Climbing up a waterfall is foolhardy

Two bushwalkers decided to take a hike down in the Jamison Valley and en route that it would be fun to climb up Vera Falls.   It was Monday 7th October 2019 on a Labour Day holiday long weekend.

The two females aged 51 and 52 chose to hike the Hippocrene Falls circuit track from The Conservation Hut and return within the Blue Mountains National Park just south of the village of Wentworth Falls.

The track system to Vera Falls dates back to 1913 and since it is poorly maintained by the Parks Services, the track is very worn with many sections in poor condition; signage is poor, vandalised else non-existent.

The route is graded ‘Hard’ so suiting experienced hikers and there are a few track variation options, basically descending steeply into the Jamison Valley floor into temperate rainforest following two creeks – Valley of the Waters Creek and Jamison Creek.  The climb out is equally as steep, vertically overall about 500m.  The Conservation Hut is 880m AHD* and Vera Falls is 370m AHD*.

So we prescribe top health and aerobic fitness, hike-seasoned legs, carrying plenty of drinking water and regular rests on the climb out, plus our minimum day hiking standard kit.  A morning start is critical to avoid the onset of early darkness down in the valley en route.  The circuit length is between 7km and 9km and takes about 6 hours, unless your a conga line of clubbers in some arbitrary hurry.

Vera Falls is about half way on this route deep in the rainforested valley, situated on Valley of the Waters Creek just upstream of the confluence with Jamison Creek. The rocks are wet because water constantly flows over the falls and moss grows in abundance on the rocks within the spray zone, making it very slippery and so best to keep to the track provided.

For added safety we use and recommend ankle high hiking boots with deep tread Vibram soles for added traction.  We also use and recommend donning Nitrile Nylon gloves to enhance hand grip when on ladders and steep track sections – always maintaining three points of contact with feet and hands.

The track at Vera Falls climbs to the steep left side, railing the waterfall and Valley of the Waters Creek northward.  It’s always best to stick to the track provided even in this case as poor as it is.

Anyway, it was reported that the two women decided it would be fun to climb the rockface of Vera Falls which is about 15m high from the base of the waterfall.   But the 52-year-old slipped and splatted on wet rocks below, and then realised she couldn’t walk.

So her friend called Emergency Services on Triple Zero from her mobile phone.  Luckily she got reception, which can be hit an miss down there.

Blue Mountains Police Rescue with NSW Ambulance Special Operations Team responded and hiked in and a rescue helicopter was also dispatched from Bankstown Airport.  The injured woman was winched out and flown to Liverpool Hospital 50km away suffering spinal injuries.

Hiking does not include scrambling up wet waterfalls.  Such activity is the advanced remit of experienced rockclimbers and canyoners.  But sometimes hikers think they can hike anywhere – the foolhardy ones.  We don’t recommend climbing up nearby Hippocrene Falls or Wentworth Falls either or any other waterfall for that matter.

May be this pair won’t do that again, but many others continue to do so.

Three years prior, a female hiker (29) slipped and fell 20m down nearby Empress Falls suspected of doing a selfie on the top edge, like this.

She suffered critical head and chest injuries, and was stretchered out by paramedics, but tragically died in Westmead Hospital overnight.  She was a student from Olympic Park hiking with two friends on Tuesday 10th May 2016.

* AHD = Australia Height Datum  (i.e. Above Mean Sea Level)