News
23 November, 2025
Climbing legend calls on council to re-open Mt Alexandra
Tim Macartney-Snape – one of the first Australians to climb Mt Everest – has urged Wingecarribee Shire Council to reopen Mt Alexandra to rock climbers.
Tim Macartney-Snape – one of the first Australians to climb Mt Everest – has urged Wingecarribee Shire Council to reopen Mt Alexandra to rock climbers.
Mr Macartney-Snape, a Southern Highlands resident, addressed council’s public forum on November 9, describing Mount Alexandra as “a gem”.
He said it attracted climbers from all over Australia “and pretty much from all over the planet”.
As already reported by The Southern Wire, council closed access to the popular rock-climbing spot in October.
Recreational climbers have slammed the closure, which they say was made “without warning, consultation or transparency”.
The ban applies to a popular sport crag containing 130 routes and which has been used by climbers for more than 40 years.
A heavy gate has been installed along the path to the crag and signs are in place warning visitors of potential fines for rock climbing, abseiling or bouldering.
At the heart of the matter are Aboriginal rock paintings which council has known about for more than 15 years but which it hasn’t done anything about until now.
As soon as they found out about the paintings earlier this year, Mr McCartney-Snape said climbers contacted local indigenous elders offering apologies for any damage that had been caused to the paintings ‘inadvertently’.
He said climbing bolts had since been removed from any climbs in the vicinity of the paintings and elders had been happy with the results.
He called on council to reopen the area to climbers and to manage the cliff.
Mr Macartney-Snape’s appearance at last week’s council meeting took many people by surprise.
Along with climbing companion Greg Mortimer he reached the summit of Mount Everest on October 3, 1984 without supplementary oxygen. In 1990 he became the first person to climb from sea level to the top of Mount Everest – a journey which took him three months.
He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1987 for service to mountaineering, the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1993 for service to mountaineering and international relations and the Australian Sports Medal in 2000, also for his service to mountaineering.
Mr Macartney-Snape described the Mt Alexandra crag as a “great cliff” and one that was suitable for beginners, families, school groups and clubs.
He said it was unusual not to see between 20 and 30 people at the crag at any one time on weekends.
The Australian Climbing Association (NSW) has said its desired outcome is that “all parties come together, that consultation and engagement occurs so that we can work towards a mutually beneficial outcome that recognises and protects cultural heritage but enables climbing with suitable barriers”.
Mr Macartney-Snape told The Southern Wire that he had climbed the Mt Alexandra crag on a regular basis before its closure.
Read More: Southern Highlands, Mittagong