Canberra Climbers' Association

CCA General Meeting / guest speaker Armando Corvini
2018-03-28 20:00 - 22:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Room HB3, Hedley Bull Centre, The Australian National University, Fellows Road, Acton, ACT, 2601
Come and hear a rundown of the CCA’s recent activities plus general climbing news and points of interest, followed by our guest speaker presentation.
CCA members and non-members are welcome.
Guest speaker: Armando Corvini – Life goes on
Long-time CCA member, Armando Corvini, completed a successful expedition to Ama Dablam, Lagunak Ridge in 1994. The expedition was marred by Armando suffering severe frost bite to both hands and feet, and his life came to a complete stop as he recovered from his injuries; in the process of losing his fingers and toes, he also lost his livelihood.
This is Armando’s story of survival and the long road to recovery to what he is now. Armando is a great inspiration to many climbers and youth; come along to hear his impressive story.
Life goes on!!

Armando Corvini (left) with Graham Franklin-Browne (right) on Sunstroke – Booroomba Rocks

The art and science of trad lead climbing - Day 1
2018-03-25 | White Rocks, White Rocks, Karabar, NSW, 2620, Australia
Ever wanted to learn how to lead “trad” climbs and not known how to start?
Traditional climbing, or trad climbing, is a style of rock climbing in which a climber places all gear required to protect against falls, and removes it when a pitch is complete.
This is the first day of a 2-day introductory traditional lead climbing course run by CCA in conjunction with K7 Adventures.
Day 1 provides foundation skills covering knots, gear, belaying and setting up belays, placing protection and staying safe. It will take place at White Rocks; cost is $100 per person (see details below).
Day 2 (date will be provided to participants of Day 1) will give you the opportunity to lead single-pitch trad climbs at Booroomba Rocks, Namadgi National Park; cost is $220 per person.
The course is being run by qualified, experienced instructors from CCA and K7 Adventures.
Trad climbing gear

CCA Introductory Climbing Day – Booroomba Rocks
2018-03-17 | Booroomba Rocks, Booroomba Rocks, Namadgi National Park, ACT, Australia
Our annual introductory climbing day at Booroomba Rocks, in Namadgi National Park, is a great way for newer CCA members to enjoy the delights of the classic trad climbs at the Booroomba crag. It is also a great opportunity for indoor climbers to experience the joys of outdoor and trad climbing.
All participants are welcome; the numbers who can participate will depend on how many leaders we have. We normally have a ratio of one leader/guide for a maximum of two participants, so it will be “first in – best dressed”!!
You will need to join CCA on the day if you are not a member ($20 for one year or $50 for three years), and all participants will need to sign the CCA Activity Waiver (PDF 75KB) before attending.
Please register your interest with the coordinator, Zac Zaharias (see details below).
Booroomba Rocks image gallery Booroomba Rocks climbing guide
Booroomba Rocks – North Buttress

Blue Lake climbing weekend 2018
2018-03-02 - 2018-03-04 | Blue Lake, Blue Lake Kosciuszko National Park, NSW, Australia
Blue Lake in Kosciuszko National Park, NSW, is a rare and beautiful cirque lake which has some of the clearest waters of any Australian lake. Granite cliffs of up to 55m overlook the west side of Blue Lake, providing some wonderful traditional climbing and the only alpine climbing area in Australia.
CCA holds this annual climbing weekend, which is open to all CCA members and to non-members who join CCA ($20 for one year or $50 for three years) at the beginning of the weekend. All participants will also need to sign a CCA Activity Waiver (PDF 75KB) before the weekend.
If you are interested in attending, please register with the event coordinator, Zac Zaharias (details below). He will then send you details including the camping location and possible car pooling options.

Blue Lake image gallery Blue Lake climbing guide

European Outdoor Film Tour - CCA member ticket discount
2018-02-12 19:00 - 22:00 | Canberra Openair Cinema, Patrick White Lawns, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
European Outdoor Film Tour is one of the world’s best outdoor adventure film tours. The films cover a whole variety of different outdoor adventure activities including expedition travel, mountain biking, climbing, mountaineering, skiing and kayaking.
Check out more at www.eoftaustralia.com or watch the trailer:

CCA has secured an exclusive partner discount for the European Outdoor Film Tour, which gives our members access to $20 tickets for the event.
All CCA members will be receiving, via email, a special discount code that you can enter at the end of the process when purchasing your ticket.
So why not make an evening of it!? Some “buildering” at the library wall, then kick back with a cold one and be inspired for your next adventure… “no script, no actors, no special effects”.

