Click here for Cloud Seeding Fact Sheet
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JOURNAL OF THE
ILLAWARRA ALPINE CLUB |
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VOLUME 44 |
JULY 2004 |
NUMBER 3 |
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PRESIDENT |
SECRETARY |
TREASURER |
BOOKING OFFICER |
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Fiona Montgomery Cremorne 2090 02-9908-1464 (H) 0410 405 358 (Mob) |
Jenny Charker 02-4226-4269
(H) |
Michael Di Leva Figtree 2525 02-4228-3720 (H) 02-4275-6947 (W) |
Karen Irvine Figtree 2525 02-4272-1410 (H) enquiries on email bookings@iacski.com |
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EDITOR – Ian Stuart Ph: 02-9412-1402
Fax: 02-9412-3043 Email: coldfacts@iacski.com |
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Web site: |
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Illawarra
Alpine Club Lodge: |
Tel: 02-6457-5240 |
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Lodge
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Business
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President’s Message Dear All, Welcome to the winter edition of Cold Facts, and I
think it is fair to say, that winter has finally arrived! The snow has been dumping down and I have
even heard rumours that there was “powder” in Perisher Blue at one
stage. So far we have been lucky with
excellent early falls of snow – Huey is certainly doing his job for us. All lifts are operating and there is
currently 128cm of snow on the ground.
Fingers crossed there is more to come and we’ll finish with a great
season. Bookings have been excellent
and there are still some beds available in September, so if the snow holds
up, you may enjoy some great spring skiing. If you’ve been on-line lately, you may have noticed
our fantastic new look website. Viola
has been doing a fantastic job of updating the site. There are still sections under
construction, but it is taking shape, so log on and have a look. If you have any feedback, ideas or
suggestions of things you would like to see up on the site, please email them
to webchief@iacski.com – we’d love
to hear from you. As you will see in the Club Captain’s report, the
race program is in full swing, and some of our juniors have participated in
Interschool competitions with great results.
Congratulations to all those who entered, including Jarvis Fletcher
and Peter Brown who managed to enter the Scots College race as a parents when
the organiser realised they couldn’t possibly be in high school anymore! Our manager John Pihlman and his lovely wife Bea
have settled back into the lodge this season and continue to do a great
job. Anyone who has sampled the
fantastic cooking will agree that John is looking after us well. For the Hut Captains, we rely heavily on
your reports to keep in touch with any issues that need to be addressed in
the lodge during the season. Please do
your best to ensure that reports are filled out at the end of your stay and
given to John P. The replacement hut
captain should be made aware of any matter of significance that might affect
their week at the lodge after you leave.
Since the AGM, the committee have been working to
produce a set of guidelines for the Junior Race Program. There was a lot of discussion on this topic
at the AGM and we are in the process of gathering feedback, views and
suggestions from across the membership base so that we can put together a
re-structured program for 2005.
Currently we are devising a questionnaire to help us collate your
views, and you should see that in the next edition of Cold Facts. We have a few big maintenance projects on the list
for the summer – the major one being painting the outside of the lodge. We are also looking into some plans for
further renovations to the lodge including the Fiona Montgomery Kosciuszko
2004 Draft Plan of Management Just when you thought it was time to stop
letter writing here’s another opportunity if you want. There are several ways
you can have your say regarding the PoM. ·
Log onto www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au ·
Ring freecall – 1800 200 208 ·
Email kosiuszkopom@npws.nsw.gov.au ·
Write to – The draft plan is on public
exhibition until Probably the best way for
members to get access to this is via the web site – listed above. Once you
get to their Home page the link to it is over on the right hand side. Down towards
the bottom of the page is the whole document (pdf - at 9.8MB) or just below
that it is broken up into sections.
