Media Lounge

End of Season Wrap Up - FINLAY NEESON - NZ SKI TEAM & SMC's highest profile ski racer!!

This year I was based at Treble Cone Race Academy with Head Coach Guenther Birgmann, as a member of the NZ Mens Alpine Ski Racing Team, representing Stratford Mountain Club in my races.

The early season training was of huge benefit in my 2011 winter. As the technical changes I made progressed into the Wanaka Race series I scored my personal best
FIS result against a high level field.
The Winter Games was the largest race on the calendar and many commented that it was world cup event, inviting top overseas athletes to compete in their off season in the Northern Hemisphere. I started 95th from a starting list of 120 and narrowly missed out on the top 60 making the second run.
National Champs Giant Slalom had some highs and lows with not being able to put two consistent top runs together to take out the honours. Slalom was unfortunate as after putting in a very strong first run to be in contention for the title, both ski bindings released half way down the course on the second run.

Overall this NZ winter I have improved my FIS ranking and made some important technical changes to ready myself for the Northern Hemisphere race and training season. I have raced and trained next to world class athletes and am looking forward to carrying on aiming for the World Cup stage.

I have now packed my bags and head to the USA where I will be based in Colorado until mid December. I will be coached again by Guenther Birgmann and skiing with the Sugar Bowl Ski Academy in Tahoe from December until my return in mid April 2012.

Unfortunately because of my late arrival home from the South Island and due to the weather not always behaving I missed out on some great skiing up on Egmont. Fingers crossed I have the opportunity next year and hopefully get to have a ski with the up and coming racers.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mike Hareb and Ton Deken for always having a job available between the ski seasons at Hareb Deken Motors!! It has been a huge help with finding funds to get me to the next ski season.
Thanks also to Rampage Fitness and Fiona and Alan Ross, who support with gym membership and Anita Walsh, New Plymouth Physiotherapy, with injury recovery (which thankfully has not been as high as previous years!)

Cheers
Finlay
NZ National Mens Team
Alpine Ski Racing

The powder and the glory on Mt Taranaki
By LEIGHTON KEITH The Daily News, Wednesday 27 July 2011

FRESH POWDER: Lauren Luque, 16, prepares to eat some snow while enjoying the conditions at the Manganui skifield yesterday despite no lifts working. ANDY JACKSON Taranaki Daily News

Too much snow proved to be a bad thing for skiers and snowboarders heading to Mt Taranaki's Manganui skifield yesterday. A heavy snow dump on Monday cut power to the skifield, Stratford Mountain House and two properties in the National Park. A lack of operating lifts did not stop about 50 enthusiasts who made the half an hour trek, from the top car park, to the skifield regardless. Snowboarder Francois Husillos then hiked a further hour and a half to the top tower to enjoy a couple of minutes' fun snowboarding down in the fresh powder.
"It was awesome. It was pure fun. It was definitely worth it," he said after arriving at the bottom. Locals called the practice, "earning your turns".
Stratford Mountain Club safety services co-ordinator Bernhard Freinademetz said sometimes life was not always fair to skiers. "That's how it goes when there is no power," Mr Freinademetz said. There had been quite a few keen people hiking up the mountain to ride down, he said. "They're enjoying it and making the best of the snow that's there." Mr Freinademetz said the club hoped to have the lifts going as soon as possible.
Boogie-boards, sheets of polyethylene and real estate signs were other popular vehicles for riding the piste. Eli Humphrey, 20, said he was having a great time. "It's pretty good powder. I usually try to get up once a season with a for sale sign," he said. Mr Humphrey said it was "pretty harsh on the hands" as he didn't have any gloves.
Heavy snow still covered paddocks from the SH3 turn-off to the mountain with only four-wheel-drive vehicles or those fitted with chains allowed to use the road from the entrance to the National Park. Crowds of sight-seers still flocked to the mountain to enjoy the wintry conditions.
Mountain House manager Lynne Pulford said the power had gone out about 2.45am on Monday. Mrs Pulford said they were using a generator to keep the kitchen, restaurant and four accommodation rooms going. "The other six rooms have got no power. It was a busy week as well, with the school holidays, we've had to cancel people out," she said. "It's been a pretty stressful 24 hours. It is just beautiful and it's just a shame that we haven't been able to get people up here."
Powerco Network Operations Manager Phil Marsh said the heavy snow had caused trees to sag into 11,000 volt lines. Mr Marsh said tree trimmers were clearing the problem and he expected power to be restored by last night.