CCA General Meeting / Andrew Cadogan-Cowper
2017-11-15 19:45 - 21:30 | Room HB3, Hedley Bull Centre, The Australian National University, Fellows Road, Acton, ACT, 2601
Looking down to the valley below the enormous west wall of Tofana de Rozes. Via ferrata G. Lipella, Tofana de Rozes, Dolomiti, Italy.

Come and hear a rundown of the CCA’s recent activities plus general climbing news and points of interest, followed by our guest speaker presentation.
CCA members and non-members are welcome.
Guest speaker: Andrew Cadogan-Cowper
“My European Summer: Formidable Ferrate and Friendly 4000’ers”
Local climber Andrew Cadogan-Cowper will take us on a visual journey through some of Europe’s most beautiful alpine areas. This includes self-guided ascents of Mont Blanc (4810m), Breithorn (4164m) and Allalinhorn (4027m), as well as some of the world’s best vie ferrate such as the huge west wall of Tofana de Rozes and the Via delle Bocchette Centrali.

CCA General Meeting (AGM) / Dr Jim Duff guest speaker
2017-09-27 19:45 - 21:30 | Room HB3, Hedley Bull Centre, The Australian National University, Fellows Road, Acton, ACT, 2601
Above image: Khumbu Icefall (centre) and Glacier descending from the Western Cwm, hidden behind Nuptse (right). Everest’s summit and Southwest Face are above the cwm. Between and below the summit of Everest and the South Summit lies the upper snowfield with the vertical cliffs of the Rock Band beneath it. (Photographer: Fabien 1309 assumed. Source: Wikipedia)

Come and hear a rundown of the CCA’s recent activities plus general climbing news and points of interest, followed by our guest speaker presentation.
CCA members and non-members are welcome.
Guest speaker: Dr Jim Duff
Dr Jim Duff
Dr Jim Duff is a Doctor and experienced mountaineer who, along with Dr Charles Clarke, accompanied Hamish MacInnes, Chris Bonington, Dougal Haston, Doug Scott, Mick Burke, Nick Estcourt and others on the 1975 British Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition. This was the first expedition to successfully climb Mount Everest by ascending one of its faces.
Jim was a member of many of the British Himalayan expeditions in the 1970s and 80s that were at the forefront of climbing new routes amongst the Himalayan giants. Nowadays, Jim acts as Medical Advisor for numerous expedition and wilderness first aid courses. He has over 30 years’ experience in climbing, trekking and teaching wilderness medicine. He has been a volunteer doctor for the Himalayan Rescue Association at Pheriche and Manang rescue posts, has been on many Himalayan expeditions, and is also a keen sailor. Jim is the founder of the International Porter Protection Group and author of numerous articles on travel and medical matters. Jim is also the co-developer of the Portable Altitude Chamber (PAC).
In tonight’s presentation, Jim will give a personal view on the evolution of rock climbing, based on his experience of growing up in the heart of the Lake District, UK.
Demon Wall Gable, Lake District, 1963

CCA General Meeting / Australian Museum Balls Pyramid Expedition 2017
2017-07-19 19:45 - 21:30 | Room HB3, Hedley Bull Centre, The Australian National University, Fellows Road, Acton, ACT, 2601
Come and hear a rundown of the CCA’s recent activities plus general climbing news and points of interest, followed by our guest speaker presentation.
CCA members and non-members are welcome.
Guest speaker: Brian Mattick
Australian Museum Balls Pyramid Expedition 2017
Located 22 kilometres south of Lord Howe Island, Balls Pyramid is a massive spire of volcano rock and – at 551m high – is thought to be the tallest sea stack in the world. Being a World Heritage Site, climbing on Balls Pyramid had been banned since the mid-80s. The summit is about 30 square metres and one of the most rarely visited places on earth. Find out how CCA member Brian Mattick, twice-climber of Balls Peak Keith Bell, and four other climbers, got to climb Balls Pyramid in March 2017 and capture one of the rarest insects in the world.
Lord Howe Island stick insect or tree lobster, Dryococelus australis
L-R: Zane Priebbenow, Vanessa Wills and Dave Grey on the Balls Pyramid summit (photo by Paul Priebbenow)

