by the 19505, increasing numbers of nonindigenous australians were flocking to ayers rock. up to confound the spirits of the primitive men who made the rock for an ages the focal point of the ceremony. and the anangu people were displaced. they might not look it, but they are nearly civilised. then to climb the rock itself. no easy task, as the climb steepens to an angle of 60 degrees. the surface is flaky and treacherous. the big climb became the white australian's sacred duty. it's almost like a rite of passage. they have heard from their parents and often their parents' parents that you have to come out here and climb. australians like to conquer things, and i think that's probably one of the reasons, but it's notjust australians — we get lots of europeans, and people from asia particularly, that do want to climb. many of the climbers i meet at the base of the rock have come to do it before it closes. it's always been my dream, and ifinally made it. yeah, i like to do challenges. i'll see how far we get in the morning. have you guys heard that the aboriginal people don't