COLD FACTS

PRESIDENT	Jarvis Fletcher
SECRETARY	Kari Di Leva
TREASURER	*Michael Di Leva*
BOOKING OFFICER	Margaret Fletcher
EDITOR	*Ian Stuart*

If the number of lodge bookings is any indication, everyone is expecting good snow this season. Hopefully it will be as good as last year. Our new members who were introduced last year have had an impressive impact on bookings and many are now bringing their friends to fill more beds. Great to see.

The best news for those hoping to take advantage of early snow falls was decided at the last committee meeting, where June accommodation rates have been slashed in an attempt to fill even more beds. Also, don’t forget that Steve Avery can purchase cheap weekly tickets throughout the season, which include free Sunday afternoon skiing, if you ring him before Sunday lunch to arrange.

The Annual General Meeting was held in April so it an ideal opportunity to review the highlights of the last 12 months. Financially we had an excellent year, which was the combination of a few things. Accommodation was above average due to good snow and new members. We also had finished paying off double yearly National Parks lease renewal fees that we have been paying for five years ($9,000/yr), and with new members joining fees we paid off the loan for our major building works over recent years ($7,500/yr interest). The Club is now in great shape, with the loan paid off, the lodge in excellent condition, no major building costs expected for many years and new members to help fill more beds. Other than the new June cheap rates we have again kept accommodation rates at the same level as the last two years, and will continue this for as long as we can manage however, commencing this season, the committee has decided that savories will be served at the lodge only on Saturday nights.

Over summer the ladies and gents bathrooms were completely rebuilt and look fantastic. Each bathroom now has three shower cubicles with separate change areas, two fully enclosed toilets, new vanities, retiling, and even underfloor heating. A big thank you to John Fletcher for designing and managing yet another major project.

After a few years’ negotiations with the National Parks over the car park, which you may remember we had to prove was safe after the Thredbo disaster, it has now been removed. It was going to cost many thousands of dollars to virtually rebuild it and pay to relocate the electrical feed cables to numerous Smiggins lodges that run underneath. To make things worse, we would not even be allowed to park on it in winter, even before the snow starts to fall! Whatever you do, don’t drive up the road in summer and turn into the car park or you’ll get a rude shock and be heading downhill fast. (It’s not a drive in lodge ..... yet. Ed.)

The End of Season Party was held at North Wollongong Surf club and was a great night. It has been booked again for 13th October this year so please mark it on your calendar. It promises to be another big night.

As mentioned last issue, we now have a web site (iacski.com) and it looks great. Many have booked their accommodation over the web this year, and it has also been handy to view how many beds are available during the season. Give us your thoughts on ideas to improve it. It would also be useful to have your e-mail address for our records, please e-mail Mike Dileva (on the web page, click on his name in the committee list).

Club Person of the Year for 2000 was awarded to Tim Lee for his efforts in club racing. This included organising the Smiggins Bowl as we were host club (three years running, but it was not run for the first two because of lack of snow Ed.), helping to organise the junior and senior Interclub races, our own Club Championships as usual, and attending every working bee as usual. Thank you Tim!!

Thanks go to the whole committee for their ongoing work and time they dedicate to the running of our successful Club. Well done team! We hope you all have a great snow season at the lodge and let’s cross our fingers for another deep one like last year. Happy Skiing!!

With the winter stores to get in, a major cleanup after the bathroom renovations and the long list of small jobs that had been held in abeyance, I was concerned that we could only do the absolutely necessary with the small team of 6 volunteers. A last minute phone around produced 6 more including 3 able bodied junior members. We met for a quick cereal and toast at 7:30 am and got straight into it. Everyone worked right up to 5:30 pm when we went for the traditional quiet little drink at The Man to wash away some of the dust. The next day was much the same. In short it was a terrific effort on behalf of the following people and they all deserve a special thanks.

Geoff Mettam, Mike Dileva,Geoff Sturday, Hans, Lesley and Ashley Klages, Atta Ihsche, Wayne and Helen Moore, Lyndsey Ainge, Mark Barnfield & Darren Hubscher.