The bit probably most pertinent to us as a ski lodge would be Part B
section 8, Recreation - parts 8.9 and
8.10. (pp. 115 – 120 of the complete
document or pp. 23-28 of that pdf) Here’s a direct link to the
appropriate section if you don’t need to see how it sits in the rest of the
scheme. http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/PDFs/PoMdraft_KosciuszkoNP_b08.pdf Happy reading and letter
writing. Ed From the
Booking Officer Well, what a fantastic season this is turning out to
be! As I write this, the snow is
falling hard and this morning the road was closed from Jindabyne. The bookings reflect this. Over 2500 bed nights booked so far. We will
have a full lodge almost every night from now until the second week of
September. Some cancellations have
started coming though, so if you are on a waiting list don't lose hope just
yet. I was looking at some statistics on who books our
bed nights, and over the last few years it has been fairly steady at around
1/3 non-member and 2/3 member bed nights. If you are making a deposit directly into the IAC
bank account, could you also email me to let me know that you are doing
it? I have two mystery deposits at the
moment - one for $292.20 on 10th May, and one on 21st June for $350. If you know who these belong to, please let
me know. I was lucky enough to have a weekend at the snow in
mid-July, and took the opportunity to ski around the 4km cross-country track
in Smiggins and admire our handiwork from the cross-country working bee in
April in placing all the arrows on the poles around the track. NPSW has installed new signage at the
Smiggins and Perisher track heads and junctions, let's hope we get quite a
few years out of them before the next fire.
At the Nordic shelter in Perisher there were a heap
of school kids in training for the biathlon (cross country skiing combined
with shooting). Apparently these days
they use a laser-based electronic target system for the shooting - it sounds
like fun, and a lot more suitable to use in a national park than real guns. Wishing a speedy recovery to all those who have had
to cancel due to ill-health, and safe travelling and skiing to everyone else. Please note that the door code has changed
- it is now 7685. Karen
Irvine From the Club Captain Race Update
- July 2004 The Smiggins Bowl races are scheduled to be held in
Centre Valley Perisher from Don't forget the Senior Illawarra interclub on the 21st of August, our club championships on the 28th of August
and the junior Illawarra interclub on
the 4th of September. We still struggle to get starters in the snowboard
races and are trying to encourage juniors to take it up. School In the first and second week, the club arranged for
three 2 hour group lessons for juniors, 9 years and over, who were staying in
the lodge. This was aimed at improving their all round skiing abilities plus
some gate training. In the first week, Jonathon Mandl added to the experience
by showing DVDs on junior development and general skiing. He also got the
instructor to develop the skills of all rather than focus on the least
skilled. In the second week, Phil Warren and Lisa Milner worked to ensure the
instruction was of benefit to all in the group. While the skill improvement
outcomes were mixed, I believe that the shared experience was very positive
for these juniors. Several young and enthusiastic skiers would do well in the
race training squad. (My thanks to Jon M and all parents involved.) The advanced race training group continued to
improve their skills during a very busy second week. There were 3 hours of
alpine racing instruction at Blue Cow each morning with Heidi Ainge and two
and a half hours of cross country training with Mike Edmondson on Monday,
Wednesday and Friday afternoons. The Racing
Results The Scots College Ski and Snowboard Championships
were held in Front Valley at Perisher on Monday the 12th of July. Jarvis
"always ready to race" Fletcher came in second in the
"parents" race with Peter Brown 10th. Annika Sturday came 3rd in
the Div 1 (years 11 and 12) girls, Gavin Fletcher came 4th in the Div 1 boys
and Brittany Ainge came 4th in Div 3 girls. Lyndsey Ainge (12th) and Andrew
Brown (10th) also put in very good efforts in the race. The Northern NSW Region Interschools races were held
at Thredbo on Wednesday 14/7. Andrew Dengate was the second fastest male in
Div 2 and led his school team into 4th place and advancement to the NSW
event. Alexis Dengate had a shaky first run but continued to finish with a
very solid second run and the 9th fastest combined time in Div 3 girls. Her
team has also qualified for the NSW event. In the Sydney Region interschools, Annika Sturday
won the Div 1 girls Skiercross on Wednesday 14/7 and will progress to the NSW
event as an individual racer. Lauren
Di Milia skied all 3 legs in her school's cross country relay race at
Perisher. Despite being the 4th
fastest "team" in the combined Northern and Sydney regions in the
Div 1 cross country relay event, she did not qualify to progress to state as
there had to be 3 different members in her team. Good effort but bad luck
Lauren! Good luck to Gavin Fletcher as he races in the
Southern Region Interschools GS and Skiercross on 29th and 30th of July and
good luck to all in the NSW Interschools on the 21st and 22nd of August. As shown above and with other interclub race results
from last year, 2 weeks of consistent effort per year can make a significant
difference in skill levels of these young skiers. They are standing out from
their peers in interclub and are getting creditable results at Interschools
events where the competition can get really tough against heavily trained
racing club competitors. Please send any queries or comments to me at racing@iacski.com Geoff
Sturday Maintenance Hi. Tony Di
Milia reporting as your new lodge maintenance man. That's right; if there is a problem that
you can see, or there's something that needs mending or replacing you can
contact me on 0418 423 091. Please feel free with your suggestions and tee up
a time for the next working bee (date to be announced). Together we make a team which in turn saves
$$$$ to all of us using the lodge. 1. FOOD WEEKEND WORKING BEE ~ this weekend had the
sun shining and a handful of members doing their best for all lodge users.
