With the begin of the new financial year (1st July) the entry fees for climbing sessions will be increased to
- $20 for normal members,
- $16 for regulars/underage climbers, and
- $40 for the annual fee for regulars.
On the flip side, the club will absorb the EFTPOS fees instead of adding them to the entry fee: $15.38 become $16 and $18.45 become $20. Which means there is no difference for the payer whether they pay cash or by card.
The reason for this increase is that the cost for us to use the facility will go up and the club needs to follow to keep the finances in good shape.
The increase from The Northern Outlook is rather minor from $14.85 to $15.45 and the first increase in 8 years! We are very fortunate that TNO supports the club in many ways including offering us their lowest rate an enabling us to keep climbing very affordable. (Which is crazy in comparison to all other living costs these days!)
For regulars we basically pass the 60c increase on (almost everyone pays via EFTPOS), while for normal members we increase a bit more from $18 to $20. This makes it a round number but also should reduce the deficit we are running on at the moment (intentionally).
This is a good time to explain the club’s fees and expenses for everyone to understand how we are set up. Many would know this, but some might not.
The club has in the last years (basically since COVID and the booking system) run on a little deficit, which was intentionally because we not to make money and had a good buffer on the bank. In the first year the entrance fee was set to $20/$15/$50 underestimating how many people would come to climb. This provided the club with a buffer to pay the expenses from and enabled us to reduce the fees to the current $18/$15/$30 in 2017 to make climbing as cheap as possible.
The main annual expense is the public liability insurance, which had increased steadily from $2700 in 2016 to $4060 in 2025. Other expenses are minor including e.g. the laptop, a bit of stationary, the set of click up belay devices and such. All used gear (harnesses, helmets, ropes and shoes) is provided by the facility and covered with the entrance fee. Finally, we do not pay any wages, as everybody helping in the club is volunteering. Guides are not charged by TNO and two door volunteers get free entrance as well for their help.
All that makes the club’s financial situation very stable and stress free. We can pass the low entry fee on to participants and do not have any unexpected costs while our buffer pays the next round of insurance. The small fee increase will ensure that we keep that buffer and are good for the years to come.
Happy (low cost) climbing!
Hi Everyone,
The recent accident in the club had us (the committee, guides and other volunteers) all shocked and made us re-thinking about what and how we are doing things. We came together for an assessment of the accident and review of our procedures and come up with changes that will improve the safety for everyone.
Following here is information on the incident, our assessment and thoughts, as well as all the changes in our procedures that should make our climbing experience at the club safer for everyone.
Summary of events from the accident on the 21/03/2024
During a climbing club event, a climber fell from 9–10m height to the ground. The climber and belayer were solo belaying (without a backup belay) using a belay assist device (Climbing Technology ClickUp). The climber sustained injuries that led to hospitalization, and is currently recovering.
The club stopped activities for 3 weeks and used the time for a close investigation of the event and to perform a thorough assessment and review of the used gear and possible weaknesses as well as processes used in the club. We had several discussions between the committee, the active guides, and the staff from the Northern Outlook (which runs the facility), who proposed changes to the committee. The club’s committee then decided on a number of changes in processes as well as type of gear used for solo belaying that should increase the safety of the climbers in the club and highly reduce the chance of such an incident to happen again.
Assessment of the incident
The assessment of the gear used showed no damage or failure on the used belay device, the rope or the connection points (harness, knots, carabiners). We therefore exclude faulty gear as reason for the accident.
We are not certain about what exact events leading to the accident, but were able to reconstruct possible scenarios that could have led to a similar ground fall accident. We simulated falls while using the belay device (Climbing Technology ClickUp) in various configurations, either rigged correctly, or incorrectly (with the belayer and climber side of the rope switched), as well as with the belayer being active (controlling the break rope) or inactive (not holding the break rope).
If the device is rigged correctly, the device does lock and prevents the rope to run through as long as there is a small resistance on the break rope (i.e. it is held by the belayer). However, if there is no resistance on the rope (i.e. the belayer does not hold the break rope in their hands) the device does not lock and the rope can run through and thus not stopping a fall of the climber.