For those of you that will be going to the lodge this winter, you will now have the use of some very nice new bathrooms. John Fletcher with the help of several other members started, managed and finished off this project with a minimum of fuss. For this a special thanks to John and his helpers, namely:

Viola and Paul Hallahan, John Vatovec, Ma1 MacRae and guest Dave Bywater, Tim Lee, Atta Ihsche, Andy and Darren Hubscher, Jarvis, Marg and John Fletcher.

Ina and Edward Cristia, Narelle Irvine, Jenny and Peter Charker, Barry Spence, Tim Lee, Bob Davis, Marg and John Fletcher.

Stephanie, Peter and Andrew Brown, Geoff Mettam. Phil Warren, Steve Ainge and friend Martin van der Merwe, John Vatovec, Tim Lee, Bob Davis, John O'Donnell jnr. Jarvis and John Fletcher.

Our hut maintenance weekend headed to Teddy’s hut at the top of the ‘big boggy’. With no vehicle access everything was carried in. Mountain ash weather boards, hammer, nails food and the necessary clothing for a first night freeze of –10OC (Some claimed colder).

Pat, Sue Ed. and woofer, Peter, Dawn, Zac and Brendan Smith, Peter, Jenny and Tarun Charker, Karen Irvine, Stuart and Rachael Warren and friend Scholta headed in from the Moonbah side of the range providing a great opportunity to see the mountains from a different perspective. Magnificent views broken only by the brumby trails and clear running fresh water creeks. Oh! Rhonda came too but that is another story. Where was Rhonda?

Teddy’s hut is an old cattleman’s hut built by the McGuffickes around the early 1930’s. With two walls the hut is maintained as an emergency shelter at the top of the big boggy valley and only three to four kilometres from Thredbo in a straight line. The straight line does go up and then straight down through rough fallen timber, logs and heavy forest.

A great weekend that saw perfect weather, a chance to head out and walk a bit, and the necessary repairs to keep the hut stable. Work carried out included replacing broken weather boards, recoating with weatherproofing (an age old recipe of turps, linseed oil and paraffin wax), clearing of drains and restabilising the original round yard used to catch brumbies as they were headed into the two wings that extend about a kilometre up the valley. The historical value of the yard remains to provide the opportunity for walkers to see the original horseman’s ways.

We have reported on the work carried out to the Kosciuszko Huts Association who maintain records of the mountain huts’ condition and organise for the ongoing program across the park’s boundaries.

Thanks to Jenny for cooking and special mention to Stuart, Rachael and Scholta who did walk the short track to Thredbo enabling everyone else to enjoy a glass of red on Sunday night.

Many thanks to select few people who attended the X-C summer grooming this year. We had a few drop out late in the piece so were left with only 9 adults in number but made short work of a pile of timber 'palings' (left in the wrong place by NPWS). At least we only had to move it a couple of hundred metres and not transport it all the way from Perisher like we’ve had to the last few years. Pat Edmondson and Atta Ihsche moved this to the right place for us and Pat cut a bundle of them in half to make the uprights. The parks also left a huge roll of fencing wire (also in the wrong place) which was much too heavy a gauge for our requirements. As Tim Edmondson was driving up from Canberra that morning we were able to catch him and get him to stop off in Jindabyne to get hold of something a bit more manageable.

The nailers, Yours truly, Karen Irvine, and non members Julia Herne, Debbie Romp, Maureen Cuthill (and Tim when he arrived), descended on the pile. Shortly before lunch several of the nailers took on painting duties. We are required to paint all these panels an ‘environmentally aesthetic’ green. By lunch time, we had converted the pile of timber palings into about 45 panels (2 uprights with 6 slats each). The painting then took the remainder of the day and as the timber was quite wet and the weather was cool and a bit drizzly occasionally we erected teepees made out of four panels which allowed easy access to paint them and also gave them a chance to dry out a bit.