Many thanks to Jeff. M for all his help with organising the food, stock and
transportation. What an effort!! That’s right, the food just doesn't appear
in the cupboards, a human chain was made to get the food from the truck to
the lodge, then checked and stored for the season. Grass was cut around the lodge by Mike. D.
Great work; Tim and Bob worked on the new sled which everyone on garbage duty
will love!! Painting was done in the
staircase and hallways. The chimney
and gas meter box were re painted in a smart silver. Some new shelving was
fitted in the lounge room to keep the sound system and all our CD's in. I
knew Phil Warren was good for something!! There was a general tidy up of the
lodge; vacuuming etc, etc, etc. To all
who where there, many thanks. A
special thanks to Jenny.C for her delicious cooking. It kept us going. 2. After the ski season we have two major projects
to begin: the painting of the outside of the lodge and renovating the
bathrooms in 3. The Dining room floor is scheduled to be sanded
and polished this coming summer. Also the four bedrooms that still have the
old brown carpet will be replaced with a green carpet to match the existing
floor covering (as best as possible). The second drying room will also have a
wood look commercial quality vinyl to cover the lifting tiles. All this work
will be completed at no cost to lodge by me. 4. OK. Now this is were you members come in. The
revarnishing of beds, staircases and repainting of rooms and shelves is the
current agenda for the summer. There
is a lot of work to be done to keep the lodge looking smart and I know that
ALL of you know how to use a paintbrush and partake in a general tidy up. If you have any queries please feel free to contact
me at maintenence@iacski.com
Like Uncle Sam said ......." I NEED YOU TO MAKE IT HAPPEN" for all
of us to enjoy while spending time in the lodge. Tony Di Milia From the Web Chief Website! - www.iacski.com Although the site is still under construction, it
would still be beneficial to visit and browse. Options which are up and
running include: online bookings, contact information, photographs of recent
events and working bees, and most importantly, an up to date REAL SNOW REPORT
emailed regularly from our manager John Pihlman. Please send any suggestions, photos, items
for sale to webchief@iacski.com End of Season Function The social event of the year looks
like being on October 30th in Viola Hallahan Other News Given how full the last issue was with business
about the head lease we have had to hold back on a few stories. We’ll get
them in as soon as we can. Here are a few. Campfires fade to preserve a park's treasure By Stephanie Peatling, Environment Reporter -
Campers and horse riders will need permits to enter
the state's largest national park, Kosciuszko, as part of a plan to limit
environmental damage to the area over the next 20 years. A draft of the new plan of management
covering the 675,000-hectare alpine area is expected to be finalised next
month after the most extensive community consultation process ever undertaken
by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Kosciuszko polarises opinion between environment
groups such as the Colong Foundation, which would like to see a reduction in
activities within the park's boundaries, and recreational groups such as the
Bush Users Group, which want greater access to the mountainous region. The manager of Kosciuszko planning for the
parks service, Penny Spoelder, said: "No one wants to see the park
trashed, so the service has to make hard decisions to put conditions on
use." An independent scientific report found climate
change, weeds and feral animals, visitors and regional land use were the
greatest threats to the park. "We're trying to protect the national and
international values of the park from those pressures," Ms Spoelder
said. Mountain bike riding, which has
mushroomed in popularity since the last plan was written in 1982, will be
curtailed. Cycling is presently
allowed in wilderness areas of Kosciuszko, unlike other parks in NSW, but
some locations will soon be off-limits. Permits will be introduced for horse riders and
bush- walkers. No fee will be charged for the permits but numbers will be
limited at some popular horse camps.
