The large sign found at the foot of the Uluru climb
The death of a tourist at Uluru has reignited debate into closing the Rock for climbing.
A 54-year-old Victorian man collapsed and died on his way down from the top of the tourist attraction last week.
He is the first climber to die at Uluru since 2000 and the 36th to die since 1958.
The incident is expected to accelerate moves to close the climb, an issue which has been hotly debated between Aboriginal groups, tourism businesses and Parks Australia for years.
Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is of considerable spiritual significance to the traditional landowners, the Anangu people, and it has long been considered disrespectful for visitors to climb it.
Federal environment minister Peter Garrett is creating a new management plan for the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park which will include a recommendation to end climbing on the rock.
But the proposal is not supported by some tourism operators, who believe closing the Rock will see a drop in visitor numbers.
The climbing route is already closed for large parts of the year, when it is deemed too dangerous due to excessive heat, rain or wind. It was open for only 55 whole days last year and 36 in 2008.
Currently less than 20 per cent of visitors who visit Uluru do the climb.
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