Keith Bell on Balls Pyramid summit block
More stories and photos of the expedition
AM Expedition: Lord Howe Island, 2017 by Madelaine Love, Australian Museum.
Landing on Balls Pyramid by Paul Flemons, Australian Museum.
Climbing Balls Pyramid by Keith Bell.
Riddle in the Pacific by Peter Munro, Wolter Peeters & others, The Sydney Morning Herald (includes some fabulous photos plus a great 3 min video!).
The Lord Howe Island stick insect that came back from the dead by Ann Jones, ABC News.

CCA General Meeting / Climbing in the USA
2017-05-17 19:45 - 21:30 | Room HB3, Hedley Bull Centre, The Australian National University, Fellows Road, Acton, ACT, 2601
Come and hear a rundown of the CCA’s recent activities plus general climbing news and points of interest, followed by our guest speaker presentation.
CCA members and non-members are welcome.
Guest speakers: Damian Jovanovic and Sarah Truscott
In late 2015, CCA members Damian Jovanovic and Sarah Truscott spent 2 months trawling the west coast of North America, seeking out the best cracks they could find. With an addiction that began on their home turf of Billy Billy Rocks, they immersed themselves completely in single-pitch and multi-pitch cracks on granite, sandstone and volcanics.

Top image: Damian feeling the calf pump at Trout Creek (photo by Sarah Truscott).

The Incredible Hulk, California (photo by Sarah Truscott).

Sarah seconding on the Grand Wall, Squamish (photo by Damian Jovanovic).

Introductory Climbing Day - Booroomba Rocks
2017-04-23 | Booroomba Rocks, Booroomba Rocks, Namadgi National Park, ACT, Australia
The ever-popular introductory climbing day at Booroomba Rocks, Namadgi National Park, is a great way for newer CCA members to enjoy the delights of the classic trad climbs at the Booroomba crag. It is also a great opportunity for indoor climbers to experience the joys of outdoor and trad climbing.
All welcome. You will need to join CCA on the day if you are not a member ($20 for one year or $50 for three years), and all participants will need to sign the CCA Activity Waiver (PDF 75KB) before attending.
Please register your interest with the coordinator, Armando Corvini (details below).
Booroomba Rocks image gallery Booroomba Rocks climbing guide
Booroomba Rocks – North Buttress

Blue Lake climbing weekend 2017
2017-03-31 - 2017-04-02 | Blue Lake, Blue Lake Kosciuszko National Park, NSW, Australia
Blue Lake in Kosciuszko National Park, NSW, is a rare and beautiful cirque lake which has some of the clearest waters of any Australian lake. Granite cliffs of up to 55m overlook the west side of Blue Lake, providing some wonderful traditional climbing and the only alpine climbing area in Australia.
CCA holds this annual climbing weekend, which is open to all CCA members and to non-members who join CCA ($20 for one year or $50 for three years) at the beginning of the weekend. All participants will also need to sign a CCA Activity Waiver (PDF 75KB) before the weekend.
If you are interested in attending, please register with the event coordinator, Zac Zaharias (details below). He will then send you details including the camping location and possible car pooling options.
» visit the Blue Lake image gallery
» see routes and climbing guides for Blue Lake