If the device is rigged incorrectly (the rope ends to climber and belayer are switched), it does not lock in the case of a fall and has much less friction compared to a normal ATC as we use them in the belay setup with backup belayer. Even when the belayer is active, the reduced friction can lead to the rope running through quickly and make it harder to control the descent or break the fall.
We also tested the Petzl GriGri+ as belay device in the same scenarios and found it significantly safer compared to the Climbing Technology ClickUp. It does lock, even if there is no resistance on the break rope (hands off), as long as it is rigged correctly. If rigged incorrectly and set to top rope mode, it is very difficult to take up rope during top rope climbing and thus alarm the belayer that the device is rigged incorrectly.
Our thoughts
There is always room for error in using belay devices and while climbing. The most important way of reducing the chance for failure is having good habits as belayer and climber.
- Proper safety checks should identify incorrectly rigged belay devices, wrong or loose attachments of carabiners and knots, faulty gear and damage on the rope.
- Correct belay technique should allow the belayer to always control the rope and thus the climber in case of a fall.
- Good communication between the climber and belay team should prevent climbing without belayers being ready, and allow anyone to alarm the other in the team of upcoming issues (too much slack rope).
Finally, the club’s committee and guides have the responsibility to set up a safe system and instruct as well as supervise everyone on good technique and behaviour. This is commonly not existing in commercial climbing gyms and a great feature of our club. While ultimately the responsibility lies with the climber and belayer,
- tight supervision of safety checks can foster strong safety habits,
- good supervision of belay teams can detect and correct poor technique, and
- good instruction of new members can help to prevent bad belay technique to begin with.
Finally, a comment on the general safety of indoor climbing compare to other activities. In contrast to an often encountered misconception, indoor rock climbing is very safe. While the existing risks are scary, they can be controlled extremely well. Here is some data:
A comparison of the National Incident Database from Uploads lists indoor harness activities with 1.6 incidents in 1000 activity days vs 4.1 for free time, 8.6 for walking/running and 13.8 for camping (for 2023/23, https://uploadsproject.org/).
The Australian Institute for Health and Welfare lists the number of hospitalisations for 100k participations in different sports https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/health-conditions-disability-deaths/sports-injury/data).
Rugby leads with >1.200, roller sports has >1.100, football >600, netball >200, dancing >90, and recreational walking has >20.
In comparison, we had >15.000 participations in the climbing club since we started in 2016 and only one incident leading to hospitalization, which would calculate as just below 7 in 100.000! Three times as good as recreational walking!
Nevertheless, we do not want to have 7 when we reach 100k participations, we want to keep it at 1.
The following changes have been decided on by the committee and will be implemented as soon as possible.
Changes in regards to belaying without backup (solo belaying):
Change of solo belay device
We will discontinue the use of the Climbing Technology ClickUp as solo belay device and use instead the Petzl GriGri+. The GriGri+ has two main advantages. Firstly, it does lock in case of a fall even if the belayer does not hold the break rope in their hand, as long as it is rigged correctly. Secondly, it is very difficult to feed out rope when it is rigged incorrectly and therefore prevent the climber from ascending the wall without the belayer noticing that the device is rigged incorrectly.
This change should highly decrease the possibility rigging the device incorrectly and highly increase the chance of the belayer catching a potential fall, even if they accidently let go of the rope.
Solo Belay Induction Form
The solo belay induction will be completed by signing a form, which lists all relevant points that should have been covered during the induction (checklist) and describes the responsibilities of the belayer.
Using a form should help to ensure all crucial points are covered during the induction and understood by the solo belayer as well emphasising their responsibility when belaying without a backup.
Regular solo belay spot checks
All solo belayers must have their first belay at every climbing event observed and approved by a guide.
This change should foster a culture of checks, emphasises importance of checks and ensures good technique for increased safety of participants. It also acts as regular spot check for the competency of solo belayers.
