Well the weather is definitely getting warmer, and spring is just around the corner! The spring trip schedule will reach you with this newsletter, there are some really great trips on offer, so I hope you are able to get out and enjoy the great NZ outdoors with WT&MC. Thanks to all the people who have volunteered to lead trips, especially those who are leading trips for the first time. There are a few trips listed as Leader Required, if you would like to see these trips run, all volunteers to lead these trips (or any extra trips!) are gratefully accepted, Paul or Craig would love to hear from you.
Personal Locator Beacons are a hot topic right now, and at our last committee meeting, we decided that the club would purchase PLBs for use on club trips. I know that some members will not agree with the decision, and feel that the clubs current safety procedures are good enough, that PLBs are individual members responsibilities, not the clubs, and that there is a risk the PLBs will be misused by being set off when there is not a genuine emergency. All of these points are valid concerns, and the committee will be working to establish a robust procedure for the use of PLBs by club trips, and educating members in the use of PLBs. I will personally drive this process, and anyone who wants to help with this can contact me on .
Most tramping clubs around the country have had a similar discussion around the purchase of PLBs, Some have bought PLBs, while some have chosen not to. The key argument for me that if we had a medical emergency on a club trip (which could happen anywhere, not just in remote areas) which required urgent evacuation, PLBs are the best way to get help right away (as per the June 2009 FMC bulletin). Put simply, PLBs could save a life, whereas our current procedures rely on cellphone coverage, which as we all know, is not reliable in many areas. So PLBs will be an extra tool available for trip leaders to use. They will not replace any of our current safety procedures, which begin by checking the track conditions and weather before leaving, and changing plans if the planned route may be unsafe or dangerous.
Senior members would have received an FMC card with their July newsletter, one of the best uses for this is getting an Annual Hut Pass from DOC for only $63, down from $90. You don’t have to do much tramping to get superb value for money from the pass, and you are supporting an amazing network of back country huts.
This week, with regret, I accepted the resignation of Marie Smith as Vice President. Marie has contributed a lot to the club in recent years, especially in her 2 years as Social Convenor, and I am sad to lose her from committee.
I will be giving a slideshow on my Morocco trip on Sept 9th, so come along then, and I will tell you the story behind the camel photo from the July newsletter!
Darren Hammond