Canberra Climbers' Association

CCA Bouldering & Beer Night - Mountain Strong - POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
2021-08-10 18:00 - 21:00, 2021-06-08 18:00 - 21:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Mountain Strong Bouldering Gym, 66 Townsville Street, Fyshwick, ACT, 2609, Australia
Come and hang out with us!!
The CCA hosts a monthly Bouldering & Beer Night on (roughly) the first Tuesday of each month, where we meet at one of Canberra’s bouldering gyms to work up a thirst for an hour or so and then go crush some beers at the Capital Brewing Co. over near the BlocHaus gym (tap room is open Wed to Sun until 11pm).
There is a 10% entry fee discount to the bouldering gym for CCA members who present their membership card.
You’ll be able to identify the CCA person(s) coordinating the night by their club tee-shirt:

CCA General Meeting / guest speaker Zac Zaharias
2021-07-21 19:00 - 21:30 | Ainslie Football & Social Club, 52 Wakefield Avenue, Ainslie, ACT, 2602, Australia
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.
Dinner is available from The Limestone Kitchen at the Ainslie Football Club, providing a great chance to relax and socialise with other CCA members before the General Meeting starts at 7.30pm, in one of the meeting rooms upstairs from the dining area. A table in the name of CCA is booked for 6pm.
Guest speaker: Zac Zaharias
CCA President, Zac Zaharias, will be presenting on Mountaineering in Pakistan, covering four expeditions to the Karakoram ranges – three to 8000 metre peaks Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and II, and a joint expedition with the Pakistan Army to Spantik (7027 m) in the Hispar region. Pakistan offers some of the best high altitude mountaineering and big wall climbing in the world but is largely neglected by Australians.

Approaching Camp 3 on Broad Peak
Camp 2 on Spantik
Above Camp 2 on Gasherbrum 2

Free Showing of Reel Rock 15
2021-05-25 20:00 - 22:00 | Mountain Strong Bouldering Gym, 66 Townsville Street, Fyshwick, ACT, 2609, Australia
Mountain Strong Bouldering Gym, in conjunction with the CCA, will host a free screening of the 2021 Reel Rock film.
CCA President, Zac Zaharias, will give a 10 min introductory talk about the latest updates in crag access in the ACT, the CCA’s ongoing role in facilitating local crag access, and how we can all help with maintaining crag access.
Normal gym entry fee applies, with a 10% discount on the entry fee for CCA members (you may need to show your current membership card to obtain the discount). So come in for a social boulder at the gym and then stay for the film afterwards.

CCA General Meeting / guest speaker Nic Bendeli
2021-05-19 19:30 - 21:30 | Ainslie Football & Social Club, 52 Wakefield Avenue, Ainslie, ACT, 2602, Australia
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.
Dinner is available from The Limestone Kitchen at the Ainslie Football Club, providing a great chance to relax and socialise with other CCA members before the General Meeting starts at 7.30pm, in one of the meeting rooms upstairs from the dining area. A table in the name of CCA is booked for 6pm.
Guest speaker: Nic Bendeli – Two Alaska-Yukon Giants
A presentation by Nic Bendeli on attempts to climb two giants in the south-west Alaska/Yukon border. The climbs were undertaken by a small group, over two seasons (2002/2003), using mountaineering and ski mountaineering styles to summit. A world record was set from Mount Saint Elias.
Mount Saint Elias (also designated Boundary Peak 186), is the second-highest mountain in both Canada and the United States and stands on the Yukon-Alaska border about 42km southwest of Mount Logan. It is the highest mountain in Canada and is notable for its immense vertical relief. Its summit rises 5,489m vertically in just 16km horizontal distance from the head of Taan Fjord, off Icy Bay (Wikipedia)
Mount Logan is the highest mountain in Canada, and the second-highest peak in North America after Denali. Mount Logan is located in the Saint Elias Mountains within Kluane National Park Reserve in southwestern Yukon, and is less than 40 kilometres north of the Yukon–Alaska border. Due to active tectonic uplifting, Mount Logan is still rising in height. Its height was recorded via GPS min 1992, as being 5,959m (Wikipedia)
This presentation will be lavishly illustrated with old-fashioned optical slides.
M Dabbs at camp2a, Yukon (April 2003)

Blue Lake climbing weekend 2021
2021-04-02 - 2021-04-04 | 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 climbing weekend annually. It 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 538KB) 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.
Please note:

this is a climbing camp and we don’t provide instruction; we expect everybody to be self-sufficient climbers and campers. However, for those that are a little rusty, there are opportunities to tie in to the other end of the rope and follow up on some of the easy single-pitch classics on Elephant Buttress.
you will need to walk 4 km with your climbing and camping gear, from the car park at Charlotte Pass to where we camp above the tree line. Day climbing is also possible by doing the 4 km treck from the car park to the cliffs with just your climbing gear.