Pat and Atta spent most of the day repairing panels that had come adrift last season. Pat discovered, after we had nailed all the new panels together, that we could possibly have made about 15% more panels as it seems after a couple of years the bottom slat becomes redundant as it gets grown over by grass. We’ll keep this in mind for next year. Sunday saw the installation of the star pickets and end posts and attaching of panels using heavier tie wire than we had used in previous years. We have found that over the past couple of years the thin wire we were using was just too light and the weight of snow was pulling the panels so hard that it snapped the wire.

Throughout the weekend we were sustained, admirably, by catering officer Fiona Stuart who solely prepared ALL meals and took care of a few children to boot. In total this year we erected about 90 metres of snow fence just behind the substation at the far end of the car park (you’ll be able to see them from the lodge if the snow is not too deep) and repaired and reattached about 50 other panels around the 2 km track. If you cross country ski please go and have a look at these tracks this season and see the good work the fences are doing collecting snow.

The lodge is heavily booked from 1 July to 9 September with just over 2400 bed-nights already, a record for this time of year !! Get those bookings in soon (if you can find any beds left - Ed.). The Internet site shows an almost up to date list of what’s available. The new rates from June 11–28 inclusive are Members $20/adult, $10/child, and Guests $35/A, $18/C. The new rate for all children, members and guests under 5, $12 per day all season. Make the most of it!

DATE	RATE $	Member Adult	Member Child	Guest Adult	Guest Child
Fri June 8 Sun June 10	Off Peak Rate 1	$30	$15	$50	$25
Mon June 11 Thu June 28	SPECIAL	$20	$10	$35	$18
Fri June 29 Fri July 7	Off Peak Rate 1	$30	$15	$50	$25
Sat July 8 Sat July 21	Shoulder Rate 2	$48	$24	$90	$45
Sun July 22 Sat Sept 8	Peak Rate 3	$56	$28	$100	$50
Sun Sept 9 Sun Sept 30	Shoulder Rate 2	$48	$24	$90	$45
ALL SEASON	Child Under 5	N/A	$12	N/A	$12
Fri Oct 5 Mon Dec 31	Summer Rate *	$12	$6	$18	$9

That good feeling is in the air as it was last season, perhaps a little later coming but there never the less. Let’s keep our digits crossed.

Once again we are trying a new Bowl date. Saturday September 1st. The July date in 2000 was a success but a few clubs did have difficulty with it. September seems more like the real thing so we will see how it goes. The aim is to once again run a dual alpine on front valley but hold the cross country on the Perisher course rather than Smiggins. Fellowship is host club; the presentation will be Saturday night. A venue is yet to be found and IMBAC will, I believe, host the Junior party. We need the support of all members so come along and WIN back the Bowl trophy.

Our Junior Alpine and Cross country race training will kick off on July 16th with the nine juniors taking part being; Gavan Fletcher, Annika Sturday, Jacinta Hooper, Andrew Brown, Andrew Dengate, Lyndsey Ainge, Lauren Di Milia, Brittany Ainge, Alexis Dengate.

Parents! Please remember we are always looking for new starters in our junior race training programme. If your juniors take part in the club race events they could be selected.

Snowboarding is rapidly becoming a popular alternative to skiing and because of this I feel it won’t be long before some clubs will be applying more pressure to have it included in all our major Interclub events. Both the Interclub and Bowl have a snowboarding event but currently they don’t count. IF we have any snowboarders PLEASE come along and take part in these events. The Club is trying to make available a number of snowboards so that people can try out the sport.

There are a few snowboard Demo Days during the season in Perisher. The dates, we have been advised by hard copy, are June 23 & 30 and July 1, 8, 14, 21 & 22. Have a look at the Perisher Blue web site closer to the season (find the link from our site or go directly to www.perisherblue.com.au) as the details have not been made available online at the moment. The details will be under the Perisher Info - 2001 Events Calendar area or you could try calling Perisher Blue Information 1300 655 822. See you all in the snow.

