'life begins' for the 'iconic' International Poma

The International Poma turned forty this year.

Mountain murmurs suggesting its closure might be imminent led to the formation of a Facebook group called International Poma - Falls Creek - Should Be National Heritage Listed!

Concerned that the 'Inter' hadn't yet started running and that it might disappear like the former Village T-Bar, the Facebook group (now with over 380 members) scheduled a rally for Saturday 25 July to demand that the ski lift start operating.

As it eventuated, the International Poma started running on the day before the scheduled rally and Falls Creek Ski Lifts heralded the ski lift as 'iconic' in their media release.

Some nice 'Inter' photos from the Facebook group here.

vacancies & snow alert

Vacancies due to cancellations
· Sunday 2 August to Thursday 6 August: five midweek nights (for the price of four) in Room 6 (standard room configuration).
· Sunday 23 August to Saturday 29 August: full week available in Room 15 (bunk room which sleeps five people).

Please contact Alan Long on (03) 9328 4491 or click here.

Snow alert
Natural snow depth is now 93cm. 17cm of fresh snow fell in the 24 hours ending Thursday morning. The International Poma is expected to open soon.

Update: The International Poma started turning today.

South Australians enjoying Falls Creek

South Australian AAC Falls Creek members and their guests having "a fantastic time" during South Australian school holidays.

ski patrol seeking new members

The Falls Creek Ski Patrol is seeking new members and will hold an information session for prospective trainees and volunteer ski patrollers next Saturday.

The 2009 Ski Test & Information Day will be held at the Alexander Warrender Memorial Ski Patrol Base (located at the top of the Monkey Bar Lift) at 10am on Saturday 18th July. People wishing to attend are asked to confirm by calling the Ski Patrol base on 03 5758 3502.

More details about the Falls Creek Ski Patrol's Ski Test and Information Day here.

More information about the Ski Patrol in Australia here.

another way to get airborne ...

Harry S, a junior member of AAC Falls Creek, riding an Avalanche board near the Helipad during the Victorian school holidays. Harry was sharpening his skills in the Snowboard Training Camp run by the Falls Creek Snowsports School [photo by 'Top Shots'].

e-mail elation

The e-mail sent to the AAC Falls Creek list in July had a zero failure rate for the first time, with no invalid e-mail addresses.

On-line in ‘09
E-mail and this weblog are replacing the three newsletters previously sent to AAC Falls Creek members each year. Members who aren't registered to receive e-mail may only receive the AGM reports and subscription invoices. If you don't have an e-mail address, you can nominate anyone to receive the e-mail to pass it on to you.

Updating your contact details
If you are already receiving e-mail from the Australian Alpine Club (AAC) and you wish to update your details, you can do so by clicking on 'UPDATE MY DETAILS' in the e-mail footer.

Why your mobile telephone number is important
If an e-mail sent to you ‘bounces’ because your e-mail address is no longer valid, the system will automatically send an SMS text message to your mobile telephone reminding you to register a new e-mail address (your invalid e-mail address will also be manually deleted). On very rare occasions we might also use the system to send you an SMS text message alerting you to special offers.

Just once, please
Please note that in order to avoid multiple messaging, e-mail addresses and mobile telephone numbers have to be unique and can only be entered once.

Who can register
Anyone who wants to receive AAC e-mail, including members, prospective members and anybody else interested in receiving information about the AAC and any or all of its member lodge projects can self-register their details. They are able to register e-mail, mobile telephone number and other contact details for the e-mail system directly through the link on the www.australianalpineclub.com home page.

If you know of people who you think should be receiving these e-mails that aren't, please encourage them to register their details. Please remember that it is an open communication mechanism, not the membership database, so if your postal address or other details change you will need to advise the club directly.

another glorious day @ Falls Creek

so you think you can cook?

Iron Chefs battle it out over breakfast at the lodge this morning. Theme today: Eggs Benedict.

Falls Creek to Hotham, airborne

school holidays @ Falls Creek

Decent snowfalls over the past week have meant that all the chair lifts are now turning, Ruined Castle and Scott started operating at the weekend and the Summit opened today. The International and Lakeside drag lifts are still waiting for just a bit more snow.

snow time

After a 'character-building' start to the week, with fog, rain and strong winds that resulted in wind-hold conditions for the lifts on Tuesday, the winter snow has finally arrived.

Falls Creek reported snowfalls of 28cm on Wednesday (the heaviest recorded in the Australian alps) with a further 24cm on Thursday. More snowfalls, albeit lighter, are forecast today and Saturday.

The Eagle chairlift has now begun turning and all the home trails are now open, relieving the need for travel on the Village Shuttle. Lifts yet to begin operating are International, Lakeside, Ruined Castle, Scott and Summit.

Update: Ruined Castle and Scott expected to open at the weekend.