Blue Lake image gallery Blue Lake climbing guide
Blue Lake

CCA General Meeting / guest speakers Ken Baldwin and Theo Hooy
2021-03-17 19:00 - 21:30 | Ainslie Football & Social Club, 52 Wakefield Avenue, Ainslie, ACT, 2602, Australia
Welcome to our first General Meeting for the year. 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.
Following the success of hosting our 2020 AGM at the Ainslie Football & Social Club, we have decided to continue using this venue for our Club meetings for the foreseeable future. Drinks and dinner are available before the meeting at the Limestone Kitchen within the Ainslie Football & Social Club. Bookings are recommended for dinner (via online bookings).
Guest speakers: Ken Baldwin and Theo Hooy – “Patagonia icefield ski traverse”
Patagonia has always been a draw-card for those who enjoy spending time in the world’s big mountain ranges. The granite spires of Fitzroy and Cerro Torre, as well as the Towers of Paine, are a spectacular sight on a clear day – but that is somewhat of a rarity in this, one of the most rugged and windswept landscapes on earth.
The presenters, along with former Canberran climber and skier, Peter Lane, were fortunate enough to circumnavigate the Fitzroy/Cerro Torre massif – crossing the Patagonian icefield on skis – in almost perfect sunny, windless conditions over one week in October 2019. We repeated the same set of circumstances in the Torres del Paine a few days later, experiencing the full magnificence of this iconic trek in conditions people rarely see. Under the watchful eye of the giant condor, these mountains provide inspiration to all who gaze on them when allowed to do so by the all-powerful weather Gods.
Patagonia – Cerro Torre campsite – Ken Baldwin & Theo Hooy, 2019

CCA Christmas drinks 2020
2020-12-02 18:15 - 21:00 | Capital Brewing Co., Building 3/1 Dairy Rd, Fyshwick, ACT, 2609, Australia
Our last event for the year is the ever-popular Christmas drinks, which this year will be held at Capital Brewing Co. in Fyshwick. Snack type food is available there.
For those interested, a climb a the BlocHaus Bouldering beforehand is an option.
Come along, bring a friend or significant other, and enjoy a night out anticipating your Christmas holiday plans, or getting some great ideas for holiday destinations from fellow climbers!

POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICECCA General Meeting / guest speaker TBA
2020-11-18 19:45 - 21:30, 2020-07-15 19:45 - 21:30, 2020-05-20 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: TBA

CCA General Meeting (AGM) / guest speakers Caitlin Horan & Peter Blunt
2020-10-28 19:30 - 21:30 | Ainslie Football & Social Club, 52 Wakefield Avenue, Ainslie, ACT, 2602, Australia
As COVID-19 restrictions are beginning to ease a bit, we are going to run our first General Meeting of the year! This meeting will also be our AGM, so we will include election of CCA office bearers for 2020/2021 and a rundown of the CCA’s activities throughout this year, as well as general climbing news and points of interest. The meeting will be followed by our guest speaker presentation, as usual.
CCA members and non-members are welcome.
Please note the change in our usual meeting venue and start time (see details below).
Guest speaker: Caitlin Horan & Peter Blunt
In September 2019, local climbers Cait Horan, Greg Fisher, and Peter Blunt took their 90 combined years of climbing experience to the most famous big wall in the world, El Capitan. Climbing The Nose was the adventure of a lifetime for the trio. Four nights on the wall and only a few hours of sleep here and there, 28 spectacular pitches and all the big wall antics.
The team will share with us tonight some of the pain and the glory of this epic journey.
Peter Blunt, Cait Horan and Greg Fisher at the top of their climb of the Nose on El Capitan, September 2019.