PENSIONERS please note. National Parks now require a pensioner driver to fill in a ‘NPWS Exemption Application Form’ before free admittance to the Parks. You can flash that card no longer. This form may be obtained by writing to NPWS Centre, PO Box N429, Grosvenor Place NSW 1220, phone 1300 361 967 or fax 02 9251 9192. When returning the form you must attach a photocopy of your Pensioner Concession Card and your Vehicle Registration paper. This form may also be applied for and processed in person at NPWS Jindabyne, before proceeding to the park gate.

Please note that SENIORS qualify for a 20% discount and that there are also other exemption classifications (and codes to use when filling in the form). These are:

I suspect you’d have to contact the office to find out what this last one might include. Also, if you have purchased a one-day entry pass, you can convert it to an equivalent or higher annual or two-year pass at a reduced rate so long as you do this within a week. Contact above for a brochure with all the details.

STOP PRESS. Perisher Blue has advised on their web pages that “All lift tickets are now referred to as Mountain Passes”. Woo woo! I wonder how much marketing money went into that one and what other massive changes they’ve cooked up for us this year.

The same deal applies as last year. We need 20 people, minimum, to get the discount but we work in with several other lodges now and can normally achieve this. I need to know by Saturday at the latest, can only buy on Sunday at lunch time, and most important I require CASH when the purchaser arrives (no cards, no cheques). We do not get discounts on single day passes, but generally get 10% better deal than available to individual members of the public so any package the company offers we can better that by 10% by bulk purchasing.

Here are the new season’s mountain pass prices and the prices when buying them through us. Day mountain pass prices this year; for adults $75.00, children (14 and under) $41.00. Beginners this year have more access to more of the mountain. There is also a beginners’ 5 day package that automatically upgrades on the 4th day. An example of potential savings; an adult buys 5 single day mountain passes @ $75.00 = $375. One 5 day pass through us @ $284.00 is a saving of $91.00. There are lots of variations in ticketing so I'm not going to include the whole list but the good news is that most package deals are the same as, or close to, last year’s prices. Five day (Mon-Fri) tickets still get to ski free on the Sunday afternoon (just after tickets are bought). Five day lesson tickets also get a free sixth lesson. There are some good savings for members and guests. Further details can be found online by going to http://www.iacski.com and following the 'snow links' to Perisher Blue or calling the resort directly on 1300 655 822. Okay people. We look forward to seeing you when there's heaps of snow on the ground.

During the recent bathroom renovations the water supply valve (a) to the Lodge (excluding the Kitchen & Managers’ flat) was relocated, with access now inside the vanity unit in the Gents’ bathroom. A small sign will be placed on the vanity to make people aware of this. The water supply valve (b) to the Kitchen and Managers’ flat is located outside, below the grate approximately underneath the southern window of the Manager’s flat. The water main supply valve (c) is located on the south (other) side of the roadway and is approximately opposite the back fire escape door. In the event of an emergency, it is important for the Managers, the committee members and as many members as possible to be aware of these three locations.

The two controls for this system are located on the wall behind both bathroom doors. A setting of 24’ has been recommended. A mark will be placed on the controls at 24’ and a small (dymotype ?) sign be placed underneath saying DO NOT ALTER SETTING.

Joe Kocer passed away on Saturday, 17 February 2001, the day before his 72nd birthday, after a long battle with cancer.

Joe arrived in Australia from Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) on his 21st birthday. Like many Europeans, he thought that he would now be living in a sub-tropical country and that the sport he loved most – skiing – was only a distant memory. He had to find a new sport more appropriate for Australian conditions. His opportunity came when, in an early career move, he went to Gulargambone as a jackaroo. The local lads invited him to play cricket. Despite the fact that he had never held a cricket bat in his hand before, he liked the game and true to Joe’s style, became very good at it. Ultimately he became a member of the famous Gulargambone XI.

