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I've got the guides to the point where the Tasmanian Climbing Guide and the Freycinet Guide are now available in hardcopy at http://stores.lulu.com/thesarvo .

The Tasmanian Climbing Guide is a bit of a monster - its every guide on this site besides bouldering and weighs in at about 440 pages and 3000 climbs. The idea is that subsections of this then have their own dedicated publications, eg the Mountain guide, and now Freycinet.

The Freycinet guide is about 100 pages with about 600 climbs, and also has several action photos. Its available in a color edition as well as the B&W for those with extra cash to splash.

There are two more editions that are really just awaiting cover photos: Tas Climbing Guide North and Tas Climbing Guide South. If you've got a photo good enough for a cover shot please send it in!

As always these books are a continual work in progress, so if you've got corrections or additions then post them on this site and they will make it into the next version.

You can also get all of these guides as PDFs off the Buy and Download Guides page.

A serious access precedent is currently unfolding in QLD that could well affect other areas in Australia without serious support from climbers around Australia (we need numbers to give strength to the voice).

In a nutshell, a new sport climbing area was developed (QLD's steepest crag), it was in a spot no other users would ever see or know about, and a very unique site for climbing. National Parks found out about the site and fined 4 key climbers $375 each, they also have ordered them to remove all bolts by Aug 31st or face a $6000 fine each!! If this is not challenged by climbers Australia-wide why wouldn't they move this approach to other sites.

The GOAL of the QLD Climbers Alliance is:
"to gain formal recognition of the needs of climbers by major landmanagers in QLD."

Please go to the site for more info. and register your support if you are concerned.

http://www.queenslandclimbersalliance.org/

The photos below are from Stu Bowling from a trip up to Mt Wright. Pretty amazing.

According to Stu:

"This was fully sick, bomber quartzite rock & about 50m long, 15-20m above the ground. Quartzite. Cross the Gordon River & up a big hill for 4 hours its all yours! it of a slog to get there tho. There is also a few other cool boulders etc. on the summit ridge."

"Its on the Mt Wright summit plateau; cross the Gordon as if heading to Lake Rhona then head west up Mt Wright, a long, long slog uphill. Theres lots of cool rock out there - just a major mission to get to most of it.

Big arch 2	View from Mt Wright looking to the SW	Big arch 1	Smaller arch
Big arch 3

Might be of some interest?
May 22: http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=602082&tn=0
May 23: http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=602666&tn=0
May 24: http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=602899

Hi, I was planning on making a stop at the Lost Falls on a roadtrip.
I wanted to know if anyone has any beta? Such as if there are bolts missing, gear needed or if it is a pile of slimy choss that is DEFINITELY worth the trip?
Any info would be great
Thanks
MIKE

Hi-

Wondering if there'd be any interest in Bachar's new shoes here:

http://www.acopausa.com/products.jsp?navigation=3

These are nice shoes, great toe-box design, super sticky rubber. John Bachar has been designing shoes for 30 years, he designed much of the Boreal line before starting his own company, Acopa.

I'm putting together a wholesale order to get a pair for Paul Pritchard (a model with Velcro straps), and could bring a few more pair back to Hobart from the USA this summer. Pricing would be wholesale (generally 45% less than retail), see https://www.acopausa.com:2443/orders.jsp?navigation=25 for retail prices.

See the sizing page for info about sizing.

cheers
John Middendorf

Finally got around to recording the direct version of De Gaulles Nose that Gareth And I did a few months back. I've added a description to the guide plus edited the original route description as the details were pretty hazy. Definitely goes down as one of the best routes either of us have done anywhere in the world! It's a pretty serious place and a pretty serious route but the direct is not death defying and hopefully will receive more attention than the original has. Enjoy !

Adam Donoghue

A few references to thesarvo.com have been popping up as the word gets out.

Roger's note about Craglets going online is in the latest Rock, and the Mt Brown topo by Garry and me made it into the new Crux.

Expect more poms after a write up of Freycinet: http://blog.rockrun.com/2008/05/x-file-2-tasmania-freycinet-peninsula.html

And a small mention in Action Asia: http://www.actionasia.com/actionasia/Articles/index.jsp?aid=3368

Well when the message came through on my phone from a unknown number and read:

Big crack day wednesday? Bring your A game bro.

it could only be the one and only CRAZY JOHN (John Fischer). So it was on! I picked John up at 7am the weather was a perfect. we were both amped for a big day, me maybe more so because I am off to Yosemite in just over a week. BRING IT ON.

