Date/Time
Date(s) - Saturday 12 April, 2025 - Sunday 13 April, 2025
All Day
climbing
Hi OAC Members,
We are seeking expressions of interest among club members to develop their skills in multi-pitch rock climbing over the course of 2025. Register your interest by completing the google form below
=== MULTI PITCH ===
Multi-pitch climbing is climbing on cliffs that are taller than a rope length and require several hours to a whole day on the wall. It’s a step toward alpinism, which is to say, getting up really high where there are epic views, airy exposure and a bit of bracing fear. Multipitching involves more commitment and objective risk and therefore requires more rigorous rigging and planning.
=== Six linked OAC trips ===
There will be six trips running in 2025 that will serve as a ‘skills pathway’ for climbers to develop their multi-pitch skills. Two of them will be weekend trips and the rest will be regular club day trips. These trips will take club members through the rock-skills 1-4 prerequisites, but more importantly, will create opportunities to practice multi-pitch skills in ideal settings. Participants will be able to learn how to multi-pitch in a way that is incremental, rigorous and safe.
=== Who can be part of the pathway? ===
You should have at least one year experience climbing outdoors on single pitch climbs, preferably you will have done some lead climbing.
You should be available for one weekend in April and one weekend in October for skills development weekends. These two trips are really the whole point of the pathway.
You should be based in Sydney for all of 2025 to ensure that you can see the skills progression through.
=== How many places are there? ===
8 places. If there is not enough space in the pathway group you may still be able to join individual trips.
=== Who gets priority? ===
In the event that there are more than 8 people interested, priority will go to
– trip leaders who volunteer for the club.
– climbers with lead climbing experience and their own gear
=== Applying as a partnership ===
We encourage climbers to participate in this pathway as a partnership i.e. two climbers who regularly tie-in together who both want to build this capacity. Let us know int he google form if this is the case.
=== The goal! ===
If the pathway goes well we should be ready for a larger objective by the end of the year. This could be something like Bunny Buckets Buttress(18), Whymper(19) or the west face of the MirrorBall(19)
===== SCHEDULE OF TRIPS ======
Jan-Feb-March – The early part of the year will be an opportunity for any climbers that need to tick off their prereqs. We will run rock skills 1 and Abseil Skills 1 as well as rock skills 2. We may also run an intermediate climbing trip in Sydney to get a chance to lead climb together.
April 12 – 13 – First multi pitch weekend Mt Keira –
RS3 – Lead climbing together.
AS4 – Multipitch abseilling , Abseil anchors.
RS 4 – Multipitch skills, Multi pitch anchors management. Communication on multi pitch climbs. Planning and preparing for multi pitches.
Self Rescue – Ascending fixed lines. Problem solving.
June – The Gib – Mt Gibraltar has multi pitches so easy that you could do them in sand shoes without using your hands. The best possible place to get our systems honed.
August – Scarborough Cliffs – Easy and intermediate multi pitches in an insane location.
October 18-19 – Blue Mountains Skills Weekend @ Mt York – Consolidating skills.
Refresh on what we learned in April.
Planning for specific multi pitches.
Scenario based problem solving.
Self rescue practice. Hauling gear and humans. Abseiling with loads.
Picking and planning our megafest climbs.
Megafest – We take on a big objective suitable to our skills.
==== INTERESTED? =====
Register your interest by completing this google form.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSecQ485yzEES0v1fRLpDY8AY0cPSz0o1rbiToPTI1j8RHEjPw/viewform?usp=sharing
Please also register in the OAC form below. Sorry about the double up.
You will need to register for individual trips as usual when they come up. Pat Grant will get in touch with everyone who has expressed interest by the end of Jan.
==== QUESTIONS ====
Please ask any questions you have on the OAC discord in the climbing channel so that the club committee and the safety officer can track the conversations. @ Pat Grant – Discord server is here – https://discord.gg/GghharZp
