Southeast Queensland has some seriously motivated climbers and adventurers!
We also have a rich history of climbing, exploring and appreciating the mountains that we have here in this part of Australia. Although Coolum is not my standard weekend trip, there are a number of things that really stand out about Sendfest to me! Firstly, the sheer levels of stoke and motivation that you get when you have a collection of dedicated climbers together. Another reason is the generational interactions that take place in the climbing and adventure communities. I love how these sports transcends age, gender, race, profession, class.. I think that there is a certain type of person who is willing to dedicate large amounts of time in pursuit of something so simple – that internal journey that a climber goes through is so relatable and inspiring. It is independent of strength or physical ability. It is the pursuit of personal progression and that constant dance with fear and with risk and with self.
Seeing the same sparks in the eyes of the youth as the old-timers when that urge to send takes over, it’s great! When we push into the unknown past the fear or beyond our perceived limits and into the unknown – it’s really cool to see!
It makes me feel hopeful about the future as well. I have always believed that nature, adventure, and our interactions with them plays such an important role in our society and in our communities.
I think that nurturing the spirit of adventure is as important as anything else.
So yeah – I think that SENDFEST really contributes a lot to our community. It is a display of the amazing contributions that climbing and adventure give our communities and it really left me with a great feeling!
Common Climber also asked me to write a full article and video on the event and so I made a very rough video, for posterity, in the few hours I had spare.
Why is Southeast Queensland so special?
With the wealth of climbing locations that we have, we boast a pretty well-rounded range of climbers in our ranks. From the world-renown pioneering adventure climbers to the espresso-sipping sporty crowds (ok fine – we all sip on our espressos!!). Regardless of your tastes in the vertical world, or in coffee, there is no doubt that the concentration of stoke at the Sendfest is a contributing factor to the collective motivation and strength of our community!
My true passion lies in the incredible gems of adventure climbing routes that we have here, and the multi-sport ways that our community appreciates the wild places that we have. We have some particularly beautiful natural playgrounds!
In addition to our climbing community we have a very active and cross-pollinated collection of paraglider pilots (aka paraflymers), highliners, bushwalkers, all our water sports, BASE jumpers, and all-around adventurers! Seeing the communities come together and share our appreciation for nature and adventure is by far my favourite part of living here. And after all, we are all doing the same thing, right? Adventure and our interaction with self and with risk and with Nature is such an important part of learning and growing and being human. Then getting to share the experiences with each other… So good! All while bringing an integral balance to our current society. Even if someone is not out physically doing these activities, I think that they still benefit from the inspirations and contributions that adventure and wilderness offer. To quote the good Edward Abbey,
“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread” -Edward Abbey
What stands out the most to me about our Southeast Queensland crew is the way that we are small enough to be an intimate / connected few groups while still being big enough to be diverse… Gosh, I love you guys and gals and I have a lot of admiration for our little SEQ group of senders crushers and adventurers!
What is Sendfest?
Sendfest is a multi-day rockclimbing event that has been held intermittently since 2008. Based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia, participants and spectators young and old gather to share their appreciation for climbing and adventure in a giant cave on Mt Coolum. Overlooking the ocean and Sunshine Coast hinterland, the climbing here is NOTORIOUSLY difficult and is commonly know to humble even the strongest of climbers worldwide. The event is all-inclusive of skill-level or age, and it boasts a range off fun competitions and community prizes supporting a different cause each time that it is held.
…so without further adieu, here is a very rough 9 min long series of fun interviews with some of the climbers and highliners during this event in January 2020. This video is meant primarily for posterity for the local community here. There is an occasional bit of climbing, but not the usual eye candy adventure piece.
~Enjoy!