Solo Belay License Tags
The solo belayer will receive a license tag after successful assessment that has to be worn visibly on their harness during the climbing session.
This should increase visibility on who is allowed to solo belay. The visible tag makes it easy for the guide to maintain overview who is permitted to solo belay.
Changes for general climbing activities:
Strong emphasis on safety checks
We will put more emphasis on regular and good safety checks in the gym.
It should become second nature of everyone in the club to perform safety checks all the time. This is among the best way to reduce the chance for human error during the climbing activities.
List of Rules and Responsibilities
A list of rules and responsibilities for every participant as well as guides and club volunteers will be hang up on the notice board visible for everyone. New members will be requirement to read and acknowledge the rules when joining the club.
This will increase the understanding of common rules in the gym and during climbing activities by all participants and members. It will further help to cover all important points when inducting new members.
Visibility of supervising guide
The active guide supervising the activity will wear a hi-vis fabric to be visible for everybody.
This should help to identify who is actively supervising the room and clarify the role under the present guides.
Code of Conduct
A Code of Conduct has been implemented that describes the expected behaviour of members in the club and provides means of maintaining and fostering a good culture.
We believe that the Cairns Climbing Club has a great culture of inclusion, respect and support between all members and participants. A Code of Conduct shows our commitment to such a good culture and will helps to maintain that culture in the future. Please hold the committee and everyone in the club responsible to the code and report any misconduct to help maintain our club as place we all like to enjoy.
The Cairns Climbing Club Committee
28/04/2024
+++++ Christmas Break until 09/01/23 +++++
+++++ Climbing night cancellation (05/12/22) +++++
+++++ Quick Summerfest Info +++++
Covid hit and we are down a few volunteers today. There is always a bit to do around guiding, printing T-shirts, preparing and baking pizza, preparing the AGM,.. but this time we are spread thin.
So please feel free to jump in and help out where you can.
Also:
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We got the outside wall going with optional water sprinkler on top! (Bring swimmers and a towel!)
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We got an room with aircon and tables for other activities (bring toys for kids or some other activity to keep you busy when you are not climbing)
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We got one yard game (finska). Bring more if you have!
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We got a few blank T-Shirts from the op shops, but bring your favourite one to finally print the club logo onto it.
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$10 for climbing, Pizza is free
See you soon!
+++++ Update on the Summerfest +++++
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- Outside ‘waterfall’ climbing (bring change of clothes)
- Aircon room (bring games)
- Yard games
- T-shirt printing (bring your own shirts)
Last year we had a lot of people coming for climbing and the gym filled up quickly. This year we have a few more activities for the outside available.
As the main feature, the outside climbing wall on the back of the building will be active! And because it is summer and likely hot, we have a sprinkler system cooling you down on the wall while you are climbing.
There will be also a couple of yard games (kubb and finska) available and we will have access to the room across the gym, which has aircon and tables.
Other outside activities are printing-your-own-shirt and preparing-pizza-toppings. Don’t forget to bring shirts to print on.
+++++ CCC Summerfest and AGM (Sunday 04/12/22) +++++
Dear Cairns Climbing Club Members,
It is time for the annual tradition of having the CCC Summer Fest and our annual general meeting (AGM)!!!
This means we will have a Sunday afternoon/evening filled with climbing, T-shirt printing, and pizza, followed by the club’s AGM in which we inform you about what happened in the club the last year, and form a new committee for the coming year. We invite you all to come and take part in the club’s official business!
While the AGM is the important event, there will be FUN packed around it. It will be very similar to the ones from last years, we will make and eat pizza, print our logo on T-shirts, and climb.
Overview
Date: Sunday, 4th December 2022
Location: The Northern Outlook (where we always are)
Time: 2pm-7pm
2pm – 5pm Climbing for everyone! ($10 entrance fee that basically pays for the pizza)
5pm – 6pm Stone oven Pizza, BYO drinks (no glass!!!)
6.15pm – 7pm AGM
Details
2pm – 5pm Climbing For everyone! ($10)
To support the club, the TNO offers us one night per year without charging climbers an entry-fee. So all funds raised from the entry fee can be used to buy pizza toppings! Thanks, TNO-Team!