Climbing Day at Gibraltar Peak
2020-06-20 | Gibraltar Peak, Gibraltar Peak, Paddy's River, ACT, 2620, Australia
Gibraltar Peak and surrounds are a multi-level maze of boulders that offer some fine climbing. Most climbs are single-pitch and many are fully bolted, while others are a mixture of bolts and natural gear. Many of the climbs are in the sun for at least part of the day, making this a great place for a sunny winter’s day.
Participation
CCA will provide a limited amount of basic instruction and top rope climbing if there are enough volunteer leaders; please check with the coordinator (see details below). Experienced climbers just need to register with the coordinator and you can then do your own thing.
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.
Participant numbers will be strictly limited to 20 so we don’t exceed the current restrictions for an outdoor gathering. Please register your interest with the coordinator, Zac Zaharias (see details below).
What to bring
You will need to bring your personal climbing gear (climbing shoes, chalk bag, harness and helmet) as a minimum, as we don’t have Club gear to loan out. You will also need food, water and sunscreen for the day.
Meeting time and location
The main outcrop of the Gibraltar Rocks is prominent and lies at the end of a ridge overlooking Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. You can get there from Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve by following the marked fire trail. Alternatively, there are several steep, unmarked fire trails on the south side of the ridge (off Corin Dam Road) that can be walked up.
Nail Biter Spike (16) – Gibraltar Rocks
Climbing routes
thecrag.com describes Gibraltar Peak climbing as varied, with lots of slabs, a few great arêtes and some stellar cracks. 123 individual routes are listed.

Blue Lake climbing weekend 2020
2020-03-20 - 2020-03-22 | 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 climbing weekend annually. It 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.
Please note:

this is a climbing camp and we don’t provide instruction; we expect everybody to be self-sufficient climbers and campers. However, for those that are a little rusty, there are opportunities to tie in to the other end of the rope and follow up on some of the easy single-pitch classics on Elephant Buttress.
you will need to walk 4 km with your climbing and camping gear, from the car park at Charlotte Pass to where we camp above the tree line. Day climbing is also possible by doing the 4 km treck from the car park to the cliffs with just your climbing gear.

Blue Lake image gallery Blue Lake climbing guide

Turdus – Blue Lake

CANCELLED: CCA General Meeting / guest speakers Caitlin Horan & Peter Blunt
2020-03-18 19:45 - 21:30 | Room HB3, Hedley Bull Centre, The Australian National University, Fellows Road, Acton, ACT, 2601
CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE:
As a precautionary measure against the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the ANU is cancelling all public and social events from Monday 16 March until the end of semester one (Saturday 20 June).
This includes all CCA General Meetings, including this one 🙁

Come and hear a rundown of the CCA’s recent activities plus general climbing news and points of interest, including the latest news on the effects of the ACT bushfires on climbing areas. This will be followed by our guest speaker presentation.
CCA members and non-members are welcome.
Guest speakers: Caitlin Horan & Peter Blunt

In September 2019, local climbers Cait Horan, Greg Fisher, and Peter Blunt successfully climbed the Nose on El Capitan after nearly a week of grueling climbing and only a few hours of sleep here and there.
Cait and Peter will share with us tonight some of the pain and the glory of this epic trip.
Peter Blunt, Cait Horan and Greg Fisher at the top of their climb of the Nose on El Capitan, September 2019.

CCA Christmas drinks 2019
2019-12-04 18:00 - 21:00 | The Kingston Hotel, 73 Canberra Avenue, Griffith, ACT, 2603, Australia
Our last social event for the year is the ever-popular Christmas drinks at the Kingston Hotel.
Meet at the Bistro area. Drinks and dinner are available at the bar.
Come along, bring a friend or significant other, and enjoy a night out anticipating your Christmas holiday plans, or getting some great ideas for holiday destinations from fellow climbers!

CCA General Meeting / guest speaker Hugh Newall
2019-11-20 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: Hugh Newall

Have you considered mountaineering in South America?

Earlier this year, Hugh was a member of a 43-day ANU Mountaineering Club expedition to the Cordillera Blanca, Peru. Tonight he will be sharing an insight into climbing in the Cordillera Blanca, recounting the expedition highlights and the lessons that were learnt.

