Grampians Rock Climbing - Black Ian's Rocks - All Climbing Experience Levels

Requirements: Prior to heading on the trip, participants must be able to tie a "Figure 8" knot to tie into their harness and to toprope belay using an ATC type belay device. There is a trip limit of 4 beginner climbers for every experienced climber.

Black Ians Rocks is a crag in the north west of the Grampians, about 4 hours drive west from Melbourne. There are lots of excellent climbs of 15 to 20 m length on beatiful orange sandstone, just a short stroll from the campsite.

We will be spending Saturday and Sunday climbing at the crag, with lots of top roped climbs provided for those who are not experienced at lead climbing.

The basic plan is to drive up Friday evening, the spend all of Saturday day climbing followed by a few drinks around a campfire that night (unless there is a fire ban). Sunday morning can be spent climbing or relaxing, before driving home to Melbourne on Sunday afternoon.

Food will be organised by car groups, which we will sort out at the meeting on Tuesday.

The expected trip cost will be approximately $60-$70 for the weekend (Gear Hire + Camping is $25 per participant).

A few weeks ago I went to Black Ian's Rocks to scout it out, and here are a few things I found out about the place:

- The climbing is very nice, and is one of the best places to learn to climb cracks in Victoria. The concentration of high quality climbs in such a small area is pretty amazing. The campsite is also very conveniently placed close to the cliff. However, as a warning, there are not many climbs which are below the grade 17/18 range. If you can do climbs of that grade, there will be much more of a choice of climbs to do.

- The water tank at the campsite is untreated, so I would recommend either bringing a large water container from melbourne or bringing water treatment tabs.

- The campsite doesn't have hot showers or power.

If you have any questions regarding the trip please email me at