Drones. Love them or hate them. Love them for their ability to provide some amazing video perspectives. And we have all, oohed and aahed over amazing climbing footage. Hate them for – well, there appears to be a variety of reasons as to why people/climbers hate them. The main one seems to be that they are extremely noisy and invasive. And the privacy factor is also high on the scale. A sure fire way to ruin some quiet enjoyment at the cliff . For those of you who have had the opportunity to have a drone hang around you or nearby whilst leading up a route, will more than likely attest to the fact that it’s not something you can ignore. And more than likely attest to the fact that it pissed you off .
Regardless of personal opinions, the reality of drones in parks is becoming more prevalent as they become more affordable for the general public. Which means that the rules on drones and their usage in parks starts to come into play. These rules – which are highlighted in the poster below – have been in place for quite a while but like lots of issues that have rules attached to them (and there are many) they often won’t see the light of day until it becomes…….an issue. And here we are.
Early days yet, but already there have been unpleasant murmurings from some in the climbing community about the use of drones. And from my interaction with various people – not many are aware that in fact, you can’t just buy a drone and go fly it. As opposed to kites. And certainly not go fly it in parks.
So in the interests of good climber discussion, which is always much better than abusive climber discussion – be aware.
For those who have a professional interest, my advice would be to get the permit and make note at the park, via social media etc that you will be fiming and in what general area. Possibly that way, people can organize their climbing for the day and there will be less pissed off people.
I foresee that there will be more discussions on this via land managers, park users and drone operators. If you have something to say about it – drop me a line cliffcare@vicclimb.org.au
NOTE: THE POSTER BELOW HIGHLIGHTS MT ARAPILES TOOAN STATE PARK BUT THIS IS ALSO INDICATIVE OF ALL NATIONAL /STATE PARKS.
