Uluru / Ayers Rock
Background
The climbing route on Uluru rose 350m above the surrounding plain and continued 1.6km to the summit. The first 400m requiring a chain handrail suspended from 140 steel, mortar-filled, posts embedded into the rock to aid climbers up the initial steep section. The climb concludes at the summit with a stone cairn topped by a brass directional plaque.
The removal of the climb infrastructure was put out to tender in
anticipation of the climb’s closure in 2019.
Challenge
The key requirement of the tender was to ensure that no further damage was caused to the rock during the removal process. The remote location required logistical care and the climatic extremes combined with isolated work at height required a rigorous approach to risk management.
All materials removed had to be preserved in a manner suitable for
historical preservation including the summit cairn. Holes left from the
removal of the handrail posts had to be remediated. Sensitivity
surrounding the closure of the climb required the works to be
undertaken with a small-footprint, prudent approach.
Process
To minimise the impact on the rock, the job was undertaken by a team
of 4 with sparing use of helicopters for logistical support. The summit cairns facing stones were all numbered and photographed to ensure its reconstruction would be as accurate as possible. After disassembly the cairn materials and directional plaque were flown off by helicopter and
the cairn rebuilt using original stones and plaque back in the park workshop. A tensioned, elevated, 400m long rope system was used for the transport of materials down the route as the removal took place.
The handrail chain was unbolted and “broken” at hammerlock style joints which minimised cutting and maximised preservation of the materials. The posts were then cut, their cementitious cores augered out and the bases milled down a minimum of 20mm below the surface of the rock. “Sorry rocks”, returned by previous guests of the national park were shaped to fill holes left by posts and chemset into place. For quality assurance purposes, every element of the works was documented, with the details published in the paper “Returning Uluru” in the journal Studies in Conservation.