3pm – 5pm T-Shirt printing (free, bring your own shirt)
Our screen with the climbing club logo will be read for printing. You only have to bring your own shirt for it to become an official climbing club shirt.
5pm – 6pm Pizza
The beautiful stone oven in the outside area will be hot! The dough will be prepared! Toppings will be available! MYO Pizza and share it with everyone!
BYO drinks. The area is glass-free, so bring cans!
PSA: If you had an alcoholic beverage, you cannot come back into the gym to climb!
6.15pm – 7pm AGM
The AGM will be the official part of the evening. It will start at 6.15pm (when you are all full of delicious pizza).
There will be the general information part with reports of the president (Lars) and the treasurer (Tom) followed by forming a new committee.
This means the committee members will resign from the committee and everyone nominated can be elected to one of the eight positions in the committee. If there are more than 8 candidates, we will have an election and every attending member can vote. When the eight members are elected, the three offices will be filled (president, treasurer, and secretary).
If you are interested in taking part in organising the club, please consider to join the committee!
Volunteers
There is a bit of work involved to make the day fun and to run smoothly. So, we’re looking for people to help with preparing pizzas and screen printing of shirts. Having three people at each spot at any time would be perfect. Please help out where you can!
Thanks!
Your CairnsClimbingClub Committee
(Alex, Fin, Geoff, Jake, Sarah, Tom and Lars)
+++++ EFTPOS is finally available at the club!!!+++++
+++++ Events are bookable 2 weeks ahead (instead of 5 weeks ahead)! +++++
Events are from now on bookable only 2 weeks ahead (has been 5 weeks ahead)!
The committee discussed and decided to change the time anyone can book ahead spots for club nights. For one, we hope that having less time from booking to the event will reduce the number of no-shows as people might forget their booking when they book 5 weeks ahead. Then, it should turn away less people that want to come and are frustrated that there is no free spot for the next 4 weeks. Finally, this should just mix it up a bit; the setting has been good for long term planners, but less good for short term planners. Fair to change that after more than two years.
We hope that it works well and will see how it goes. Maybe leave it, or change back.
Let us know what you think!
+++++ Accidental deletion of event/bookings for the Thursdays 21/04 and 05/05 +++++
We mistakenly deleted the next Thursday events in the booking calendar and thus deleted all the bookings you made. 😬 This impacted the dates 21/04 and 05/05. Sorry about that! We cannot recover the bookings through the website booking plugin and there had not been any notifications been send out. So the only thing we can do is open up the days again and hope everyone impacted will find out.
Apologies for the inconvenience! We hope that everyone gets the info in time.
+++++ Climbing night cancelled due to heavy rain (14/03/22) +++++
+++++ COVID community transmissions and the CCC (01/02/22) +++++
+++++ COVID community transmissions and the CCC (17/01/22) +++++
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- keep one rope free between climbing teams,
- physical distance on the ground as much as possible,
- sanitize hands between climbs (treat gear and the wall, which we cannot clean, as potentially infectious).
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- check-in when entering,
- wear masks inside, although the mask can be taken off when climbing hard (strenuous activities).
Further, we ask everyone to do the right thing and take care for each other: take the precautions more serious than in times when we had no active cases in Cairns,
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- do not come, if feeling unwell or experience COVID symptoms, and
- do not come, if you have been in recent contact with someone COVID positive.
+++++ COVID community transmissions and the CCC (05/01/22) +++++
Dear CCC members,
COVID finally arrived in Cairns with case numbers rising every day and testing being rather insufficient at the moment and uncertainity how everything will develop. The increase in community transmission is of concern for us volunteers running the climbing club.
We do have some precautions i.e. hand sanitizing, physical distancing, mask wearing inside (but strenous activities like climbing can be done without mask), and taking used gear out of circulation for a week. Still, we are a lot of people in a small building, excercise, touch the same gear, have children running around… All in all not great to prevent community transmission with us volunteers being more exposed.