No Snow, No Skiers
By Rose Cawley The Daily News, Saturday 02 July 2011

Taranaki snow lovers will have to wait longer than most before they can hit the slopes.
Yesterday, the vital component – snow – was missing from the lower T-bar at Mt Taranaki's Manganui skifield.
While the higher top tow had decent snow cover, lower areas were predominantly tussock and water.
Last year the ski season kicked off in early June and in 2009 the season was remarkably early, with skiers hitting the slopes in May.
But this year, the warmest May and June on record have resulted in snowless skifields.
Stratford Mountain Club president Kevin Rowlands said, like every year, people had been optimistic the season would be early.
"But they are just patiently waiting now. It's not like you can do anything about it. That is just the way it goes. It depends on the old weather patterns. There is no real trend – one season can be dry and then a couple of years down the track you get a great season."
Mr Rowlands said club members were keeping their fingers crossed snow would come soon and the field could open.
"We don't tend to get good snow till after the shortest day, which has just been. There is a big storm coming through next week, so hopefully that will bring us what we need."
Before Manganui skifield could open, 100 millimetres of snow was needed. That amount would ensure enough coverage to protect the grasslands, he said.
"There is snow there. We just need more, but when it comes we are all ready to go."
Mr Rowlands said the snow on the top tow had allowed some club members to have a "successful test run last week".
The mild winter has left other skifields floundering, with Queenstown's seasonal skifield workers left out of pocket and dependent on food handouts from employers. However, a recent cold snap had enabled fields around the country to open, with Coronet Peak, Mt Hutt and Turoa kicking off in the last few days.
The outlook for the ski season is not set to improve, with forecasters predicting temperatures for late winter – July to September – to be above average in the central North Island and Wellington regions.
Tramper Greg Mills said he had wandered past the empty skifield several times this winter and recently noticed a difference in the amount of snow dusting the lower areas, which he hoped would be a good sign for skiers. He said the plus side to less snow on the lower parts of Mt Taranaki was "it is not as icy on the ground, so you can still do a lot of the walks that are not recommended in winter".

Flurry of track work before winter sets in
By Jo Muir The Daily News Saturday, 28 May 2011

Mountain maintenance is in full swing in preparation for the wintry months ahead.
Department of Conservation programme manager Dave Rogers said the last stage of three projects being completed before the end of the financial year are under way on Mt Taranaki.
"There has been some erosion on the Manganui gorge track and a bit of excavation work is being done round the entrance tunnel."
Over the next few days, department staff will widen the track along the last 20 metres at the head of the gorge.
"The path has fallen away and there has been some subsidence so we are benching back into the bank to create more space."
He said contractors completing extraction work near the tunnel dug too deep and consequently a pedestrian counter is also being replaced. Other ongoing track development on the mountain is around Wilkies Pools.
Once the weather clears, the department has a new contract to complete the next stage leading to the popular tourist attraction.
"We're going to take the jack-mat that has already been put down on part of the track and continue it right up to the pool, staying on the south side so you don't have to cross over the rocks anymore."
The third project under way, also weather dependent, is structure replacements on the Kaiauai track. "The track is part of the Pouakai circuit and in the next couple of weeks we'll fly in and install bridges and ladders to complete the work," he said.

Skiing at New Zealand’s unique club fields is a growing business,  keen clubber Ady Shannon discovers.

Ski and alpine clubs have been around for a long time.
Established by hardy and tenacious individuals who shared a love of the mountains and a keen sense of pioneering spirit, many of those early alpine clubs have grown and evolved to own and operate on-field accommodation lodges. And some clubs manage a skifield operation as well as accommodation.
In exchange for their input, club members receive discounted accommodation rates, reduced or free ski passes and the companionship of others who share a common interest. But it is not only members who are drawn to ski the club fields; challenging terrain, amazing powder runs, uncrowded slopes and lift rates as much as half those of commercial fields are just some of the perks offered by the club fields.
Club fields are a special New Zealand phenomenon. There are more club fields in the South Island than the North, but many people belong to ski clubs that exist alongside commercial fields: on Mt Ruapehu, 47 lodges are owned and operated by alpine clubs.
Most offer shared facilities, congenial communal living and a relaxed and rustic atmosphere, and there is an expectation that guests will contribute to their keep. The skifields have a rare novelty value and appeal. Although day trippers do not have to volunteer to help out, the atmosphere is as laid-back and inclusive as in the lodges.
In the North Island, some ski clubs are enjoying growing memberships.
Clare Nixon, president of Aorangi Ski and Board Club, suggests the self-help lodge atmosphere is part of the appeal. Aorangi Club owns three lodges at Tukino, Ohakune and Iwikau and its members contribute to operations at Tukino club field, a small field accessed from the Desert Road. "A big day at Tukino is when you don't know the names of everybody on the field," laughs Nixon.
Aorangi started in Wellington but its 600-plus members come from all over the North Island.
"At the moment we have lots of families. They are attracted by the atmosphere. Kids ski in a flock; parents get the extra freedom and the kids learn to be more self-reliant. There are DVDs and laptops but generally no TV, so kids play board games and cards, while parents talk. It's a healthy atmosphere."

