Dear members,
The long-awaited Kalbarri trip is just around the corner: Friday, 19th to Monday, 22nd April 2019.
Explore the Thrilling Climbing Opportunities in Kalbarri Gorge
Sheer sandstone walls carved out by the Murchison River provide trad, sport climbing, bouldering, and deep water soloing opportunities. Roughly a 6.5-hour drive north of Perth, Kalbarri Gorge is well worth the trip. Kalbarri National Park provides opportunities for trad leading in the middle and upper grades and sport climbing at a high level. You couldn’t ask for a more picturesque setting. If you haven’t been before, Kalbarri Gorge is truly spectacular and just a great spot to spend a weekend. Winter is prime climbing time in the gorge with excellent friction, pleasant temperatures, and no flies.
Discover Alternative Climbing Areas and Routes
Though the areas around the Z Bend tend to attract most climbers, there is some moderate trad climbing out at Hawk’s Head. Four Ways is also another great alternative if you want to avoid the crowd, whilst the remote Wonderwall offers some deep water soloing fun and is a pleasant day hike.
Important Information for Participants
We would love to see you all there. We also need to make sure that everyone is clear about what to expect from the area. Kalbarri is not an ideal venue for beginners unless they are accompanied by a suitably experienced climber. This is because access to routes will usually require lead climbing, and the ability to set up top ropes is very limited. The climbing also tends to be moderate to very hard.
Guides and Additional Routes
The main guides to the area are Northern Rock and West Australian Rock. These will give you a good idea of the climbing on offer. More routes have been posted on the forum since the above publications, here are some of them:
- A Couple of New Kalbarri Routes
- Kalbarri Long Natural Line
- 20 New Routes in Kalbarri
- Kalbarri New Route in the Pit
- New Routes in Kalbarri
- New Crack Climbs at Kalbarri
Access and Weather
From Perth, head north to Geraldton, Northampton, and Kalbarri. The road out to the Z Bend is now sealed and accessible by 2WD.
Check the weather forecast to choose your clothing appropriately: if the forecast announces less than 15 degrees and windy, bring that down jacket as it can be very cold in the gorge. Sunscreen can be a lifesaver as well if you’re planning to climb multi-pitches.
Accommodation and Registration
We have unpowered camping sites provisionally booked at Kalbarri Z-bend car park. Please let us know the numbers as soon as possible if you plan to attend, thus we can ensure that we have enough space to accommodate everybody.
Please register by completing the online form ASAP and by 10:00 am Wednesday, 17th April. We will then send a confirmation with further details.
Please note that CAWA trips are a benefit for members. Joining online is easy through the link on the CAWA homepage.
If you have any questions, please email both Elinor Fleming (elinorf@climberswa.asn.au), who will be in Kalbarri to coordinate the trip and me (dirkk@climberswa.asn.au), who is helping with the preparation ahead of the long weekend.
Dirk Klicker
CAWA VP and Committee member
Important Note
Due to legal and liability issues, CAWA does not provide training on trips. All climbers must be independent participants who are completely responsible for themselves. If you are an inexperienced climber, then have a chat with some of the more experienced people you know and see if they are planning to attend.