It’s almost the end of summer but hopefully we’ve got plenty of that lovely stable autumn weather to come. This is always the time of year I start to try and squeeze in all the tramping trips I planned for actual summer which never happened so I’m looking forward to a busy March in the hills!
Club-wise we’ve just hosted a popular new members’ night (thanks to Aimee for organising and everyone else who volunteered on the night) and we’ve got the Leadership Development Course coming up which WTMC are running with the support of FMC for members of clubs around the Wellington region.
Online membership forms
Thanks to Juan, our ‘Web President’ we now have an online membership form. This was ready just in time for New Members Night on Wednesday and will save Jane, our Membership Officer, having to manually enter new members details to process their applications. It will also help keep our use of paper down.
New committee members needed from 1st April
Recruitment for new committee members is currently underway, as several of the current committee are stepping down at the upcoming AGM. For the club to maintain its Incorporated Society status (which affords us the ability to function as a volunteer-run organisation) we are going to need a new President and a new Secretary from April 1st. And for club trips to continue to go ahead, we also need a new Transport Officer. You can chat to me or any of the existing committee members at club nights, out on trips or via email.
Other positions available are Social Convenor and Vice President, although I believe we have a nominated candidate now for each of these roles.
Van maintenance and parking
Huge thanks to Pete Silverwood who has been looking after both club vans for the past few years. Pete has taken the vans on many WoF trips and kept them running between club trips by quickly dealing with other maintenance and repairs. Pete has unfortunately had to give up this role so we are looking for somebody else to take it on. You need to be able to drive the vans and be happy to deliver them to and from the garage for repairs etc. Email if you are keen. This role is super important for enabling trips to get to and from road ends safely in our club vans.
One of the vans had a little bump earlier in the week while it was parked up at the storage facility. To prevent this happening again, Kiwi Storage have asked us to make sure we park them as far forward in their allotted space as possible to allow other vehicles moving around the area ample room to manoeuvre.
WTMC Lodge – Building Report
We have been informed by the Ruapehu District Council that they intend to carry out a visual structural inspection of all the lodges on the mountain. We don’t know the timing of these inspections, but what we do know is that our lodge is unlikely to meet current building standards required for its location. Regardless of the RDC inspection, we have decided to commission a full engineers report to help us understand to what extent we are short of the building standards and what might be involved to fix things. This will also allow us to do the responsible thing of keeping our lodge users informed about the building they are staying in.
Intentions are important
We had a strong turn-out a few Wednesday’s ago for Claire’s fascinating talk on the techniques LandSAR use for searching for missing trampers. This again highlighted the importance of leaving detailed intentions with someone who can raise the alarm. We have an emergency contacts system for all club trips and the more details leaders can provide about who’s in the party, what their skill-level is, and what equipment the group is carrying the easier it is for the club emergency contacts to brief SAR if necessary.
If you haven’t been on a trip with your trip leader before, please make sure you talk to them about your tramping experience and disclose any relevant medical conditions so that this can also be included in the intentions sheet.
Reminders:
- Van log books – if you are picking up or dropping off either of the club vans please remember to write the mileage in the log book.
- Scholarships are still available for those who are willing to help out with running the club. These can be used for professionally guided courses/events to enable members to try a new activity or build new skills. More details here -> https://wtmc.org.nz/training/scholarships/
- The WTMC AGM will take place on Wednesday 1st April, at 7:30pm in the TTC Clubrooms.
- Subs for 2020 are now (over)due. If you haven’t received an invoice then please get in contact with our Membership Office Jane via
February has given me a couple of lovely river adventures in the warm weather. I’ve wandered down the full length of Turere Stream in the Orongorongos (note: this is a bit more than a ‘wander’ as there are some waterfalls to negotiate your way around) and adventured up the Waitewaewae river to Island Forks Hut.
Emily
WTMC President