President’s Desk
Kia Ora Club Members,
With no shortage of snow and ice, I am sure plenty of you are making the most of it and getting up on the maunga. I have personally stepped up my cardio and strength training last week as my first non-ski field ski excursion of the season was very short lived. This was less to do with the gusting wind at the top of Hongis stairs but more the effort required from my legs with very firm snow conditions under a 10 cm layer of feathery snow that joined in on my descent. If you are interested in combining your mountaineering skills with backcountry skiing or boarding. While there are no current club trips or instruction locally, There are plenty of members enjoying this rewarding pastime. A proven way for members who want to get into this, is to join or set up facebook or text message group chats with a specific focus on the difficulty of terrain and/or conditions the group are comfortable within.
Snowcraft level two covering rope techniques for snow and ice was a success and as I write this snowcraft one is underway, which is a much better start than last year’s dismal snowcraft course season. Be aware with most of the hire gear out on courses make sure you get in touch earlier rather than later to sort gear and not be disappointed.
With August upon us, so does start planning for Open Climb 2024, overall the 2023 event went very smoothly under the new format of smaller teams. If you are keen to volunteer a worthwhile day of your time to get up to 120 grateful members of the public up and down Taranaki Maunga, reserve Saturday the 10th February 2024! At the same time book in Thursday 5th October, 7:30pm club night when we will run through and take questions on the open climb crew induction presentation, this is great for new volunteers as well as seasoned ones who may have opportunities to step up into roles with more responsibility.
For lodge overnight users please take note of the important lodge update below on some small changes at the lodge to reduce the risk of fire at the lodge. A big thanks to Greg Banks and the rest of the very active volunteer team affectionately known as ‘the lodgies’. If you thought doing work around your house was hard, add one hour of driving, 2.5 hours of walking, and the mental acuity to make sure you haven’t left a crucial tool or material behind.
July club night was a great social catchup with heaps of familiar and new faces, some inspiring trip ideas and some returning and new trip leaders/organizers putting their hands up. We finished up with a film that will hopefully raise awareness of the weather/avalanche hazards regularly present on our testing mountain. Make sure you take note of our one off change of venue for August club night – see details below on our club member speaker.
Conrad Murray
President