220 HARTZ MOUNTA I NS OP TASMANIA 221 August and poor s now frust ratcd any club gathcrlngs; keen in­ terest. hOwever, Is being m a in tain ed and the elub looks forward T asmanian Notes, 1932 to an active winter in 1933. I n June some heavy falls o f snow on t he Black BlutT (4.400 feet ) a roused consldemble interest. at Ulverstone on the North Uy G . T . F . C hapman. Coast and a local club was commenced; t he scason. howe vcr, was disapPointing, very poor snow mther clamping the progress The outst:mding achievement of 1932 was the organisation that an enthusiastic start promised . However, as good snow of the States' skl-ing interests and the formation of the T as­ country Is reported to be generally a vailable at "The Cradic" manian Ski Council. As with all oth er projects, unity of action fMountaln}, If not always at Black Bluff. it Is sincerely h opcd and purpose a re essenUals to success. and It Is a pleasure 1.0 re­ that the movement will be revived this winter. The Black Bluff cord the formatloll o f the Council. The Council represents the Is some 32 m iles by road from Ul verstonc, th e road running well o rganised skl-Ing bod ies of Tasma nia a n d will, like the N.S.\\'. u p t h e mountain. In connection with new formatio ns, interest Council, function as the governing body so Car as SLaLe and is bei n g taken in the proposal to fo rm a University ski-ing club inter-Stat.e affairs al'e concerned. The Council will not have which. If successful. would pave the way to Inter-'Varsity meet­ any control over the internal affairs of t he constituent clubs, ings. who will continue to manage all their domestic a ff airs. The Council will. however. appoint delegates to the A.N.S.F. a nd give From the foregoing remarks It will be seen that the gen eral effect to Its rullngs. interest in the spor t Is growing st eadlly. Rapid progl' ess Is dim­ cult, as the facilities for transport and accommodation are POOl' T he clubs comprising the Council are, a~ presen t, the Ski and the Government of the day persistently refuses to see the Club of Tasmania . the N O I' ~he l'n Tasmania n Alpine Club and State-wide benellts that would flow from opening up the good t h e Hobart Ski Club, Provision has been made for the inclusion snow cOl,mtry with proper roads a nd accomm odation. of oth er clubs as circumstances dictate. To facilitate the quicker working of the Council, the State h as been divided into two a reas, north and south of a line between Ross and Tunbridge, each area appointin g l h ree delegates to t he Council. Again, to The H art z Mountains of Tasmania obviate delays In waiting for meetings. provlsloll Is made for Lhe bulk of the business to be conducted by mall. something after the manner e mployed by the A.N.S.F. 8 y G, T. 1". Ch a JIIll u n. The delegates Lo the Council for 1933 are: NOI'UI: F. Smithies. A slight da l'kenlng o f the bl'lght spring sunligh t. a chilliness H. G. Hull ane! W. F. Mitcll ell. Sout.h : H. R. Hutchison. V. C. as a ligh t cloud pal·tla]]y obscured the sun. brought us baek to Smith. and G. T . F. Chapman (secretary) . the pU I'pose or our trip and. with a little Involuntary shiver, my compnnlon buttoned up his shirt. collar. T looked at my watcll : During the 1932 season t he Ski Club of Tasmania and t he "Arter eleven; time we got down," II was time. but we both Northern Tasmanian Alpine Club have been act.lve, and many c~mtJnueci to gaze a t the skyline of blue and purple peaks and ski trips were made to various parts of the St.ate. The North ern rldgcs. mantled in gleaming snow, " Picton runs a long way Club is aL')o to be particularly congratulated lIpon Its energy and south." "Yes:' I replied mechanically, fol' I was speculating perseverance in building the first unit of Its Chalet on Ben on the ski-Ing possibilities of Mt. Weld. the difficulty of travers­ Lomond at an altitude of 4,000 feet , despite considerable diffi­ in g his densely wooded slopes and whether t h e snow would be c ulties in the way of finishing t h e work during the early winter. worth :\11 expedition. "It's getting cold and starting to haze over: let's go," With tha t. we pulled our rucksack cords tight Owing to very bad weather conditions and other ci rcum­ and gave a final gla nce at the Soulh-Westel'll Ranges. "Stlll s