So our new multi pitch reads some thing like this:

Split Column 19 35 meters
Holiday in Cambodia 21 35 meters
Ultrasound 24 35 meters
Sandybay rd 18 35 meters
Daedalus 20 55 meters
Icarus 20 80 meters
Tartarus 21 60 meters
Sky Rocket 20 55 meters
Potem Tole 19 50 meters
Galah Performance 20!!! 20 meters
Resurrection Shuffle 21 30 meters

it was an 11 hour day and we lead all climbs with John starting with Split Column and so on. 28 stars, 490 meters (nearly half of El Cap!). It was a no fall day (just!!). Galah Performance being short and sweet turned out to be the crux. we warmed down by head touch on Resurrection Shuffle. This was one of the coolest days I have had on the pipes, the only bad thing is that is daylight savings and we didn't head over to lost world to do the direct finish of Atlantis, Cruise Air and Savage Journey. Next time...

Cheers
Jake

Think about this the next time you complain about the sodden loddens: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23509814-30417,00.html

Good to see someone put their money where their mouth is!

A couple of people have asked for this, and it can't hurt to ask the question to gauge where opinion is on this.

Below is an online poll asking whether you think there should be a bolted rap route (as opposed to bolted climbs) on Frew's Flutes, Ben Lomond.

You have to be logged in to vote, you can only vote once.

Got an email from Garry Phillips in Canada, and some photos below:

Hi there John
Hope all is well.
Can you make up a page for our road trip on the sarvo please, ill send photos through soon. Here is a little writing though

Well we have been on the road now for 3.5 weeks. We managed to climb some great ice and mixed routes in the Canadian Rockies. High lightsd for us werr Polar Circus 5 Whitemans falls 5+ and a heap of mixed routes up to M8. Also a load of other waterfalls, but to many to name.
However the avalanche conditions on the northern slopes prevented some risk so we decided to bail early and head to indian creek.
This place is rad, splitter cracks every where. Its good to be back on warm rock . At the moment we are both preparing ourselves for yosemite, trying my best on all crack types. Off widths the hardest. Man im glad i have the big green cam!
We are camping in the desert its so special, all the stars, the towers and the howling dogs at night. Not to mention the warm camp fires. Last night there was a sand storm, we got covered in sand and then later it hailed!
We ticked some super classics here all ready supercrack, 3am crack, incredible hand crack, scarface etc etc. Its just so good.
Scarface was a bit of a battle being tight hands, but i was psyched to onsighted it.
I wish all of you back home could be here to see it. The cracks are like they have been lazer cut, either side of them is smooth blood red
walls. Its so good. One of the hard parts is deciding between simon and i who goes for the onsight!
any way take care all
garry

Photos

six shooters desert towers at sunset	simon warming up on perfect corner route	warm weather no more ice ahhhhh	sunset and playing around at campsite
carlsberg column	one of the six shooters	drinking tea on polar circus	campsite with bridget jack towers behind
Camp fire	puma g24 fingers to tips crux at end	simon leading last pitch polar circus chandallier hard ice	should be here jake my friend
scarface grade 22 insane route ring locks and tight hands	simon on classic grade 20		Garry on polar circus at night
Two happy boys	Simon on second pitch of polar circus	Mixed rock and ice climbing	Happy to have made it, blood on face from falling ice

First, I would like to comment on the bolting on Ben Lomond debate. Gerry - I think you are in trouble here. Ultimately the approach trial will require track work, but this should be all that is required if you had left the bolts for descent. Now you have a problem with tat and a degrading descent trail. I am all for leaving Ben Lomond bolt free - but a few wisely placed descent bolts will ultimately help conserve the area and add to peoples' enjoyment. The people rapping of tat are not weaklings nor poor climbers - that is a silly thing to say. Some of them are a lot fitter and stronger than you!

Second, I recently had the privilege of climbing Gary Phillip's 8 pitch route at Mt Brown called "I've Heard It All Before" 23, and the top 5 of 9 pitches of Adam Donohuge's "Deeper Waters" 26+ in the Tyndalls with Jake Bresnehan (...thanks Jake).

I have to say 'hats off' the Gary and Adam for putting in the effort to prepare these magnificent climbs for us all to enjoy. You should all get out there and experience these new bred of Tasmanian climbs.

Beware though the Tyndalls is "full on" - here lies the future of hard Tasmanian climbing with a real big wall feel and complex logistics relating to getting to the bottom of the routes. It is especially true to say that the seriousness of Deeper Waters is underplayed in the Climb Tasmania guide - a one day free ascent is still awaited and should not be taken lightly. I'll attach some photos.

The next big thing in woodies:

http://gizmodo.com/373667/aquaclimb-poolside-climbing-walls-the-next-best-thing-to-everest

I've just moved here from the States and will be in the Hobart area for about a year. Looking for some some climbing partners so I can rope up on this beautiful state. Let me know if you don't mind an extra to the group.

Charlie Lee