Saturday 26th February dawned fine and sunny at Mt Mawson Ski Field – perfect weather for another day of productive working bee activity (and a nice escape from the East Coast drizzle). STSA Committee Members Craig Larsson, Ambrose Canning and Paul Vince were joined by a team of enthusiastic volunteers including Rod Stolorz, Michael Potter, Tim Metcalf, Tim Whelan and George Brettingham-Moore.
As always there was plenty of maintenance to do on the ski tows. On this occasion the volunteers managed to make progress on all four tows on the one day!
Over at Rodway the main tensioning winch was repaired, and painting of the tow hut barge board completed. At Uni tow the broken wire aligning the bull wheel at the top of the tow was repaired, and on Mawson tow work continued on rock tidying and snow fence repairs. Another load of excess ski tow material was removed from the mountain.
Perhaps the most visible changes, however related to the Beginners Tow. This is an important tow for learners visiting the Mt Mawson Ski Field, as it is located on a separate, flatter area, and runs more slowly for skiers and boarders who are less confident. It is much better to be able to try out your new skills on the beginners tow, rather than tackling the speed of the Mawson rope tow first up!
Unfortunately the original beginners tow has been out of action for a number of years, pending replacement with a more modern version. Ideally STSA needs to receive a grant or sponsorship to allow the replacement to proceed, but in the meantime the beginners tow is in the category “Awaiting funds for refurbishment”. Accordingly at this working bee some general tidying up of Beginners Tow was undertaken, including the removal of the top pulley assembly away from the ski track down from Uni Tow.
Beginners Tow top pulley assembly – Feb 2022.
Beginners Tow Top Pulley location – after tidying up!
Once again everyone had a great day on the hill, and continued the preparations for the coming ski season. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped out. Information on the next working bee, and pre-season tow manager training will be published on this website – or sign up to receive updates direct to your inbox.
STSA Working Bee attendees enjoy a well earned break 26 Feb 2022
