Monday, June 13, 2005
Mount Beerwah
I guess every now and then you need to do something which pumps the system full of adrenaline – just to prove that you are still alive. We are bombarded by a culture of risk aversion; indeed a big corporate push at Brisbane City Council is for ‘zero-harm’ – no harm to anybody, anywhere (including home).

So I am not quite sure what my Chief Executive would have thought about our trip to climb Mount Beerwah in the Glasshouse Mountains. But then frankly, what I do at weekends is none of her bloody business.

The guidebook describes it as a ‘scramble’; a Grade 2 ½ to 3 walk. The sign at the bottom of the mountain suggested it was ‘moderate to challenging’. Richard just described it as ‘good fun’. Either way, the kids didn’t go.

Mount Beerwah is the highest of the Glasshouse Mountains. It is the hard basaltic core of an eroded volcano, as evidenced by the hexagonal columns on the cliff faces. Imposing, at 557m, it sticks straight up out of the plains to the north of Brisbane. On the panoramic shot below, it is the one on the right, just off centre.

After a short walk up through bush, you appear at the bottom of a steep, bare rock face, stretching some 200m up. As far as climbing goes, the first 20m were the most difficult, but of course, the easier climbing further up becomes not so easy when the consequences of missing a foothold become more severe. It was, in short, terrifying.

Richard gleefully reminded Adrian and I that last year he had led his two daughters (both under 10) up to the top last year!

Once above this section, the rest of the climb is short walk through a sandy grotto, underneath a rocky overhang, then a long scramble up through rocks and scrub; hard going, but at least there was plenty of vegetation to grab onto if you fall.

The view from the top was outstanding. To the north you can see Mount Coolum (50km) and further still, Mount Cooroy (I think) about 75km away. To the south you could see all the way into Brisbane and beyond to Mount Tamborine, approx 110km away.

The terror of climbing up was probably exacerbated by the knowledge that at some stage, you will have to go down again. Fortunately, this was easier than expected – you simply slide down (in a semi-controlled fashion) on your backside stopping at each foothold; not very graceful, but nevertheless effective. Again, the bottom section was the most difficult and it involved waiting until a bottleneck of climbers cleared.

The few pictures below hopefully demonstrate the steepness and openness of the climb and the great view from the top.

In the afternoon, Adrian, Richard and Lisa and their three kids came over for a dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

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