It was a spectacular morning at Mt Field National Park on Sunday, with the first fresh snow for the season.
Snow at sunrise
The Jeep trail had about 5 cm of fresh new snow, but this did not deter our hardy band of STSA volunteers who had come to complete final preparations for the coming ski season at the Mount Mawson Ski Field. A new sheet of laserlite was transported up the mountain for installation on the Mawson Tow Hut, although it was an easy decision to agree that conditions were not suitable for removing roof panels on this occasion!
Jeep Trail to Mt Mawson Ski Field 19 April 2015
George Brettingham-Moore, Tim Metcalf, Adrian Brettingham Moore, Liz Koolhof and Ambrose Canning ready for action
George, Tim and Ambrose spent the day conducting test runs of the tow motors, and checking electrical circuits. George and Ambrose walked out to Tarn Shelf in the snow to get the Rodway Tow started and checked – ready for that big dump of snow we are all looking forward to! With Adrian’s help they also installed a small solar panel on the belt issue hut for charging a reserve battery. Liz spent the day checking first aid supplies and cleaning equipment in the Ski Patrol Container.
Peter and Karen Davis and Adrian repaired two snow fence panels halfway up the Mawson run. These panels had tipped down the slope and it was very impressive watching Adrian winch them back into a tidy vertical position prior to attaching additional bracing and new slats.
Adrian tackles Mawson snow fence repair
It was clear that the new snow fence panels that STSA volunteers have built over the past two summers are working well to capture snow on the Mawson run. Let’s hope that this winter sees some repeated snow falls so that we have good cover for the benefit of all the winter visitors to the Mount Mawson Ski Field.
Once again a big thank you to the volunteers who braved cold snowy conditions to ensure the Mount Mawson Ski Field is ready for operation this winter season.
