Saturday April 20th was a stunning Tasmanian Autumn day, warm, sunny and calm. Lots of people decided it was a perfect day to spend at Mt Field National Park and before long the Lake Dobson carpark was filled to overflowing.

Spectacular day at Lake Fenton

Fagus at Lake Fenton, 20th April 2024

Lake Dobson Carpark 20th April 2024

It was also a perfect day for the Southern Tasmanian Ski Association (STSA) to conduct its April working bee at Mt Mawson Ski Field, and there was an excellent turn out of volunteers. The day started with a briefing from Craig Larsson on the wide range of tasks to be tackled, and soon groups were dispersed across the ski field busily undertaking improvements and repairs.

Craig briefs the team on the day’s tasks

One of the biggest tasks was tackling a section of the University run snow fence which had been damaged in severe wind conditions. At least one panel had been completely destroyed, and several panels had shifted forward so far that they were now under the tow rope! A coordinated team lift saw the fence put back in line, and then Rod Stolorz organised teams to tackle the repairs.

Alex and Robbie Hunt bring new materials up for the repairs

Stephen Webber and Ian Stewart construct a new tripod on a section of old fence

L to R: Karen Davis, Maureen Eadie, Rod Stolorz and Annette Levis

Bridging the gap – Stephen Webber in Action.

Alex and Robbie make sure that this section of snow fence will not blow away.

Meanwhile Kim Burges Watson tackled the difficult task of waterproofing a hole in the Mawson Tow Hut roof where an old exhaust pipe had passed through, and Craig Larsson and Rudy Kloser continued maintenance and safety improvements in the University Tow hut, including an installation of a new fence around the tow motor. Annette Levis conducted a training session on the Square Point of Sale terminal in the ticket office, and Paul Vince re-certified three ski patrollers for the coming season.

Ski Patroller Simon Allen with one of the akja rescue sleds

There was even time to drop the ropes down and test run the ski tows!

Overall it was a very enjoyable and productive day on the mountain – and a big thanks to all  the volunteers who came up and helped. Mt Mawson is a very rare example of a purely volunteer-run community ski field, and a great Tasmanian institution. Now we just need some snow to make all the work worthwhile!

The next scheduled activity is Tow Manager and Ticket Office training – to be conducted on Saturday May 25th 2024.