When we started our Ski Club in the early sixties, Joe joined up as one of our original members and finally – he was back to the high country and the sport he loved most of all. Joe contributed a great deal to our Ski Club – both on working bees and social occasions (our music man !) He was a keen racer for the Club and also a valued member of the Smiggins Ski Patrol for many years.

Some twenty years ago, when Joe became ill, he reluctantly said goodbye to his beloved snow country and skiing. We extend our deepest sympathy to Julie as we say goodbye to an old friend and an excellent Club member. We shall miss him.

We are saddened by the passing of one of the original members of our ski club, Ron Jeffcoat.

Ron was an extremely active member of the club, particularly during the early years. He was a member of the original building committee, and a club committee member for some 15 years, being Vice President for 13 of those years while holding the committee job of Hut Management from the beginning.

There is little doubt that Ron had an enormous influence on the Lodge management during the initial years of operation and, in doing so, helped set the standard and tone, which we all continue to enjoy to this day. During the initial years of the club, when the growth of the club membership was critical to the financial viability of the club, Ron was responsible for the recruitment of many new members, many of whom have been very active in the club and are valuable members.

Ron was a tireless worker for the club and spent many hours finding suppliers and obtaining quotes etc. to equip the Lodge. This not only applied to the organizing of the pre-season bulk supply of food for the Lodge, but also establishing suppliers of perishable foods during the ski season. In the early years of the club operation the supply of such items was not readily available from Jindabyne and Cooma as they are today. Bulk food was often supplied from as far away as Wollongong, Sydney or Canberra.

Ron and Robin were regular users of the Lodge during the early years, as shown in the club’s Silver Tracks. Ron preferred cross-country skiing to downhill and it was Ron who encouraged the inclusion of jumping as one of the club’s annual competitive events during that time. Ron was one of the few club members to have been nominated as a life member.

We club members are justifiably proud of our club, our Lodge and the camaraderie that exists amongst our members and guests. It is past members such as Ron Jeffcoat who made this possible.

Guy Chesterfield-Evans, son of Nigel and Alana and brother of Sam, died on Easter Saturday, aged 18 years. He had just saved for and paid his adult membership fee to IAC. Although he skied at our club for only three holidays (living as he did in WA), Guy typified many young people in IAC today. He was tall and fit and purposeful, keen on the outdoors, acutely aware of his environment and his place in it. He was a champion swimmer, and a sailor who had been winning regattas since the age of 10. Most recently, he and a teammate won the West Australia under 18 Rogaining Championships (endurance orienteering), which saw them running 84 kms in 24 hours.

But perhaps more importantly, Guy was a son and a brother way beyond the average. There was nothing around the house and the boats that he couldn’t fix. He was the brother who was always up at 7am on Saturdays to check the rigging of Sam’s Busselton Under 11s sailing group, even if he’d been out partying ‘til 5 am. The son who, unbeknownst to his parents, was counseling local teenagers who had attempted suicide. The boy who had always had holiday and weekend jobs and bought his own car when he was 17. Like many in IAC, he was a party animal who would dance all night.

In his final year at Busselton High School, Guy was planning to go to university and study wine-making, an industry in which he had already completed work experience. He died doing what he loved – sailing with his parents and Sam. The mast of the family yacht hit an unmarked power line in an estuary north of Bussleton and Guy, who was holding onto the stay, was killed instantly. His funeral in Busselton the Friday after Easter was attended by over 500 people.

The music played at the service was the CD Nigel found in Guy’s player after his death – “Black the Sun” by Alex Lloyd. Alex, an IAC member and Guy’s cousin, has skied at our club under his real name – Alex Wasiliev.

When people die, and especially when they die young, they often seem to be idealised beyond the reality, as if death has made more of them than they were. This is not the case with Guy. With him, it is hard to describe what a terrific person he was. He really had it all figured out – how to be true to himself and how to be fair to others. In that sense, by 18 he had learned what most of us take a lifetime to learn, if we ever do.

Many IAC members did not know Guy, but many will remember Nigel’s famous (or perhaps infamous) sense of humour, which his beautiful son shared. You would all have liked to know him.