CCA General Meeting / Heard Island Expedition
2017-03-15 19:45 - 21:30 | Room HB3, Hedley Bull Centre, The Australian National University, Fellows Road, Acton, ACT, 2601
Come and hear a rundown of the CCA’s recent activities plus general climbing news and points of interest, followed by our guest speaker presentation.
CCA members and non-members are welcome.
Guest speaker: Matt Rogerson
In 2000, Matt Rogerson, Stu Davies, Robb Clifton and Tim Curtis made the third ascent of Mawson’s Peak, one of Australia’s highest, most inaccessible and wildest mountains. At 2,745m high, the active volcano rises from the depths of the Southern Ocean to form Heard Island – one of Australia’s sub-antarctic territories.
The first ascent of the mountain came in 1965, in an Australian expedition led by the great Bill Tilman and Warwick Deacock, and it was in this tradition that the Army Alpine Association launched their attempt. Matt will share the story of the climb, including the team’s unconventional travel to the island and the drama of a difficult ascent 4000km from home.
Elephant seals laze on the beach in front of Heard Island volcano Big Ben (Photo: Dr Matt Curnock)

CCA General Meeting / Climbing in the Dolomites
2016-11-16 19:45 - 21:30 | Room HB3, Hedley Bull Centre, The Australian National University, Fellows Road, Acton, ACT, 2601
Come and hear a rundown of the CCA’s recent activities plus general climbing news and points of interest, followed by our guest speaker presentation.
CCA members and non-members are welcome.
Guest speakers: CCA members Jack Pezzey, Brian Mattick and Ben Freyens
Jack, Brian and Ben will show slides of their recent, separate trips to the Dolomites, a world-famous, very accessible region of spectacular limestone peaks in NE Italy. At most two hours’ walk from your car reaches a huge range of climbing, from 3 to 33 pitches, with no altitude problems, usually no snow, often stunningly exposed, and all grades from via ferratas and mid-teen trads (what we climbed) to super hard/long routes. With accessibility come typical Dolomite features such as howling motorbikes and sportscars, beer on summits and cable-car descents; less typically, we also met an ankle-breaking crevasse, a descent in a kilometre-long tunnel and a karabiner-shaped thigh-branding!
Pictured below is the Sassolungo group; the isolated spire on the middle peak has a thrilling knife-edge ridge at just grade 13.
Sassolungo (3,181m) is the highest mountain of the Sella Group in the western Dolomites in South Tyrol, Italy. The name translates to “long peak” / “long rock”. Further summits are the Punta Grohmann, Torre Innerkofler, Dente, Sassopiatto and Cinque Dita. The Sassolungo mountain range could be considered the borderline between the Val Gardena and Val di Fassa.

CCA General Meeting (AGM) / Keith Bell & Jim Smith guest speakers
2016-09-21 19:45 - 21:30 | Room HB3, Hedley Bull Centre, The Australian National University, Fellows Road, Acton, ACT, 2601
Come and hear a rundown of the CCA’s recent activities plus general climbing news and points of interest, followed by our guest speaker presentation.
CCA members and non-members are welcome.
Guest speakers: Keith Bell & Jim Smith
Keith Bell and Jim Smith will be talking about their historic climb of Balls Pyramid in the 1960s and 1970s, and presenting their new book “South Pacific Pinnacle – The Exploration of Balls Pyramid”.
South Pacific Pinnacle: The Exploration of Balls Pyramid
300 page hardcover book with many photos, edited by Jim Smith and Keith Bell (Den Fenella Press, $50 incl. postage within Australia)

Booroomba 50th Anniversary Celebration: 1966 - 2016
2016-08-31 18:00 - 20:00 | The Kingston Hotel, 73 Canberra Avenue, Griffith, ACT, 2603, Australia
The first climb recorded at Booroomba Rocks was made in January 1966 by Peter Aitchison. The climb, named Aitchison’s Needle was graded at 13 and is a small pinnacle just off the South Buttress.
Peter Aitchison at the top of the Bugaboos in British Columbia, circa 1992.
The CCA is proud to announce a celebration of 50 years of climbing at Booroomba Rocks; the night promises to be a great evening with displays of photos and memorabilia from that era. As well, a number of climbers who made many first ascents over the last 50 years will be present to tell some great yarns.
Finger food will be provided on arrival and drinks can be purchased at the bar. Meals can be purchased after the event.
Please RSVP to Tony Wood (see details below) before Monday 22nd August, including how many will be attending (for catering purposes). Tony, of course, was one of the early pioneers of climbing at Booroomba Rocks.
Booroomba Rocks – some 1st ascensionists (August 2016)
Some participants of the Booroomba 50th Anniversary celebrations
