in this topic.