SummitPost.org

i added Uluru-Kata Tjuta to mountains and rocks!

Good on you. I'm just heading to check it out.

edit: Nice photos. I bet this page gets a lot of additional material added. I put a comment on your snake photo so you know what you were dealing with!

thank you for the snake-info.
i hope there will be more info soon... so i can split the page into uluru and kata tjuta, maybe...

flow.

I've added some pics as well, mostly panoramas. I'm also willing to help out with the text if you like?

yes, sure!
i'm thankfull for more information and help!

i guess it would be interesting to have more info and photos on geology, flora & fauna...

cheers, flow

I wonder how other people on this board feel about climbing it?

I've heard quite some diverse opinions.

Rick B wrote:I wonder how other people on this board feel about climbing it?

that's a good question.

i think the whole thing about climbing uluru is a bit ambiguous.
in all australian national parks everything is quite restricted. so if the uluru national park management would care about the aboriginal traditions they could just say the climb is forbidden as well...
they just say please don't climb because it's sacred.

what do you think?

If an aboriginal person looked me in the eye and asked me not to climb it, I know that I couldn't do it.

dadndave wrote:If an aboriginal person looked me in the eye and asked me not to climb it, I know that I couldn't do it.

i wouldn't either.

if it is that important for them it should be forbidden to climb uluru.

Ah dadndave answered, that concludes our poll of people on this board

Seriously, you can still climb it because the aboriginals made a deal with the Australian government. They would get their land rights back of this area, under the condition that it could still be climbed. So they put up all the signs to keep you from doing it, but they can't forbid you to.

So the reasons against climbing are obvious, these might be arguments to climb it anyway (please note that I don't agree with all of them, but it's what I've heard so far):

- to some (non-aboriginal) people, a journey to the red center and a climb of Uluru means a lot as well. You have come all this way to see their most valuable treasure, climbing it is spiritual to you too and should be seen as honouring the rock.

- they signed this deal, so their objections must not have been un-overcome-able?

- the main objection is that people get injured or even die on this climb. It's a tricky and slippery ascent, people have had accidents. It's also very steep and combined with the extreme temperatures there have also been heart-attacks etc. These deaths and injuries are a great cause of concern to the aboriginals, it really troubles them. But if you're a skilled climber that is 'sure' that he is not going to die, you could climb it?

- the aboriginals climb it themselves as well, why only them and not others? Compare this e.g. with Kailash in Nepal, which is forbidden to anybody.

Personally, I didn't climb it and did the base walk and I'm glad I did. It was a special experience as well that I won't forget.

By the way, Kata Tjuta is even much more sacred to the Aboriginals than Uluru. There climbing is very strictly forbidden. We also know quite a few stories about Uluru and what each place means, but the stories behind Kata Tjuta are kept secret.