Woohoo! Summer is pretty much here and the warm weather with it (at least it feels like it this week anyway). I hope you have wonderful outdoor adventures planned for the Christmas break and have got your name down for some club trips in the new year to make the most of the warmer months’ tramping opportunities.
Comings and goings
This time of year is when we start to think about who is going to stand for the next committee year from April 2020. I will be stepping down as President, as will Tony G (Vice President), Heather (Secretary) and Rene (Transport Officer). It’s good to bring new faces into the committee every year so if you might be willing to give any of these roles (or any committee role) a go then have a chat to a current committee member to find out what’s involved.
Mega thanks to Mike G, Tash and Amelia for their contributions to running the lodge bookings and food this (and in some cases many previous) winter season(s). All three are stepping down having put in amazing efforts so there are also some new faces needed for helping out with the lodge, including someone who is keen to do lodge comms/social media.
Climate change sub-committee
We’re setting up a small group to work out what we can do as a club to minimise our impact on the environment yet still meet our constitutional aims of encouraging and facilitating outdoor pursuits. Should we be canning South Island trips because of the ferry or plane travel involved? Could we plant a tree for every kilometre the club van travels? How about a levy on trip fares as a donation to a climate change charity cause? This group will consider these and other ideas. We’re looking for one or two club members who want to join us on this new sub-committee which will be led by Tony G – so let know if you are keen.
Future of the WTMC Lodge
On Sunday, we had a three-hour lodge strategy session to thrash out how we want the club lodge at Ruapehu to work in the longer term. Thanks to the lodge subcommittee members who came along to share their views.
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.
Thanks Mate!
If you’ve helped out with running the club in one way or another over the past year you should have now received an invite to our ‘Thanks Mate’ event. WTMC couldn’t function without volunteer help from its members so your contributions are very much appreciated. If we’ve missed you off the list somehow then we’re really sorry (it’s often hard to keep track of the amazing variety of volunteer effort that goes into WTMC). Contact for more details.
Christmas means club closes for holiday tramping
| 11 Dec 2019 | Last social night of 2019 |
| 18 Dec 2019 | Gear room only – no social |
| 25 Dec 2019 | Club rooms closed for holidays |
| 1 Jan 2020 | Club rooms closed for holidays |
| 8 Jan 2020 | Gear room only – no social |
| 15 Jan 2020 | First social night of 2020 |
Reminders:
- 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.
- The next trip schedule is currently being drafted. Send your trip ideas to by 15th December.
- The club is helping organise a Regional Leadership Development Course, with the support of FMC. We need members with leading experience to help out. Details here -> https://wtmc.org.nz/trip-report/fmc-regional-leadership-development-course/
This month I traversed the Kaimanawas and Kaweka Ranges over six glorious days of non-stop tramping with seven other WTMC members. Heavy packs for six days meant it felt like a Christmas trip and it’s not even Christmas yet. There will of course be a trip report soon.
I also got to explore the Hakatere Conservation Area in Canterbury on another aborted alpine adventure. This trip included a climb up Emily Hill which apart from a few matagouri scratches was well worth the effort of an evening stroll from the rustic Manuka hut.
Emily
WTMC President