CCA Climbing Week - Mt Arapiles
2019-10-19 - 2019-10-27 | Mt Arapiles, Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park, Centenary Park Road, Victoria, 3409, Australia
Come and join CCA members Robert Douglas and Brian Mattick for a week of climbing at this wonderful world-famous sandstone crag.
Mt Arapiles has everything from short test pieces to multi-pitch classics at all grades. The 3,000+ climbing routes are too numerous to be listed here, but comprehensive descriptions are available on thecrag.com website.
Please contact Robert or Brian (details below) if you would like to join in.
Watchtower Crack (16), Mt Arapiles. Photo by Steve Morris

CCA Annual General Meeting / guest speaker Lex Holcombe
2019-09-17 19:45 - 21:30 | Room HB3, Hedley Bull Centre, The Australian National University, Fellows Road, Acton, ACT, 2601
We will have a short meeting for the election of CCA office bearers for 2019/2020 and 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: Lex Holcombe
Lex has stood at the bottom of cliffs for the last 40 years and thought ‘how the f*** do I get up that!???’. His trip to Canada was no different.
Inspired by a Petzl catalogue in 1980, Lex set about planning and training for a trip to Canada. 38 years later he was ready…
Tonight, Lex will talk about a trip across vast areas of land through 3 Canadian provinces. It is a mini orientation to just some of the climbs in Canada (including an NA classic 50), an insight into the enormous potential for adventure and some practicalities on the nuts and bolts of how to get around Squamish, The Bugaboos and the NW Territories.

The art and science of trad lead climbing
2019-08-24 | White Rocks, White Rocks, Karabar, NSW, 2620, Australia
Have you 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 a 1-day introductory traditional lead climbing course run by CCA in conjunction with K7 Adventures. The course is a mix of theory and practical activities to introduce the foundation skills for traditional climbing, such as:

climbing knots
modern traditional climbing equipment
belaying leaders and seconds
setting up anchors
placing and removing protective gear
keeping yourself (and others) safe at the crag.

The course is being run by qualified, experienced Outdoor Recreation Industry instructors from CCA and K7 Adventures.
You will be provided with a gear list for this activity and there will be homework to complete before the course; homework will take about 60 minutes.
The course will take place at White Rocks, a small limestone crag located on the Queanbeyan River within 30 minutes’ drive from the centre of the Canberra CBD.
Participant numbers are limited to 3-6 climbers.
Trad climbing gear

Booroomba Cliffcare Working Bee
2019-08-19 | Booroomba Rocks, Booroomba Rocks, Namadgi National Park, ACT, Australia
The CCA spends considerable behind-the-scenes time and effort managing and maintaining access for the climbing community, to the ACT climbing areas.
We will be holding a one-day cliff-care working bee at Booroomba Rocks. Typical cliff-care tasks are track work, erosion control in descent gullies and re-bolting routes with safer technology.
Please join us if you are able to volunteer your time.

CCA General Meeting / guest speaker Penny Brothers
2019-07-17 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 speaker: Penny Brothers
Twin summits: highs and lows of a bifurcated climbing career
Penny Brothers’ formative years as a climber were spent in New Zealand, the USA, the Himalayas and even in Australia, where she completed rock and alpine ascents including Yosemite big walls and, in 1980, the first ascent of Bhrigupanth (6770 m) in the Garwhal Himalaya as part of a women’s team. She then had an unplanned hiatus from climbing while tending to her family and an academic career at the University of Auckland. In recent years she had an equally unplanned return to climbing, with ascents in New Zealand, Peru, Patagonia, and even in the ACT where she has just taken a job at The Australian National University. She served as President of the New Zealand Alpine Club in 2016-2017.
Tonight, Penny will talk about her early years and then strategies for successful “crevasse rescue”: climbing out of the middle-aged abyss.

Integral Crack – 50 years celebration
2019-06-15 | Booroomba Rocks, Booroomba Rocks, Namadgi National Park, ACT, Australia
Image above: Integral Crack (20), on the South Buttress of Booroomba Rocks, Namadgi National Park. Photo by John Price Photography.

Peter Cocker and Peter Aitchison made the first ascent of Integral Crack, at Booroomba Rocks, on 11 July 1969. At the time, it was one of the hardest climbs in Australia (Ewbank’s The Janicepts (21) had a point of aid at the time).
The climb is described as “A classic by any standards. The best line at Booroomba, and one of the best climbs…” in the ACT Granite climbing guidebook (1997, edited by John Churchill and Mike Peck).
Please join us in celebrating rock climbing at Booroomba Rocks, featuring Peter Cocker and the first ascent of Integral Crack.
Highlights of the day

Saturday mid-morning: an open chat around the campfire with Peter Cocker and other climbers who have been instrumental in the development of Booroomba Rocks, and a display of historic climbing gear; this will be held in the picnic area at the top of Booroomba Rocks, and a delicious morning tea will be provided (BYO cups and some water for the billy, please, and BYO lunch!)
Saturday afternoon: a celebratory climb of the Integral Crack route by one of CCA’s longstanding members, with a commentary by Peter Cocker
Saturday night: camp at Honeysuckle Camp Ground; camping fees for CCA members will be covered IF YOU REGISTER BEFOREHAND – see details below)
All day Saturday and Sunday: an opportunity to climb the routes at Booroomba Rocks (please note that there will be NO GUIDED CLIMBING for this event)
Recording of anecdotes and oral history, at opportune moments throughout the day
A video recording of Peter’s story
Possible magazine article and photos by nature photographer and lifelong bushwalker, naturalist, climber and conservationist, Ian Brown.