The committee has therefore decided to have a short halt on normal climbing nights and see how the situation develops here in Cairns. Today we do have not enough guides and would have to cancel anyways, and next Thursday is route setting. So we will also cancel next Monday in order to have 2 more weeks to decide how to move on (= no climbing nights until 17/01 or further notice).
It seems like the high vaccination rates and the prevailing omicron variant being highly infectious but also milder might lead to a normalization without too much stress on the health system (fingers crossed). This would allow us to take up business as usual soon.
Stay safe everyone! Please take care of yourselves and others and respect different opinions; we are all in it together!
+++++ Important Notice (05/12/21) +++++
Unfortunately, we had an accident happening during the last climbing night on Thursday; a climber had a ground fall!
The incident happened at the end of the night and involved two experienced climbers. It happened in a single-belay team and we believe it was a combination of factors that lead to the belayer not catching the fall of the climber properly. The fall came as a surprise and because the device had not been locked the slipping rope lead to rope burn and loss of control by the belayer. The climber fell several meters to the ground. Luckily the climber got away with only minor injuries.
The committee is in the process of analysing what happened further and will revise our standard operating procedures in order to come up with a solution that reduces the risk of such accident happening again.
Until further notice everyone must climb with a back-up belayer!
+++++ SummerFest / AGM 2021 +++++
05/12/2021 2pm-7pm
2pm – 5pm Climbing for everyone! ($10 entrance fee that pays the pizza toppings)
5pm – 6pm Stone oven Pizza (BYO drinks are welcome, but without glass)
6.15pm – 7pm AGM
More info on facebook or via email.
+++++ 20/11/21 COVID Update +++++
+++++ 04/08/21 COVID Update +++++
+++++ Rain may impact access to the site +++++
Happy new Wet Season everyone!!!
Flood warnings are out for the next days and here comes the reminder that the site won’t be accessible during heavy rain. The little causeway on the road to the climbing gym floods quickly when it rains in Redlynch and we won’t be able to get in or out.
+++++ CCC SummerFest 2020 (20/12/20) +++++
The CCC Summerfest is happening on Sunday afternoon!
In short this means we will have a Sunday afternoon/evening filled with climbing, T-shirt printing, stone oven pizza, the club’s annual general meeting and finish off with a climbing movie.
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- 3:00pm – 5:00pm Climbing For everyone! ($10 entrance fee that goes to the club)
- 5.00pm – 6.00pm Stone oven Pizza (BYO drinks are welcome, but without glass)
- 6.15pm – 7:00pm AGM
- 7.15pm – 9:00ish Movie
Everyone is invited. We will still limit the number of people in the gym to 30 but allow more people in the outside area.
We start on Sunday at 3pm and finish around 9pm.
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- From 3pm to 5pm the climbing gym will be open. The entrance fee is only $10 (for everyone) but it goes all to the club (Thanks TNO!) so we can buy the ingredients for the pizza and the colours for the screen printing.
- At the same time we will also do the screen printing. Bring a t-shirt or anything you want the CCC logo printed on.
- From 5pm to 6pm we will prepare and eat fresh stone oven pizza.
- After we filled our bellies, we all attend the annual general meeting (6.15-7pm).
- This is the official part of the evening and contains the presidents and treasurers report about the last financial year. We will end with electing a new committee. Everyone who is interested in taking constructive part in the club is welcome to join.
- To finish off the evening, we will watch a climbing movie on the big screen.
Everyone is invited to come, climb, have fun and eat as much pizza as possible. Please stick around for the AGM, as it is an important event of the club and please help out where you can (e.g with pizza preparation and screen printing).
It will be heaps of fun and I hope to see a lot of you on Sunday.
Our situation in the gym is a bit special and not ideal for containing infectious diseases. We are all cramped in a small room and touch surfaces and gear that cannot be cleaned efficiently. Please keep to the following procedures.
Before climbing:
Make sure you are healthy and do not have any of the symptoms!
- Do you have fever? Cough? Sore throat? Headache? Shortness of breath?
