Ayres Rock (Uluru)
Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2019 1:23 am
Visited Ayres Rock on Friday for the 1st time and was just blown away by the sight of it as i drove towards it .
It was a perfect 20c day to climb it which i intended to do
Standing at the base of the climb and looking up at it, i was very surprised by the steepness of it but seeing quite a lot of people of all ages and sizes going up and down i thought it must be comfortably doable
How wrong i was
I was totally staggered at how steep it was as i made my way up to about half way up the chained section before my fitness levels gave out and i made the agonizing decision to abandon my attempt and turned back for my own safety as well as others
My nephew who i was travelling with made it to the top and down but he is about 1/3 of my age. I asked him whether he would do it again if he had the chance and he said "No way, it just wouldn't be worth the risk"
So summing up my experience.
I was totally shocked at just how hard the climb is (Especially for older unfit people like me) and also just how incredibly dangerous it is.
Basically 1 slip anywhere from the moment you step onto the rock up until the end of the chained section would probably result in death
And then even on top 2nd half of the climb i was told there were some very risky parts.
I accept that a lack of fitness was the major contributing factor with myself not being able to make it but at the same time i am absolutely staggered and shocked that there has been only 1 reported death since 2010.
Watching from the bottom i was almost expecting to see someone slip and come tumbling down at any time
Some peole were on hands and knees crawling up and down, most were using the chain correctly whilst i was shocked to see some just walk freely up and down with no use of the chain which staggered me especially one guy who had what looked like a 3 y.o. kid hanging on for dear life with her hands around his neck being piggy backed whilst her mother was saying "Hold on tight dear" My nephew has a photo of them at the top of the chained section. Just staggering to me
So i am eager to hear what others who have done the climb think about my thoughts?
Am i being over dramatic about it? Spot on?
Having done extensive working at heights training in my workplace in recent years, climbing up there breaks every single rule in the book in regards to safety.
It was a perfect 20c day to climb it which i intended to do
Standing at the base of the climb and looking up at it, i was very surprised by the steepness of it but seeing quite a lot of people of all ages and sizes going up and down i thought it must be comfortably doable
How wrong i was
I was totally staggered at how steep it was as i made my way up to about half way up the chained section before my fitness levels gave out and i made the agonizing decision to abandon my attempt and turned back for my own safety as well as others
My nephew who i was travelling with made it to the top and down but he is about 1/3 of my age. I asked him whether he would do it again if he had the chance and he said "No way, it just wouldn't be worth the risk"
So summing up my experience.
I was totally shocked at just how hard the climb is (Especially for older unfit people like me) and also just how incredibly dangerous it is.
Basically 1 slip anywhere from the moment you step onto the rock up until the end of the chained section would probably result in death
And then even on top 2nd half of the climb i was told there were some very risky parts.
I accept that a lack of fitness was the major contributing factor with myself not being able to make it but at the same time i am absolutely staggered and shocked that there has been only 1 reported death since 2010.
Watching from the bottom i was almost expecting to see someone slip and come tumbling down at any time
Some peole were on hands and knees crawling up and down, most were using the chain correctly whilst i was shocked to see some just walk freely up and down with no use of the chain which staggered me especially one guy who had what looked like a 3 y.o. kid hanging on for dear life with her hands around his neck being piggy backed whilst her mother was saying "Hold on tight dear" My nephew has a photo of them at the top of the chained section. Just staggering to me
So i am eager to hear what others who have done the climb think about my thoughts?
Am i being over dramatic about it? Spot on?
Having done extensive working at heights training in my workplace in recent years, climbing up there breaks every single rule in the book in regards to safety.