Registration and further information
For more information, to register for Saturday night camping, or to volunteer to help out, please contact the organisers listed below.

CCA General Meeting / guest speaker Peter Blunt
2019-05-15 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: Peter Blunt
Alpine Rock in the Range of Light (Sierra Nevada)
A journey through some of the classic middle-grade rock climbs in the Sierras, 40 years in the making. Featuring stunning images from climbing photo journalist Ian Brown and personal stories of “1,000 feet of perfect granite” on Mt Whitney, Charlotte Dome, Temple Crag, Tuolumne and Half Dome. The magical beauty of the Range of Light, the oldest living things on the planet, bears, permits, camping access, bolting and ethics etc. And preparing for the next challenge – big wall routes on El Capitan.
Peter is a long-time CCA member with a trad climbing ethic. He has been rock climbing for 40+ years and has climbed extensively all over the world. Peter undertook initial exploration and development of the Point Perpendicular crag and has set other new routes on mostly obscure remote cliffs. He instructed and taught climbing in the ACT for 35 years in Outdoor Education and is now retired from the workforce.

Range of Light (Sierra Nevada)
Range of Light (Sierra Nevada)
Range of Light (Sierra Nevada)
Rising clouds, El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park
Fairview Dome and juniper, Yosemite National Park
Peter Blunt climbing Regular Route, Fairview Dome, Yosemite National Park
Range of Light (Sierra Nevada)
Range of Light (Sierra Nevada)
Lone pine, Half Dome, Yosemite National Park
Peter Blunt on Snake Dike, Half Dome, Yosemite National Park
Range of Light (Sierra Nevada)

Introductory Climbing Day – Booroomba Rocks
2019-05-12 | Booroomba Rocks, Booroomba Rocks, Namadgi National Park, ACT, Australia
Our popular introductory climbing day at Booroomba Rocks, Namadgi National Park, is a great way for newer CCA members who are first-time climbers at Booroomba 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.
You will be led up a selection of classic routes at Booroomba Rocks, by experienced CCA members; grades will depend on climbers and leaders.
Participation
Participants of any experience are welcome. The numbers who can participate will depend on how many CCA leaders we have, and we aim for a ratio of one leader/guide for a maximum of two participants, so it’s 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). Registrations open from 24 April 2019.
What to bring
You will need to bring your personal climbing gear (climbing shoes, chalk bag, harness and helmet) plus food and water for the day. A water bottle that you can attach to your harness comes in very handy, as most climbs at Booroomba Rocks are multi-pitch. Many of the climbs are in full sun for most of the day so some form of sun protection is a good idea.
Meeting time and location
We will meet at the Booroomba Rocks car park at 9am for introductions and to organise climbing parties. To get to the car park, drive up Apollo Road to about 1km before the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station. Turn right onto the gravel road (it’s signposted) and follow this to the end, about 3 km.

Booroomba Rocks image gallery Booroomba Rocks climbing guide

Vomit (17) – Booroomba Rocks, South Buttress

Climbing Day at The Cloisters, Orroral Ridge
2019-04-07 | Orroral Ridge, Orroral Ridge, ACT, Australia
The Cloisters is a jumble of granite boulders on the Orroral Ridge, in Namadji National Park, ACT. There are good climbs at all grades (see descriptions below), and most of the day’s activities will take place around The Hello Boulder (15m high, pictured above) and Simple Simon Slabs, where there are some excellent, moderately-graded crack and wall/slab climbs.
Participation
Participants of any experience are 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, Brian Mattick (see details below).
What to bring
You will need to bring your personal climbing gear (climbing shoes, chalk bag, harness and helmet) plus food, water and sunscreen for the day.
Meeting time and location
Meet at the car park on the Orroral Ridge at 9am (see map at the bottom of this page). To get to the car park, drive up Apollo Road to the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station then turn onto the gravel road near the shelter/toilets and follow this to the end, about 4 km uphill.
Climbing routes
thecrag.com describes The Cloisters as having “a wide range of grades and styles on boulders nestled among the trees” and lists 68 individual routes.

