Australia- Grampians Bouldering

The incredibly beautiful Taipan Wall

I've been fortunate enough to make a couple of trips out to the Grampians National Park during my time in Australia. This is Australia's premier bouldering area. The climbing is a bit spread out and still undeveloped. However, the area is incredibly beautiful and the rock has some of the most interesting features I've ever seen on sandstone. While climbing there today, I ran into Chris Webb Parsons (who is perhaps the strongest current Australian boulderer) and we talked a bit about the Grampians bouldering guidebook that he is working on. It sounds like he's making great progress on the book and he hopes to have it out in the next couple of months. Having gone through that experience myself, I know it is a lot of work, but he showed me some of the pages and it looks like it's going to be an outstanding book. This is an area that will benefit greatly from a good guidebook as there is a ton of rock but almost no information available online. I found Chris to be a very humble and engaging person and I wish him well on his recovery from shoulder surgery (he sustained the injury on his recent trip to Hueco). I'm sure he'll be back to climbing hard again in no time at all! Anyhow, here are some pictures from my time in the Grampians. (Thanks Stephanie!)

The hike in to the Mt. Stapylton bouldering areas

Learning the 'Nevin Rule' (v7) at the Kindergarten

'A Horse Is A Horse' (v4) at the Kindergarten

An unnamed v4 variation at the Kindergarten

'Fashion' (v5) at Loopey's

'Passion' (v4) at Loopey's

Sticking the crimp on 'Circus Jerkus' (v6) at Loopey's

'Wimmel Friedhof' (v5) at the Hollow Mountain Cave

Zaiga Padoms staring down a hold on an unnamed v2 at the Trackside area.