President’s Desk
Kia ora koutou,
Those who made it to the NZ Mountain Film Festival were treated to some great films including a great video document of Maddy Whikatter and the alpine kids traversing the southern divide. Some members may remember their in person presentation at a club night last year. I have had some feedback that people enjoyed this film night more than banff which is either high praise and/or they just don’t like big crowds. Either way with a bit more forward planning we can potentially get a second night of films sorted for next year.
I am getting the occasional message from green snowcraft one graduates asking where is a great place to go practice their cramponing depending on the current conditions and I am sure other experienced club members are getting these messages also. It’s great to see that snowcraft is making people assess risks and what their limits are and getting out there doing it. Definitely don’t be afraid to ask, as even experiencenced alpinists were inexperienced at some point. Just because we are fortunate to have experienced club members doesn’t mean we should rely on this alone to and because snowcraft one only covers the basics, keep an eye on the trips/instruction sections of the HiTAC while we endeavor post snowcraft to get a club 2-3 day avalanche awareness course to meet this growing need.. In the meantime use those experienced contacts but also look for yourselves using these useful links
- https://www.avalanche.net.nz
- https://www.metservice.com/mountains-and-parks/national-parks/egmont#regional-forecast
- https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Egmont-Taranaki/forecasts/2518
- https://www.metvuw.com/forecast/forecast.php?type=rain®ion=nzni&noofdays=5
- https://avalanche.net.nz/education/
A dedicated core of Instructors made it to our train the trainers session run by Don Paterson who is a professional guide and has had more and more input into how we run our courses as a volunteer based club over the last few years, The day was packed with simple but incredibly valuable information aimed at this years intake of snowcraft one students, Our courses endeavor to cover a lot of information and students often come with many different outdoor experience levels so it was great for the Instructors who were able make it to get on the same page on best practice. All we need now is some positive manifestation so the kaitiaki of the maunga will grant us some more snow.
The mid winter xmas meal and film night at the lodge was a hit with most, my only complaint is the food was so good and rich, i couldn’t help myself but fill up on far too much, so can someone else please bring some salads next year other than me, thanks.
If you get this in time we do have our regular club night for existing and prospective new members tomorrow night, it will be a social one with some films if the technology can be mastered once again.
We also have some buddy walks, trips and navigation and river crossing courses coming up with spaces so make sure you check out that section below if you’re interested before they fill up.
See you all on the hill soon
Conrad Murray
President