Campfires will also be banned at some locations and campers encouraged
to use fuel stoves. Ms Spoelder says
this is a safety issue for both people and the surrounding environment, and a
response to concerns a campfire could one day get out of control and cause
widespread damage. While discussions are still taking place with some
groups such as horse riders, the parks service has reached a compromise over
the future of the old huts built by drovers and farmers up to 150 years ago
but now used as accommodation by recreation groups. Almost 20 of the park's 100 huts have been
destroyed, either by the enormous fire of 2002 or old age and overuse. While
the parks service was previously reluctant to rebuild the huts, it has now
undertaken to restore some of the structures.
Rebuilding will be done on a case-by-case basis in recognition of the
huts' social, cultural and historical values. Some of the huts are already
being rebuilt. Kosciuszko capping
recommended - by Rosslyn Beeby, Research,
Conservation and Science Reporter A new draft management plan for Kosciuszko National
Park recommends horse riding, rock climbing and mountain biking be restricted
and bed numbers at ski resorts be capped at existing levels. The management
plan, which incorporates the advice of some of the world's leading alpine
ecology experts, says climate change is the biggest threat to the park. Up to
40 alpine plants face extinction and snow cover is projected to shrink by up
to 60 per cent in the next 40 years. It recommends that all resorts and businesses in the
National Park be required to demonstrate a clear commitment to reducing
greenhouse emissions. The report says CSIRO has predicted temperature
increases in excess of 1 degree Celsius which will threaten the survival of
the endangered mountain pygmy possum and increase the incidence of wildfires
in the park. It recommends a research program to measure the impacts of
climate change and that Kosciuszko be nominated for inclusion in a new United
Nations global climate change research effort. The management plan, which is based on two years of
comprehensive community and scientific consultation, was issued yesterday by
NSW Environment Minister Bob Debus.” The challenge is to generate a
management plan that provides a broad range of recreational activities for
visitors but protects the delicate ecosystem of the park for future
generations," he said. If the draft management plan is adopted after a
three-month public comment period, horse riding will be banned in some
environmentally sensitive areas, such as Mt Morgan, and a permit system will
be introduced to regulate overnight and extended riding tours, pack-saddle
camping and vehicle-based camping with horses. The use of hay as horse feed
will also be banned to prevent the spread of weeds within the park. Movement
of sheep and cattle through the park will also be prohibited. The report says mountain biking has created serious
management problems including soil erosion and scarring of rock faces and
boulders. Mountain biking will be permitted on approved management trails
only and off-trail riding will be banned in alpine resort areas. All popular rock climbing and abseiling sites will
be assessed for environmental disturbance and the use of rock bolts, climb
labels and other climbing fixtures will be banned. Cross-country ski tours will also be asked
to limit groups to eight people and park authorities will trial a system
which requires visitors to "carry out human waste from popular areas
where toilets are not provided". Bed levels at ski resorts will be capped at existing
levels and all alpine resorts will be legally required to submit annual
reports on their environmental performance. They will also pay a levy to
establish and support an Alpine Resort Sustainability Fund for environmental
research and community education.
Campfires will be banned in some areas of the park and fireplaces will
be replaced by gas or electric barbecues. Huts News We have received some information from KHA. We are
not able to put it all into Cold Facts but here is a summary of a letter from
the President of KHA, Mark Cleghorn. KHA committee has been working on analysing the
draft Plan of Management (PoM) for “We understand…the draft document is not a fait accompli, but that personal
submissions…will be taken note of. I urge you to put pen to paper and put a
submission to NPWS…. “…trawling through the draft PoM…I was rather
surprised…pleasantly so. …I considered
the result to be rather professional.
