President’s desk
Kia ora koutou current and prospective members.
I hope that all our members enjoyed some relaxing time off over the Christmas and New Year period. I certainly did, with some very easy outdoor rock-climbing: very much enjoying others tie into the sharp end of the rope for a change, and plenty of time spent on the beach, in the moana and awa paddling and swimming. If anyone is looking for a beautiful climbing spot with some tree cover, plenty of birds, insects and some challenging routes on solid rock in line with those on our own maunga, I definitely recommend Waipapa north of Taupo and south of Wharepapa, Since I have been, there has been a working bee to improve tracks and remove dust from routes, thanks predominantly to some Auckland based clubs. Also, if you want to get in to rock and rope skills, we have a course coming up very shortly based on Taranaki; see below for more details.
About the only other priority for the club over January, other than making sure we get some well-deserved personal trip time, is the Open Climb. This is an historical event for the club (80 years and counting) and an important event to help people see mountaineering as a sport for those from all backgrounds and ages. If you have put your name down at the induction night, helped out last year or the year before, and you intend to help out, I suggest you familiarise yourself by clicking here and finding your allocated role: https://taranakialpineclub.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/T04-Open-Climb-Safety-Management-System-v10-FINAL-Signed-2021.pdf
Here are the main role responsibility info locations within the document: Party Leader – p42, Party Tail – p43, Rover – p44, Roving Medic – p45. Others will find their allocated role easily by looking in the contents.
Also note that with the changes happening within the park’s management, volunteers will need to inform Open Climb participants of the importance of the maunga to both current club members and previous ones, as well as Nga Iwi o Taranaki. Thanks to the korero with TAC member Te Aroha, we have updated the information participants receive to the following: “The mountain is held in high regard and significance by many. For Tangata Whenua in particular, the Maunga is a Tupuna of ancestral importance and as such, it is considered disrespectful to stand on the summit block. You are asked to refrain from doing so when you reach the summit peak.”
I’m sure almost everyone who has put themselves forward to help out on this year’s climb has been out there getting some mountain fitness in for the big day on the Saturday 10th February. If not, there is still time, but not much, with just shy of two weeks to go.
Conrad Murray
President