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Climbing at The Gap, Sydney, is-definitely-not-on |
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2-Aug-2015 7:12:24 PM
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Historical background:- used to be popular, then people got in trouble for climbing the highly visible routes in The Gap itself. About the only route that saw any traffic was the Classic Duelling Biceps as you were well hidden from the tourists. Council errected a new fence with signs saying it is not safe to cross this fence.
The situation has changed radically as there are now motion sensors on the fenceline and infra-red cameras, all ported back to the local police station. As soon as you cross the fence (anywhere over about a 300m length) all hell breaks loose. In our case police choppers, boat, search and rescue, and regular cops at the top waiting to book us.
It's an awesome climb but I'd avoid it if I were you.
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2-Aug-2015 8:44:48 PM
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That is the best lead-in to a trip report i've ever read.
I'm happy to wait....!
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2-Aug-2015 8:55:03 PM
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On 2/08/2015 mikllaw wrote:
>and regular cops at the top waiting to book us.
Out of interest, how much does an ascent of Duelling Biceps cost?
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2-Aug-2015 10:07:56 PM
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On 2/08/2015 ajfclark wrote:
>Out of interest, how much does an ascent of Duelling Biceps cost?
Still under consideration
The Gap has become the Las Vegas of suicide so it's not surprising that the place is totally wired up
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3-Aug-2015 7:54:38 AM
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We went down to attempt Cruise or Bruise in 99 or so, and some goodie two-shoes tourist thought we were suicidal or something and called the cops. Police Rescue Squad @$%&wits showed up, pulled up our retreat rope (forcing us to solo up the manky fisherman's descent with all the gear), threatened us (jail, confiscation, etc.), and finally let us off with a fine (don't remember how much it was). Those guys are complete ar$eholes.
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3-Aug-2015 3:04:42 PM
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On 2/08/2015 mikllaw wrote:
>(snip)
>As soon as you cross the fence (anywhere over about a 300m length) all hell breaks loose.
>(snip)
~> or a long term calm/void depending on one's speed and inclination...
First North Head and now The Gap. ~> It is justifying my disposition of Sydney climbing in general now being off limits due to a nanny-state mentality.
It also makes me wonder how long it will be before Pt Perp, or Blueys anti-BASE/rope-jump locations adopt similar technology??
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6-Aug-2015 8:12:27 AM
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There is one suicide per week at The Gap. So the old nanny state argument doesn't really apply here. They are very real deaths with all the unpleasantness of the cleanup by the emergency services
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6-Aug-2015 2:33:44 PM
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On 6/08/2015 nmonteith wrote:
>There is one suicide per week at The Gap. So the old nanny state argument
>doesn't really apply here. They are very real deaths with all the unpleasantness
>of the cleanup by the emergency services
Eh bro, regardless of the rate,what's the difference between that and the road toll as far as nanny state goes?
If the hopeless ones are truly determined they will find a way, and as far as Gap technofence is concerned will be successful before nanny authorities turn up.
It wouldn't surprise me to learn that those pesky offenders also get parking tickets for overstaying designated time slots at local car parking given the nsw gubment mentality.
Good one mikl bro. Looking forward to the trip report, or a posting to acco's and injuries thread as an injury if the fine comes through.
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6-Aug-2015 10:51:43 PM
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If you had 50 people dieing on one 100m section of road a year then I'm sure the gov would do something drastic. Its a heavily used tourist area as well - and these tourists ring the cops if they see people over the fence
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7-Aug-2015 12:33:59 PM
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On 6/08/2015 nmonteith wrote:
>If you had 50 people dieing on one 100m section of road a year then I'm
>sure the gov would do something drastic.
Ok, I see your (good) point, when you put it like that, but still think penalising others, the majority in road use example, by lowering speed limits for the few offenders, is still (money raising) nanny state-ism.
Seems you are right M9 bro.
RIP The Gap Climbing.
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7-Aug-2015 12:43:57 PM
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Suicide is a delicate issue.
Having a trip sensors to trigger emergency responses seem to be the correct approach to dealing with suicide concentration points. You could build an impenetrable barrier but would simply shift the problem. But having sensors means that emergency services can responds and hopefully prevent a death and give the person the appropriate care. If there are 50 people committing suicides there each year then it seems like a very appropriate solution.
In contrast Melbourne spent $20 million on "unclimbable" safety fences on the Westgate Bridge. Furthermore government is now being sued because they didn't do this early enough. While I'm no expert I would think that all this is doing is shifting the problem:
Suicide by train has become so common Metro plans to build a dedicated train wash, called a ''biopit'', to clean train exteriors after a person is hit.... Rail operator Metro says a person is struck by a train more than once a week on average in Melbourne. Most are killed, some survive with terrible injuries.
Ug..
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7-Aug-2015 1:28:14 PM
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On 7/08/2015 patto wrote:
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>In contrast Melbourne spent $20 million on "unclimbable" safety fences
>on the Westgate Bridge.
Would it be in poor taste to ask what grade the FFA is likely to go at?
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7-Aug-2015 9:08:03 PM
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Looks about grade 13 to me, 10 at arapiles..
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8-Aug-2015 10:27:26 PM
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On 7/08/2015 Dave_S wrote:
>
>Would it be in poor taste to ask what grade the FFA is likely to go at?
Yes.
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8-Aug-2015 10:36:10 PM
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No.
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10-Aug-2015 11:55:06 AM
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The world has many Gaps...
... and yes, I realise that USA doesn't have the only mortgage on war trauma.
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19-Oct-2015 1:09:49 PM
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http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/sep/23/barriers-and-safety-nets-at-suicide-hotspots-can-reduce-rates-by-90
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19-Oct-2015 1:45:49 PM
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Bit subjective but as report says it thinks reduction in hot spots death means overall reduction but the most recent stats do not go along with those assumptions..
The age-standardised suicide rate for persons in 2011 was 9.9 per 100,000
The age-standardised suicide rate for persons in 2013 was 10.9 per 100,000
If you target hotspots, discounting other factors (which there are many)..overall suicide should be dropping but that is not so it seems
I think we have to wait until next year for the next lot of stats, but I'm guessing they really only have a localised affect which in itself not a bad thing but not the huge cure all its claiming to be either.
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19-Oct-2015 3:06:11 PM
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2013 and 2013 got different stats?
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19-Oct-2015 4:25:44 PM
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Opps ...fixed.
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