- Has anyone in your household had these symptoms in the last 14 days?
- Have you been in contact with anyone having COVID-19 in the last 14 days?
If so, please do not come to the climbing gym in order to protect the health of others!
We will check your temperature before registering and will not allow you in if it exceeds 37.5 degrees.
Please make sure you understand and agree with the following procedures and rules before attending. There is a certain risk involved for you and others. Be aware of that risk and take care!
During climbing events:
Physical distancing
- Keep 1.5m distance from your climbing partner and others in the gym.
- Leave one climbing route free next to a climbing team.
Hand sanitizing
- Please wash or sanitize your hands when entering the gym.
- Use the hand sanitizer after you change a climbing route/set of anchors.
Treat the walls, belay devices, and ropes as if they are infected. They cannot be cleaned efficiently.
Gear
Gear will be lay out for everyone to take upon arrival and should be placed in boxes when leaving the gym. We try to keep the contact as little as possible. The gear cannot be disinfected chemically, but will be set aside for 7 days in order to have potential virulent particles become inactive. This is not the best way of disinfecting. Please be aware of that when using rental gear. It is recommended to use your own gear. We might also run short of gear, if we have multiple events per week.
Again! Please be aware of the risk involved for you and others. The club is run by volunteers and we are trying to keep the risk of infections as low as possible. We will have to make sure that everyone is safe and non-compliance with the procedures can lead to exclusion from climbing with the club.
Fortunately, the situation is not serious in FN QLD at the moment, but this can chance rapidly.
Thank you very much for your understanding!
Happy (and safe) climbing!!!
+++ IMPRTANT UPDATE +++ (17/03/2020)+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Given the actual situation around the pandemic coronavirus, we decided it is the best to pause the climbing club activities for a while.
Looking at the development worldwide, Australia is one of the late countries to be hit. But the virus is here and it will spread. We can be active about it and try to slow it down in order to be able to deal with it better.
We believe the gym is a good place for spreading the virus. We cramp 30+ people in the small room and touch the same biners, tubes, ropes and climbing holds, while high-fiving our awesomeness and hugging constantly, because we like each other so much!
In addition, we are all fit, energetic, beautiful people with incredible finger strength and impeccable immune systems. Therefore, we might be carrying the infection without even noticing it. And even though we are not the risk group, we might have loved ones that are not so tough. And because they constantly want to touch our rock-hard biceps, they might risk infection with more severe outcome for themselves.
Fun aside, all signs alert that it is a serious thread. We are lucky in Australia that we are late and can see what happened in other places. Good advise is to isolate and help slowing down the spread to reduce the number of fatalities.
Please understand that not coming to the climbing club will be a good thing.
We miss you already and there will be a big group hug event when it is over, which might take a several weeks/months.
Stay safe and healthy!
The Committee
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Welcome to the Cairns Climbing Club Website!
Our club has access to the climbing facility of the Northern Outlook in Redlynch and runs regular climbing nights for its members.
Everyone is welcome to join the club and be part of a small friendly community of climbers. That means there are no restrictions on age, prior experience, or anything else.
Just come along to any climbing night, sign up, and get started! Kids are very welcome, but might want to bring their parents or a guardian to watch them or help them belaying.
Any new member will get an introduction, in which they get familiarised with the belay technique and the gym in general. The set-up of the gym differs from normal climbing gyms in that we have only top-rope, back-up belayers, and guides to oversee the climbing activities.
There are shoes to rent and harnesses/helmets to use. You only need to bring sporty clothes. You do not need to bring a climbing buddy or a belay team, but can easily meet fellow climbers on the site. We are a very open and friendly community. Just come along and check it out!
Climbing nights are usually every Monday and every second Wednesday, but make sure to look into the calendar!
There are more infos on the info page and better check the location page, if you need directions.
See you soon!
Disclaimer: The club is non-profit and run by volunteers. This means we try to keep the costs for members as low as possible, and it may be possbile that climbing nights are cancelled on short notice due to lack of available volunteers.
