President’s Desk
Kia ora folks,
The first dump of snow that takes longer than a few days to melt away is always a mixed bag. Exciting because it marks the change in seasons required to complete this season’s projects but also brings with it an exercise in patience while we wait for both the quantity and quality of snow needed. While we check and maintain our gear ready for what is to come, It’s hard not to be thinking that this winter is going to be less impeded in contrast to previous few years by anything other than our own excuses. Some dedicated or just well prepared members have already got in some early season training laps upto the lodge and summit this weekend just gone.
June’s club night speaker will be a familiar face to some as not only is she a locally based member but it’s her second time sharing her south Island mountain experiences and to get attendees better value after Agnes is finished we are also offering attendees bring down any of your unused gear with plenty of life left for a buy, swap and sell. So don’t miss out on another great talk and a haggle this coming Thursday at the blindrooms.
This week’s club night may be the last at the blind rooms due to a multitude of factors but the final straw being the sudden exponential rise in cost that outweighs what the club gets in return. We are closing in on some suitable alternative options, hopefully with a bit more room to facilitate our growing club. Therefore keep an eye on the next HiTAC or facebook for a change in location.
Also on the topic of club nights if anyone has connections to out of town alpinists that would make interesting club night speakers feel free to test the waters and if they don’t say a flat No!, let someone on the committee know so we can assist or take over in applying gentle pressure until they do say No! or finally cave. We already have a growing list of accomplished alpinists to try and attract a visit to new plymouth by creative means but it never hurts to have more.
Another successful weekend for our follow up to Rock and Ropes Course, The few participants I have managed to catch up with so far were stoked about doing their first lead climbs but also happy about the generous amount of time spent practicing safe and efficient use of the modern toys available to climbers these days. Thanks to our Instructors Dave Bolger and Steve Ritson for volunteering their time to share their knowledge.
Our extra club night last Thursday was a bit of a flop. It’s pretty easy to pinpoint why, The late posting to facebook due to delays in confirming a venue was likely the cause. Fortunately the people who did turn up salvaged the evening by catching up for a good yarn at a local watering hole. If there’s enough interest which we are guessing there will be, our club captain Finn has indicated he will attempt to reschedule a combined gear talk before kicking off the snowcraft level one series.
Looking forward to seeing a fair few of you on the maunga soon,
Conrad Murray
President