It was early May when Jenni and Brooke Fletcher headed up to Manganui Ski Area laden with supplies and gear in preparation for the opening of the field on May 12. Jenni makes soup, staffs the canteen, sells passes and does ski patrol.
Brooke spends his time outdoors, getting the tows running, mending broken equipment, operating the groomer and troubleshooting. In between, if time permits, they ski. Jenni puts a sign on the canteen: "Come Back Later; I've Gone Skiing".
The Fletchers joined Stratford Mountain Club in 1990. Living in Taranaki with three young children, they were attracted by the Manganui Ski Area on the flanks of Mt Taranaki, owned and managed by the club. Twenty years on, the Fletchers are still heavily committed.

My first experience of skiing a club field was at Mt Olympus almost 20 years ago. I had heard about the benefits of ski club membership and the appeal of club fields: friendships forged in the lodge and on the snow, the challenge of hard-out days skiing untracked powder, and the relaxed ambience of the on-field lodge where snow enthusiasts come together to board, ski and party in amazing alpine environments.
As a novice skier, I was keen for a week in the mountains but less enthusiastic about the prospect of using rope tows and the ubiquitous nutcracker. Access was a ride up a gnarly goat track, several of us "ski weekers" wedged into the back of a Land Rover. I was given a leather glove protector, a device for flipping over the rope and gripping (a nutcracker) and pointed towards a rope tow that snaked up a slope towards the lodge on a ridge. I was advised to "hold tight, keep your skis straight and maintain a line close to the natural run of the rope". Stay close, heck. I sideswiped every steel pulley and got blue bruises on my hip that took weeks to fade.
Our all-inclusive package included full board, tow fees and daily lessons. For seven days we skied perfect powder and at night after dinner, those too tired to party retired while in the lounge, cards, board games and dice were rolled out.
Like all clubs, Mt Olympus has survived dismal seasons and financial highs and lows. The club now has about 450 members and club captain Thomas Stephens says work parties this year have been well supported.
In a commercial world, poor seasons can ruin a skifield operator, yet ski clubs have weathered storms, avalanches, lodge fires and too much and too little snow, and continue to operate. Revenue from daytrippers makes a contribution to the bottom line, but ski clubs depend on their members to do much of the spadework involved in their upkeep and survival. Given the choice of leisure activities these days and the demands on time, ski clubs are having to endure more than adverse effects of nature to survive.
Club stalwart Anton Coberger says it is increasingly difficult to find people with the skills and practical knowledge to volunteer their time but "maintaining a stream of capable volunteers" will alleviate what he considers to be the biggest threat to the survival of club fields. Coberger's daughter, Annelise, was the first person from the southern hemisphere to win a medal at the Winter Olympics - a silver in slalom at Albertville, France, in 1992. He has skied all over the world and rates New Zealand's club fields as "unique in the whole world of skiing".
"They exist in a parallel universe. Cost is not the only reason people belong; savings compensate for the extra time, effort and energy to get there. It's a rather Kiwi ethos; practical people using skills to maintain their skifields."
A good season helps ease the financial pressure on clubs' resources and allows for redevelopment and capital expenditure, but member numbers do not appear to be adversely affected by poor snow conditions. Member loyalty transcends fickle weather patterns.
Nick Jarman has overseen the operation at Craigieburn Valley for more than 20 seasons and believes a change in the way people manage their time has affected club numbers.
"Time is precious and people's ability to put aside time for recreational pursuits has diminished. They are more picky now. Information is readily available; they get up, trawl the internet and make a decision based on different mediums. They want to make sure they enjoy their recreation time."
Like Coberger, Jarman has a sneaking suspicion that a lack of Kiwi ingenuity and know-how could be the biggest threat to ski clubs. "If I need help with my computer, nine out of 10 people offer to help me. But if I say 'here's a post rammer, I need help', people just look at me."
Regardless of the motivation - a love of deep untracked powder, an aversion to crowds or a desire for new adventure or a recession-proof winter option - club fields offer a cheap and very cheerful high- altitude experience. And given the commitment of members, it seems likely the club culture will continue to thrive in the lodges and snow-filled basins of New Zealand's high country.

THE CLASSICS

NORTH ISLAND
Tukino
Manganui

SOUTH ISLAND
Rainbow
Amuri (Hanmer  Springs)
Mt Olympus
Craigieburn
Mt Cheeseman
Broken River
Temple Basin
Fox Peak
Awakino

CHILLING IN CLUBLAND

Stuart Waddel is adamant there is a great future for ski clubs and especially club fields,  and he is staking his livelihood on it. Waddel is co-founder and owner of Chill, a business  selling multimountain passes to many of the South Island's ski areas.
"Club fields are all  about experiencing something alternative and new; they are more about finding a lifestyle  and enjoyment of outdoors rather than just saving money."
In 1998 when Chill was launched, four of the five mountains on the pass were club fields.  This year the pass includes 12 fields, seven of them owned and operated by clubs. Waddel's  concept has had a significant impact on patronage of club fields and, in many cases,  generated new memberships.
"Lots of people have purchased Chill passes, found they like  to ski the club fields, and have then chosen to join. Club fields break down barriers. The  terrain and enthusiasm is inclusive, not exclusive."

* The writer is a member of Porter Heights Ski Club and is still working on her skiing technique.

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