| Downhill Ski Club Inc. | |
| Ruapehu | 0-7-892 3843 |
| National Park | 0-7-892 2601 |
| grant.mctavish@telecom.co.nz | |
| Web Page | www.iol.co.nz/dsc/ |
Dear Member
At last some good news; both ski fields are operating, as are both lodges. There is some good skiing to be had, you just have to be there on the day. I trust you are all making use of your season’s pass and all that pre-season training is paying off.
The social highlight of the year, the Club mid-winter Christmas party is on for 19-20 August at the mountain lodge.
The National Chairlift has been booked, but not confirmed, with RAL for access on Saturday morning between 8.30 to 9.30am, unless it is operating for general access or the weather is unsuitable. The booking officer, Dave Meek, will be told as soon as it is confirmed, and I will ring National Park from the Mountain early on Saturday morning with an update.
Remember that you must not get off the chairlift at the old mid-station. Anyone doing this may risk severe injury and RAL not running the lift for the Club in the future. You will be told on the day if packs or food can be off loaded as you pass.
Although last years party was held at National Park due to the conditions, the festive spirit was alive and well especially after suitable use was made of the wine provided as part of the presidential shout. Come along this year and enjoy the merriment and the wine. You are most welcome to bring your own alcohol and of course a suitable costume. Any volunteers for Santa?
Attached is a letter and a map showing the overnight parking areas on the Loop Road. Please take particular note.
The sporting highlight of the year, the Club race weekend is planned for 23-24 September. If last years races are anything to go by, this year’s competition will be close and once again may provide a few surprises. Get some good practice in now.
There will be a few people wanting to defend their titles, with the main emphasis on having fun.
More will be confirmed after the weekend of the Christmas party, but at this stage, there are at least 2 people who have indicated that they will be able to cook for the period between 28 August to 8 October. This will depend on how the season progresses, access to the lodge, and demand. If you would like to stay on the mountain during this period, could you please make some bookings so that the committee can gauge demand.
This is especially the case during the school holidays between 22 September and 8 October.
An unused (no photo or personal details) 2000 season pass may be for sale after 20 August for the price paid for it, $199.00. If you are interested, then please contact either myself before Thursday 17 August or Dave Meek after this date. If it does become available for sale, it will be sold to the first person who contacted me (or Dave) and who pays.
It will be sold on the condition that it is being bought for the sole use of the person buying it and that it will not be on-sold to a third person for profit. In order to uplift the pass, the successful person will have to supply their full details to myself so that I can make arrangements with RAL.
National Park is booked out for the weekend of 1-2 September. However if you still want to stay that weekend, please ring the booking officer just in case there are some cancellations and you can be fitted in. Remember that the Mountain Lodge is still available.
Unfortunately, there have been some recent instances of people gaining entry and staying in the National Park lodge without booking or paying. Thanks to the diligence of some members questioning why they are there, some people have paid. It is the ones that manage to get away with it that are the real worry, as at the very least they deprive the Club of some well needed income.
If people are at the door and don’t know the front door combination number, then please challenge them and check the faxed room allocation sheet. If their name is not on the sheet (and this goes for members as well) then they most likely have not booked through the booking officer or paid. If they maintain that they should be there, then please take their name, address and phone number, (car rego even) and money (cash ideally), and let them in and please pass the details onto the booking officer or a committee member as soon as possible.
Rule 6 of the booking rules makes it quite clear that the hut leader can refuse lodging to any person without a booking.
No genuine person should be offended if this is done in a courteous manner.
The combination number is changed as often as possible.
To encourage new members, there will be a draw for a $200 voucher from the Snow Centre open to all new members this year and the person who recruits them. The draw will be held at the race weekend dinner.
If you know of any ex-members who would like to rejoin, they can do so without having to pay any penalty costs or rejoining fees.
If you haven’t already done so, then please pay your subscriptions as soon as possible. The Club has on-going fixed costs throughout the year that are covered by the subscriptions, while the accommodation income covers the operating costs.
These are available from the Club web page (booking.htm), but for those members who do not have internet access, copies are enclosed. Please note that the forms should be mailed or faxed to David Meek well ahead of when you wish to stay. As it will be a great season, don’t expect to fax a form in on Friday afternoon as you head to the Club and expect a bunk available when you arrive.
Mike Fitzmaurice has very kindly set up an internet discussion group for members to use. It allows anyone to send to the group name an email, and everyone who has subscribed to it will receive a copy of the email. It will be useful for people who have been to the mountain to report on snow conditions, arrange a ride with others, etc.
It will be unmoderated, anyone with an email address will able to join, and anyone can contribute. Mike will manage it, issue passwords, remove abusers of the group, etc.
Alternatively, you can join the list online at http://downhillskiclub.listbot.com or by sending an email to downhillskiclub-subscribe@listbot.com.
You can also see who is in the list by sending an email to downhillskiclub-who@listbot.com but only after you have joined. Once in the group email it at downhillskiclub@listbot.com and it will be sent to everyone who has joined the list.
Please let Mike Fitzmaurice know if you have any problems. Also, please make use of the Club’s web page (www.iol.co.nz/dsc/). It has lots of good links and information on it. Once again, lots of thanks to Mike for keeping it up to date.
If you have any suggestions or queries, please do not hesitate in contacting any Committee Member.
| President / Secretary | Grant McTavish |
09 828 9498 - hm
09 358 6495 – wk |
| Treasurer | Ivan Findlay | 09 579 5647 – hm |
| Club Captain | Natalie Meek | 09 473 5353 – hm |
| Booking Officer | Dave Meek |
09 473 5353 – hm
021 635353 - mob |
| Committee Member | Kevin Frost | 09 292 4845 – hm |
| Committee Member | Ross Sutherland | 09 425 7217 - hm |
Grant McTavish
President.
Downhill Ski Club Incorporated.
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