Climbing news, events, guides and advice, from new walls and competitions to how to start climbing.
The Blue Mountains hold about 7,300 routes, many of them bolted sport climbs on sandstone around Blackheath, Mount Victoria and Katoomba. Here's where to start, when to go, the access rules, guidebooks and courses, and the gyms on the way.
Joe Rushton
What a casual entry gets you, what shoe and harness hire cost, why you sign a waiver and do an induction, how belay and lead checks work, what weekly direct-debit memberships involve, and the age, chalk and etiquette rules at Australian climbing gyms in 2026.
Joe Rushton
Melbourne's free outdoor bouldering walls, from Burnley's volunteer-built walls under the Monash Freeway to council walls in Brunswick, Footscray, Southbank, Chadstone, Point Cook and Cranbourne South, and a campus wall in Frankston: where each one is, what it's like and how to use it well.
Joe Rushton
Kangaroo Point Cliffs is a free, floodlit crag on the Brisbane River, a short walk from the CBD. Here's what the climbing is like, how the old quarry came to be, the council's rules on anchors and groups, and how to move safely from the gym to the rock.
Joe Rushton
Where to climb on real rock in Austria, from bouldering in the Zillertal and the Maltatal to sport crags in the Wilder Kaiser, the Ötztal and the hills around Vienna, plus how via ferratas are graded and when to go.
Joe Rushton
Austria's Alpine Club issues Kletterschein belay cards, but almost none of the halls we list asks to see one. Here's what they ask of roped climbers instead, from signed declarations and staff checks to membership rules and children's consent forms.
Joe Rushton
From Flatanger's granite cave, home of the first 9c, to Lofoten's granite and Rjukan's ice, here are Norway's best-known climbing areas, when to go, and the right-to-roam rules climbers need to know.
Joe Rushton
To belay on a rope at a Norwegian climbing wall you need a Brattkort, the national belay certificate. Here's what the three levels mean, how a visitor gets one, what it costs, and when you can climb without one.
Joe Rushton
The Rock Adventure Centre in Newtown, Geelong's indoor climbing centre since 2001, closes for good on Saturday 7 November 2026. Here's what is ending and where the city's climbers can go next, from Industry Boulders in Grovedale to the granite of the You Yangs.
Joe Rushton
Urban Climb Blackburn hosts the 2026 Australian Speed Climbing National Championships on 7 November, and Gravity Worx the Victorian State Speed Titles on 21 November. Here's what speed climbing is, who races, and how to enter or watch.
Joe Rushton
Portside Boulders in Osborne Park hosted the first National Boulder Cup on 25–27 September 2026, with the WA Open Boulder Titles run inside it. Olivia Hawryluk and Maxim Pare won the open finals, and WA's lead titles follow at Oasis Climbing on 7–8 November.
Joe Rushton
Since August 2024 Adelaide has gained three bouldering gyms: Urban Climb in a former Hindley Street cinema, a new Beyond Bouldering gym in Thebarton and Laneway Boulders in Stepney, and Adelaide's Bouldering Club has moved to Urban Climb. Here's what opened when, and what each offers.
Joe Rushton
