The weather forecast for today’s working bee at Mt Mawson Ski Field was not great, with showers and thunderstorms developing from mid morning, but this did not deter an enthusiastic group of 15 volunteers turning up to continue work on the Tas Community Fund snow fence project. The team quickly got into action transporting timber sleepers, beams and slats up to the worksite, before Craig Larsson, Peter and Karen Davis started the assembly of a new snow fence bay.

The clouds got darker and darker, and before long steady drizzling rain had commenced, but the volunteers pushed on. Annette Levis, Maureen Eadie and Karen Davis did a sterling job slatting one and a half bays of new snowfence, while a team of volunteers removed the remnants of old snow fence panels off the mountain. It is great to see a clean, modern line of new snow fences on the Mawson to Uni traverse, with no unsightly old remnant fences spoiling the view.

Karen Davis, Maureen Eadie and Annette Levis work on slatting a new snow fence panel.

New fences looking good

A huge effort was put in by Matt Davis, Rod Stolorz, Owen Summers, Stefan Vogel and Matt Levis to transport sleepers up to the top of the Mawson run where an old hardwood snow fence was in very poor condition. They also brought all the old broken hardwood down off the mountain – thanks guys! The plan will be to use the sleepers to frame up a couple of new bays where the old hardwood snow fence was located, which will hopefully collect snow to allow a great ski run down the South Eastern side of Mawson to the old belt issue hut.

Old hardwood snow fence destined for the tip

Matt Levis, Stefan Vogel, Owen Summers and Matt Davis with sleeper frames carried up the hill

Racked (and rocked!) ready for the next working bee

By about two o’clock the cold front had arrived in earnest, with heavy rain and driving wind, so the team retreated to the ticket office for a well earned lunch and hot chocolate drinks. Another excellent day of achievement at Mt Mawson Ski Field, almost completing the planned summer work supported by the Tasmanian Community Fund.

Thanks to all who turned out to help with improving the Mt Mawson Ski Field in preparation for the coming winter season, and also helping to make the ski field more resilient to climate change.

The next STSA Summer Working Bee is scheduled for 18-19 March 2023.