Ooops…I missed the newsletter deadline this month so hopefully a few of you still read this without the email prompt.
Chilling out…
We had a great talk by Dr Jenny Visser at club night last Wednesday about hypothermia mixing the medical science with the practicalities of being out in the hills with only what we can carry. Winter is a good time to review what you carry on a trip and make sure you use the gear list when you are packing.
Maybe this is also a good time to remind everyone that we have some of the mountain shelters Jenny talked about available in the WTMC gear cupboard for taking on club trips. These are especially good for day trips when tops travel is involved (for overnight trips you should already be carrying a club fly or a tent). I bought a personal one about a year ago and have made some use of it since….although mostly for lunch stops….here’s a picture of Mark with a warm orange glow enjoying a sandwich near the top of Dome on Ruapehu over Easter (sorry Mark!).
First aid course?
We occasionally run first aid courses with a specific focus on outdoor first aid – you can read about last year’s one here. In the past, the club has subsidised members wishing to participate and we hope to do this again. Let the Chief Guide know if you are interested and when we’ve got enough people, we will aim to schedule another course.
Billy bags and glad rags
Big thanks to Steve K for making us some new billy bags. A few of them were getting a bit tatty so Steve once again agreed to make some fresh ones. Here they are in their full glory if you haven’t had the pleasure of taking them out on a trip yet. Volunteer spirit like this helps make WTMC really special!
Reminders
- Entries are now open for the WTMC Photography Competition. Everyone is encouraged to submit their best shots from recent tramping trips and the winners will be put forward to represent WTMC in the National FMC competition. Entries close 31st July so get in quick.
- WTMC, along with VUTMC, are once-again sponsoring bringing the NZ Mountain Film Festival National Tour to Wellington. There are two different programs, on Mon 5th and Mon 12th August, both at the Memorial Theatre on the Victoria University Kelburn Campus. Tickets are on sale here.
Since my last update I’ve been on an awesome club trip to the Ruahine where we tackled Sawtooth Ridge in (mostly) good weather, I’ve visited the new Powell Hut in the Tararua on a wet Sunday and reminded myself what crampons feel like on my feet in beautiful conditions around the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.
Take care and keep enjoying your winter adventures!
Emily.
WTMC President