NPWS…take this review of the PoM very seriously…they have developed an
excellent document… “Secondly, I’m heartened by the fact that heritage
has been taken account of… …it shows
that…NPWS have heard the calls that groups such as KHA have been making for
many years, and are taking their responsibilities for the preservation of
cultural heritage within the Park seriously… Now, the draft PoM actually
allows the replacement of a hut for its cultural values, and certainly makes
it very difficult to get rid of any. “… KHA
members have a lot of work to do to ensure that the words in the PoM are
interpreted in the way we think they should be…” Mark We (IAC committee) have a copy of the draft
submission but have been asked not to publish in full. We are able to make it
available to anyone interested upon application. It is in the form of a word
document and can be emailed or printed and sent by snail mail. Jenny Charker
Births Is this our first of the 4th generation members or
have there been others born? Just to let you know that Isabella had her gorgeous
little baby boy, Oskar, on the 29 May at Belinda Barbour
Editor SENIOR
MOMENTS – IAC PART 1 – FERNIE & KICKING HORSE Five intrepid club members departed these sunny, hot
& humid shores in February, bound for The real tour started Friday 13 Feb – yes, black
Friday. Fiona Montgomery and Geoff
Mettam departed on a delayed ridden flight Fernie, originally a coal mining area, developed into
a winter-summer playground, renown for its powder / tree skiing. A bit low at the bottom – 3,500ft / 1060m,
up to around 6300ft / 2000m. It owes
its snow to the “Legend of the Griz” – a man-bear creature who invited the
“snow gods” to bless them. And they
have. Whilst messers Davis and Mettam
where slumming it in a downtown basement, “money-bags Two main base lifts –the high speed Timber Quad and
the Elk Chair to Boomerang and Great Bear get you up the mountain. The Timber Quad takes you up to the White
Pass Chair and the From the other side of the mountain, up the Elk
Chair and onto Great Bear and Boomerang provides access to Lizard, Cedar and
Fish Bowls. Plenty of nice tree stuff
up there and this was where we spent most of our time. Snow wise, we had a nice “snow shower” day
1 – Saturday. A good 10-12 inches up
top Wednesday, but that was a bit wet at the bottom. Memorable moments; clearly Geoff’’s double heel
release at the top of Cedar Bowl after 1&1/2 turns. It was just a bit chunkier that he
thought!; beers in the GrizInn at the base lodge each afternoon, a “cultured
SmiggsPub”, fantastic wooden construction, a bit of music and a refreshing
non-smoking atmosphere; and of course, Bob’s senior moments all over the
resort. From Fernie it was north via Memorable moments; Davis’ snow cave building on
Stairway chutes, cost us our seventh gondola ride for the day because he
fluffed around adjusting his skirt so much
(the double heel release and skis being half way up and down the chute
being of no consequence whatsoever!); Fiona’s
freeze, a small issue of not knowing which way to turn (the fact that it was
steeper than the IAC roof top, rockier than Mt P in the summer and narrowing
rapidly was just a point to laugh about over a beer); Beers and chicken wings at the Moberley Pub
– a great locals hangout in the middle of nowhere; Kicking Horse moguls –
enough said; and once again, senior moments all over the resort. Geoff
Mettam DON’T MISS PART TWO IN THE NEXT EXCITING ISSUE (out
in September) Ed Cloud Seeding – Will it help Back in February I received the
following from one of our members – Steve Exton. The cloud seeding has been
given the go ahead and is already happening. Here’s the belated media
release. There is also a fact sheet that I’ll try to get onto the web for
those interested.
Ed.
MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES MEDIA RELEASE - State Government to UNDERTAKE winter cloud seeding
RESEARCH PROJECT for The research project aims to increase the amount of
snow coverage in a defined area within the “Our snow falls are shrinking and our droughts are
hotter, longer and more frequent,” Mr. Macdonald explained. Average temperatures in our alpine areas
have been on a slow but steady rise since the early 1960s. These trends pose a very real threat to our
communities, our economy and our environment.
“Our ski operators, irrigators and electricity
providers are all affected. Even some
of our endangered animals, such as the Mountain Pygmy Possum which relies on
a consistent snow cover to survive and breed, are under greater threat. Cloud seeding could help off-set an environmental
tragedy in the making, without negatively affecting our environment.” Mr. Macdonald said the proposed research project
will target a 1,000 km2 area in the Snowy Hydro will also be able to use the extra flows
into the “An 11-member expert panel assessed the research
proposal and agreed the research project would not significantly impact the
environment,” Mr. Macdonald said. A preliminary
assessment by the Department of Environment and Conservation also found that
any adverse impacts on the environment would be minimal. In fact, the extra snow could provide real
benefits to our rivers and the wildlife who depend on the alpine conditions. “Cloud seeding has been successful in other parts of
the world, namely The State Government is expected to introduce
special legislation shortly to enable the research project to proceed. The legislation would have effect for five
years, with the option to extend for one year. New legislation or a complete environmental
assessment would be required at the end of the five-year period for any
further cloud seeding activity to continue. The project will be subject to close and ongoing
monitoring. The Natural Resources
Commission will monitor and assess the results from the research project and
report to Government. Media Contact: Carina Bates on (02) 9228-3344 or 0411 021
412 Joke time JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ
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