Downhill Ski Club
Downhill News
| Downhill Ski Club Inc. P O Box 1741 Shortland St Auckland 1015 |
 |
| Ruapehu | 0-7-892 3843 |
| National Park | 0-7-892 2601 |
| fitz@iol.co.nz | |
| Web Page | www.iol.co.nz/dsc/ |
August 2002
Top to bottom skiing
It's all go for both sides of Ruapehu. Early to mid June it looked like it would be a slow start to the season. The open date for Whakapapa was put back a week. Then it snowed and snowed. By early July there was more snow than at any time last season. The last significant snow was July 9th but some snow is falling now so the top to bottom skiing will continue.
The new chairlift in Happy Valley was delayed because of all the snow and didn't operate until the last day of the school holidays.
Newsletters by email
These have been received well. The newsletters are simply printed by members on their own printers. Only half the usual number of newsletters actually go in the post now. If you are not getting an email saying the newsletter is available then you are not on the club email list. To join the list see the new page on lists at www.iol.co.nz/dsc/lists.htm. If you are on the list but still get a newsletter in the mail it is because we don't have your email address in the club's database to match against. Email your address to Ivan Findlay.
Bookings
Bookings have been good since the snow arrived. The weekend of Aug 3rd had National Park lodge over full with people sleeping in the lounge and another 7 staying in the mountain lodge.National Park lodge is almost full on August 16th and is fully booked August 30/31, there is plenty of room on the mountain though. Space is also running out for the Mid winter Christmas and race weekend.
Cook
We have a cook for the Mountain lodge. Her name is Fiona and she will work from August 10th to October 6th. That's 8 weeks ending at the end of the school holidays.
Please use the mountain lodge as much as possible, especially mid week. New members will find it's worth the effort.
Snow Show Cancelled
Due to a lack of participants the snow show was cancelled.
Improvements
At the last work party the snow came. It was a big storm that loaded the cables on lifts with ice damaging them. The Knoll Ridge T bar and Far West T bar were only fixed in late July, the National chair still not working but should be running on August 10th. Because of this we could not use the National chair or even get vehicles to the platform with the firewood.
The bathrooms and hall have been painted. The new mattresses are installed. The carpet was laid on August 5th. Ross has done a great job replacing the squeaky metal bunks with wooden ones. He has made some shorter beds(cots) for children or luggage giving another 5 beds. Jim Crooks gave us beanies with club logos on - Thanks Jim.
Eivin's Café Fire
Building has started on a new Lockwood building. An electrical storm on 30/31 October last year started a fire at Eivin's Café. The building burnt to the ground.
Mid Winter Christmas
This annual event is set down for August 24th. A later date was set in case of a lack of snow. A July date would have worked well as there was heaps of snow however with an August date we have the services of a cook. Bring your Santa hats etc for a great time.
Parking Overnight
You should know there are designated overnight car parks around the loop road. Some areas are small and not obvious. Others that look OK to use are not because they are needed for clearing snow from the road and other car parks. There is now a map you can print from the Internet at overnight.htm. Print a copy and leave it in your glove box!
Calendar of Events
| Date | Event |
| August 10 | Cook starts |
| August 24 | Mid winter Christmas party |
| September 7 | Club Races |
| September 20 | 3rd school Term ends |
| October 6 | Cook and hols end |
Mike Fitzmaurice
Club Captain.