tances the Northcrn Club Championships could not be held on fo ur. thrce hundred:' I r emarked, retul'lling the aneroid to Its t h e week-end arranged fo r them. and the r unners who took part case. "That's preLty accurate." my friend comment.ed and then in the scratch downhill event arc a ll to be complimented on wc scrambled down some three hundred feet of loose. broken covering the unmer ciful course in order to give th e spectators roek to the topm ost Long'ue of a snow drift, where our ski awalt.ed t h ei r Roman holiday. liS likc expccLant dogs impatient on their master's ret.urn. Late In thc season a new club, the Hoban Ski Club. was We had just climbed MOUllt Hartz and below u s. some foUl' fonned, with a view to catering more particularly for Hobart thousand t.hree hundred feet. down, the s lumbering Huon, with its people who frequent Mount Wellington (4,166 ft.1. The moun­ orchards a nd h omesteads. lay basking and dl'eaming in the wal'nl tain is very close to the city and day t rips are easily made dur­ Se~te m ber su n. T he roofs of G eeveston werc plainly to be seen, ing a good winter, when ski -ing is available for several months whllc, further to the somh. the widc sweep of the Southern on end . Unfortunately t.h e H.S.C. was not organised until Ocean's horizon faded away into a hazy sky. Yesterday we had 222 TIn: AUSTR AI.IA N AND NEW ZEALAN D SKI YEAR BOOK . HARTZ MOUNTAI NS OF' TASMANIA, 223 lunched In Hobart. nnd after a. pleasant fony-mlle r un we had o r the blown-over snow from Mi. Hart.z and In its shady a nd parked our car in nn old mill at Sout.h Creck, the road t.ermlnus sheltered keeping it accumulated from fall to rall until the late and t he star ting point. or the nine-mile pack -Ll'nck to t he Hartz spring. Although t here ha d not been a faU for t.wo weeks and Hut. Here, on lhe top of Mt.. Hartz. t he HU L was hi dden by an mild weather had t.hawed Oll t thc exposed moors, the Dougery undulating spur or fold of the moor that stretched for a mile was still well filled with good snow, Its steep and varying sides and n haH between us and our last night.'s hospice. The Hut promising all manner of good running. We had looked. gloated, was good, even palatial as bush huts go, being floored, lined and nnd t hen. knowing that we had found good snow slopes. turned nttcd with a complete door nnd chimney for each of its two om att.entlon to t he splendid westward view, now so clearly plc- rooms. Bunks too; In fact a haven of rcst., not to be lightly 1ured In the morning sunlight, scorned. We honoured It with prolonged patronage, until nine In t h e m oming. This, IlHtl'k you, was !lot sloth; far f rOIll It. H With [\ final snick of his heel-clips my partner stl'llightcncd was but a mark of npPl'cciation to the Hut, Its builders and t heir up and with a couple of powerful lunges was sizzling down t he fast, granulated snow: a swi ng to the right and he vaniShed /,/-:' ' ) /. over the edge of the ridge. A loose buckle delayed me some ". :.--.;...< -' . seconds and when I came across the ridge he was sixty reet '::". ~ - 'S~ _-..,~~ below, at the bottom of a steep drift, and taxl-ing across to re­ ~.. ,, ~ ~=~ =---:... peat his descent on a second big connected drift that leads to ~ ,,-fJt~; '" -:; .... ~_ •.. -_,~ ~ ... ' - the saddle ovcrlooklng the Dougcry val1cy. Linked stelll~ "r.. -~A_ .'... ~-. .. , L~ -;:.~,'.-l.:;... "', -_ ,,',.... ~'" .. Christies were the order o r things. giving good practice, forcing "' :;" ~" .I ' '.~" , J "" "" 'II"" ',' "~ ,y< " , , ; , l .,.. '. , " snappy and accurate turns, We were soon on t.h e crest of the ""2- "• .':::';.; '';''l~'' 1..~' 'j; "' ..:: .... "I saddle wl t. h open snow stretching out to the bott.om of ou r cirque I ...... " ,/ .,_ . ...; .. " I .... ,.' ' .' / - . <&!,. ";..,.' --" .. ' valley. Our ski grizzled as we Rho!. down the stll! frozen bank; a quickening. surging and rush of frozen air as we hurtled down. an undulation, a dip. II rise, II frozen boss (which nearly threw me head first.) and then a sort spot and, with a fatal waver, ,; ~.; ... ~,-:--:/-~~,::--'" ,," . '~'::.',... :"'-"'.'~ ,:~.\.".~'.'~.<.'.~'--:':'.~'.~" " balance a nd cont rol failed and I took a gllss.'\dlng fnU . Up a nd on, but now with wider tracks, to run out on the Uoor of our " ••• :.