Countdown to winter …

Work Party #3 is next weekend (June 4-6)

Despite having ticked off the majority of tasks on his list at Work Parties #1 and #2, Wal Sheehan would still love to see you at Work Party #3 next weekend commencing from the evening of Friday, June 4.

The focus of activity will be on ensuring the Lodge is ready for the season and especially that all COVID requirements, such as removing bedding from rooms, are met.

Please let Wal know on 0417 046 921 or maintenance@gunumalodge.com.au if you intend to join him.

Be prepared for COVID changes at the Lodge

Following up from the email earlier this week, before your stay at Gunuma please make yourself and your family/guests familiar with the COVID Safe Plan – Winter 2021.

Remember to bring all your bedding (pillows, sheets and blankets) and tea towels.

Additional chores will be included in Room Chores. These will be on the back of your room door as usual. The Winter House Manager (WHM) will explain details if needed. A sign-off sheet is required and monitoring of chore completion will be undertaken more frequently than in the past.

Perisher lift tickets

Perisher continue to release tickets on a week by week basis, with current availability up until 12 July (link to Perisher shop-ticket calendar). Also please note that if you are intending to purchase a season pass, these will no longer be available after 15 June.

Junior ski sponsorship applications open now until Friday, June 11

To encourage the development of snow sports skills, the Junior Development Program offers funding of $150 for up to 10 junior Gunuma members. Juniors may use this money for interschool races, interclub races, or for the junior development programs offered by Perisher.

Results of the program and juniors’ stories will be shared in the Gunuma Newsletter on the website.

The funding is limited to $150 per family. The cost to Gunuma Lodge is capped at $1500 for 2021 and will be assessed annually.  The application form with instructions on how to submit is available here.

Booking process feedback from Renae (GAO)

Dear Members,

Bookings went well this year.

There were are a few issues identified with the tariffs in Round 4. These have been referred to the developer to be fixed and the member bookings corrected.  We are continually monitoring and testing the system. If you think there is a problem, please refer it to me as soon as possible.

I would like to thank all of the members who contacted me for ‘help’ or amendments to bookings, every one has been really helpful and understanding. Most members know the rules and those that are unsure have asked. 

The lodge is 90% booked for the high season.  Of a possible 2880 beds on offer from 25 June – 5 September 2021 – 2597 beds are booked. As of 26 May:

  • The week June 25-30 is 90% booked
  • The month of July is 88% booked
  • The month of August is 95% booked
  • School Holidays are 95% booked

Best wishes for a great season,

Renae (admin@gunumalodge.com.au or 0488 414 442)

Save the date: Smiggins Bowl, September 18

One of the season highlights is back this year with the opportunity to reign supreme over other ski lodges located in Smiggins!

Contact Vanessa Palmer, email: environment@gunumalodge.com.au if you are interested in participating in a range of events on behalf of the Lodge. Whatever happens, races are hotly contested with entrants in onesies, tutus and various states of undress not uncommon on course.

It is a wonderful way to meet fellow Lodge members, a chance to have a go on a real race course, and celebrate/commiserate into the night at the Smiggins Pub after the Awards Ceremony.

New members

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome the “new” (including transfers) Gunuma Lodge members who have joined since the end of last ski season (October 2020):

  • Tania Wearing
  • Clare Giugni
  • Alena Fallon
  • Cameron Hardy
  • Lynette Drake
  • Nicholas Haines
  • Philippa Kim
  • Justin Harvey

Wishing you many years of enjoyment and memory making as part of the Gunuma family!

Gunuma Committee in action

The Gunuma Lodge Committee meets once a month, except during August when everyone should be on the snow.

Before COVID turned us all into Zoom and Teams experts, the Committee had members based beyond Canberra and hybrid meetings were conducted.

The current committee, pictured except for Rachel Hemsworth, our long-standing and hard-working Secretary, includes five Canberra-based people, two in Queensland and three scattered around NSW.

Please don’t let distance be a barrier to nominating to join when all positions become vacant prior to the AGM in December each year.

SLOPES

SLOPES News

30th Anniversary of Formation

SLOPES was formed in 1991 when the owners of Perisher had nearly convinced the Government of the day to give them a head lease over all the Clubs and commercial operators in the Perisher area.  Almost all Clubs at that time had leases that expired between 1996 and 2002. A group of Clubs, headed by John Grinham, challenged this approach and set up a new body which became known as SLOPES.  The group quickly attained 100% membership of all the 88 Ski Clubs in the area. 

The Committee made representations to all members of the NSW Parliament and a Parliamentary Select Environment Committee and finally, the Government came down in favour of issuing new leases to all Clubs and some commercial operators.  SLOPES represented the Clubs in the negotiations and in 1996, 88 new Club leases were issued with an extended expiry date of 2025.

Many of the same issues continue to be faced including a satisfactory resolution of the governance of the Perisher Range Resorts and cost increases. The SLOPES legal position is clear with all but 2 of the 88 Clubs having accepted leases expiring in 2025 with options out to 2058 (depending on the individual Club decisions made in the past on this option point).  

Perisher Historical Society

The PHS has a new website (click above link) and a change of President from Philip Woodman to Ashley Blondel. 
The annual dinner is yet another victim of COVID-19 and has been cancelled for 2021.

Climate Change

SLOPES have continued to update Clubs on the issue of the dieback of snowgums in the Kosciuszko National Park. They have brought attention to an article published by The New York Times on 18 May 2021 titled: What to Save? Climate Change Forces Brutal Choices at National Parks (read here).  It comments:
Late last month the [USA National Parks] Service published an 80-page document that lays out new guidance for park managers in the era of climate change.  The document, along with two peer-reviewed papers, is essentially a tool kit for the new world. It aims to help park ecologists and managers confront the fact that, increasingly, they must now actively choose what to save, what to shepherd through radical environmental transformation and what will vanish forever.