The Closure of Taipan Wall
FEEL TERRIBLE Taipan is as much an idea as it is a place of climbing. A wall that dominates both the landscape and the mindscape. A towering, intimidating wall that burns orange in the afternoon, not just from the rays of the setting sun but also because millions of climbers project their dreams onto it. It is brilliantly illuminated by desire.
It is no wonder then that its closure has been towering over my mind, dominating my thoughts, as it has for many climbers. How do we react to its closure? It has taken some time to write something about it and I have deleted it all and started again more than once.
Knowing that something is inevitable doesn’t protect you when that thing comes to pass.
When the bans first came down upon Gariwerd, and the world was filled with sadness and regret and hostility, I remember my Vertical Life co-editor Ross immediately reminding me there was obvious quarrying at Taipan. If you simply followed the logic that underpinned the initial bans, it was inevitable that Taipan would be closed.
I ‘knew’ the closure of Taipan was coming, though clearly there was some latent denial as still I wasn’t prepared for my