CCA General Meeting / guest speaker Rolfe Oostra
2019-03-27 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: Canberra-raised mountaineer and adventurer, Rolfe Oostra
Rolfe Oostra is a mountaineer and expedition leader, and co-founder of 360 Expeditions. He has summitted some of the highest and most technical peaks on earth, including Ama Dablam, Manaslu, Cho Oyu and Everest. He has made notable first alpine ascents in the Andes, Karakoram and Greenland and has established many new rock-climbing routes in Africa, South America and Australia. He has also explored many unknown landscapes and communities, from unpaddled rivers in the Congo and Amazon basin to some of the world’s most isolated deserts.
Rolfe will be back on home turf in Canberra and joining us to talk about his fabulous adventures and summits, and to share his advice and experiences.
Top image: Rolfe at Trango Towers, Pakistan. Above: Rolfe on Mera Peak, Nepal.

Introductory Climbing Day – Booroomba Rocks (South Buttress)
2019-03-03 | Booroomba Rocks, Booroomba Rocks, Namadgi National Park, ACT, Australia
Our popular introductory climbing day at Booroomba Rocks, Namadgi National Park, is a great way for newer CCA members who are first-time climbers at Booroomba 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.
You will be led up a selection of classic Booroomba Rocks, South Buttress routes by experienced CCA members; grades will depend on climbers and leaders.
Participation
Participants of any experience are welcome. The numbers who can participate will depend on how many CCA leaders we have, and we aim for a ratio of one leader/guide for a maximum of two participants, so it’s 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, Brian Mattick (see details below).
What to bring
You will need to bring your personal climbing gear (climbing shoes, chalk bag, harness and helmet) plus food and water for the day. A water bottle that you can attach to your harness comes in very handy, as most climbs at Booroomba Rocks are multi-pitch. Many of the climbs are in full sun for most of the day so some form of sun protection is a good idea.
Meeting time and location
We will meet at the Booroomba Rocks car park at 9am for introductions and to organise climbing parties. To get to the car park, drive up Apollo Road to about 1km before the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station. Turn right onto the gravel road (it’s signposted) and follow this to the end, about 3 km.

Booroomba Rocks image gallery Booroomba Rocks climbing guide

Vomit (17) – Booroomba Rocks, South Buttress

Blue Lake climbing weekend 2019
2019-02-01 - 2019-02-03 | 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 climbing weekend annually. It 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.
Please note that you will need to walk 4 km with your climbing and camping gear, from the car park at Charlotte Pass to where we camp above the tree line. Day climbing is also possible by doing the 4 km trek from the car park to the cliffs with just your climbing gear.

Blue Lake image gallery Blue Lake climbing guide

55m granite cliffs at the west end of Blue Lake, Kosciuszko National Park, NSW

CCA General Meeting / guest speakers Ken Baldwin and Huw Kingston
2018-11-21 19:45 - 21:30 | Room HB3, Hedley Bull Centre, The Australian National University, Fellows Road, Acton, ACT, 2601
Our last general meeting for 2018. 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: Ken Baldwin and Huw Kingston
Ken Baldwin – Red wine, rosti and hard pack
The classic Haute Route one-week traverse of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps from Chamonix to Zermatt is every ski-mountaineer’s dream – and the magnificent scenery is just one of the many highlights. Huge ascents of over 1,000m in a day lead to even bigger descents – including one 2,200m downhill run down to Zermatt – the equivalent of Mt Kosciuszko summit to the sea. The catered réfuges provided excellent cuisine after a hard day, washed down with beer and wine. The perfect Bluebird weather for 8 days made for great photography, but the huge storm that followed led to a disaster near the highest point that saw 7 skiers perish overnight. A reminder that any adventure in the high mountains should be undertaken with the utmost respect of the environment.
Huw Kingston – Vodka, slushies and powder
With a bottle of Shohona in hand, Huw Kingston will tell tales from his ski expedition to the Fann Mountains in Tajikistan in Central Asia. Earlier this year, Huw and his three companions failed miserably to ascend the highest peaks but succeeded magnificently in making the first ski traverse of this stunning range that runs up to 5,500 metres. Expect acts of barberism (yes, correct spelling…..) on the streets of Tajikistan, plumbing the hell of the deepest, sloppiest snow on earth and rejoicing in soft, soft powder.
