Thread: Should tourists climb Uluru?

I say no. The people who own it request that you don't, as it is sacred in their culture. You don't have to follow or believe in a particular culture, just have a little respect for those that do.

I climbed it back in 98 I think........

I cannot see why there cannot be a compromise.......I'm sure we drive through sacred land, pollute sacred land and continue to do so but as it doesn't create media attention and or no income can be made its different.

I believe they started reducing limiting climbing years ago once they took over control of gate takings.....prior to this I believe there wasn't to much, if any resistance to people climbing.

The highest peak in either NT or SA can be climbed under a permit and with a guide.....once again sacred land but there is a compromise.

So a yes from me with either a permit or guide (as I'm keen to learn about their culture and history)

Climb it as often as you can.

Apart from it being a sacred site for male tribal ceremonies, there is also the safety issue with people having heart attacks or getting lost or falling, who then have to be rescued. We don't let people climb to the top of St Marys Cathedral, for example.

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There used to be a collection on plaques at the bottom listing those who had lost their lives on the rock.

My recollection is that most of them fell into two distinct groups: males in their 20s and males in their 60s. It's not hard to work out the different reasons for deaths in each of those two groups.

As someone who is part Aboriginal - it's pretty disgraceful people climbing it. You wouldn't walk into a Buddhist temple with your shoes on, you wouldn't go into a church and start climbing over the alter, chairs etc so what is the difference here?

When the land was handed back to the traditional owners there was an agreement that climbing Uluru would still be allowed, but the elders were granted the please don't climb signs.

Having a guide that takes you up does not fix this issue, although deaths would be reduced - it isnt the point. if I had it my way, I would have left the three up there to die.

The tough bit is the tourist dollar helps the local communities, so it's a catch 22.

And to the person that says we drive through and pollute sacred areas - we probably do, but what is done is done. This is a pretty bloody simple fix, unlike a road.

Any one wishing to learn the culture and history of the Pitjandjara and their lands should read a book by Dr. C P Mountford, " Ayers Rock, Its people their beliefs and their art. " first published 1965. From the back cover;

Dr Mountford's remarkable career in exploration and anthropological research has been recognised by awards from from many sources.These include an Honorary Fellowship of the National Geographic society of America- a unique honour bestowed for his leadership of the Society's Arnhem Land expedition, for which he also received the rare Franklin Burr award for outstanding leadership. He is the only man to have led two National Geographic expeditions within Australia, one to Arnhem Land, and another to Melville Island, and has led eight expeditions for the University of Adelaide into the remote areas of the continent. He holds the Thompson Gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society of Qld. The John Lewis medal for Geographic research, given by the Royal Geographic society of S.A., and the Natural history medallion of Australia for Anthropological Research. His skilled photographic work among the aborigines has been recognised by the Sherlock Gold Cup and the Kodak medal.

It's a very interesting read. He has published ten other books on aborigines, some of which I'm trying to track down.

Mountfords biography. I am searching the Adelaide Uni. site for his books.Hopefully they are on their excellent E book site.

Biography - Charles Pearcy Mountford - Australian Dictionary of Biography