~ .: ...; .' ,,"" ~ l. -...... J .. I" • '0"" - r----.. discovery. High a bove t.he Intense bluc of lhe spring sky; the ,. ,~ '. _.... ~ "II, warm, brown, IIchened and weathered rocks and the Intensely .~- . ; " " ; ,::.:' II, ::!:,\il', " clear snow showed the height we had so quickly descended. The nnerolds now showed t hree thousand two hundred feet, In· " " 'I',.:~~-J~:~:: .~ ''',:' ~~~~~~~;'\ ' )(J ~·~.'~ti:MT\ dlca ting a run down of some six hundred feel. o r more. The .~ . , _,. tO U I ~(!1I lA!M"IA41 000c Dougery turned out to be even better than anticipa ted. The ..... ~.,' ....: "- . , .'- ' ~ ... ,. high protecting wall of Mt. Ha rtz to the west and t he shelt.erlng spur to t he nort h-west broke all the wind. The sunshine gla red skill, However, we had seen on our arrival that the moors were Into the Dougery now and made It a wonderfully com forting t hawed out and we knew the day's skl-Ing would be res~rleted valley, t.o the drifts a nd s ld e~s lo l )CS of Mt. Hartz Qnd t he ridge, This ridge straggles along In a northerly and westerly line, with open " Another biscuit?" "No t hanks," And, stiffly rising, I CO l­ a nd undulating moors on Its east side, lected up the scattered gear from our lunch rock. It was now On leaving the Hut we had carried our ski across the moors some two hours or more since we had arrived at the Dougery, to the root or the pass, In t he ridge at the foot of Mt. Hartz. and after excellent ski - In g we had lunched preparatory to re­ Here connecled snow ~ drJr ts gave a snow tmck up on to t he peak turning to the Hut across the moor. SOme ](lSt rUIlS, and then and we easily zig-zagged oUl' way up some 700 feet, to within ap­ we slowly climbed up the side to the saddle of t h e sheltering proxlmat.ely 300 feet of the cairn at 4,300. Thus, In slde·t.racks SPUI' , Here we felt the rising wind. but now we quickly dropped, a nd herrlng-bonlng-, did we achieve t he fil'st skl- Ing done on the traversing from drift to drift, un we finally mil out on to the Hartz, on Sunday, 5th September, 1931. Badger grass at t.h e foot of the pass at t he base or Mt. Hartz, When we had looked down over t he peak. t.owards t. he south· close to where we started the ascent some hours earlier. Hurry­ eastern side a welcome surprise sprea d before us, a cirque vall~y ing on, we soon crossed the moor, not. delaying to try the numer­ fuJI of good ha rd snow, snugly sheltered from the morning sun ous practice a nd nursery drifts that ran invitingly close to us a nd nort herly winds by a bowed spur that extended away from from the main ridge. At the I1ut we had a s nack and assembled the main ridge. The western side of t his ci rque was the slope c ur gcar, marching ofT on the homeward trail l1t about a quarter of Mt. Hartz, the only oullet being t o t he south-east. As a res ult to re m and eventual1y arriving at our car some minutes before "The Dougery." as we called it, caught and retained a great deal llalf~ p aRt seven, 224 TilE AUSTRAI,IAN AND NEW ZEALAND S K I Y EAR BOOK. TilE S KI Ct.I]B Oi' TASMAN IA. 225

The Hartz Hut Is builL close to the edge of the shcJf- llke Ing to the road~cnd at Sout.h Creek 141 mlles from Hobart.) In. p la teau of moors that runs round the nort hern and eastern say. two hours, and walking to t he Hut In another four and a s ides of the main ridge of the mountains. T h is p lateau shelf half, a visit on Saturday and a ret.urn la te on Sunday is quite rises from some two thousand eight hun dred feet a t the north. pra ct.icable. T he eight. or nine miles of track arc fairly good. to about three Lhou$.'l. nd t wo hundred feet at the southern end. though somewhat wet in places. near the f<~()t o f t he pass; undulations. streams and c reeks from ------the lams. as well as small belts of timber, add variety a nd th e sh elf va ries from three-quaners to a quarter of a mile In width. The hut is about the centre of the moor, so Is admirabl y located. The Ski Club of Tasmania allowing cnsy tours to the moors, a s well as being reasonably handy to the good drifts on the ridge, the Dougery and Mt. The Ski Club of Tas mania has en joyed another excellent Hartz. As the r idge rUllS in a north-south direction. th e moors year and. although mem bers have not experienced a good snow on the eastern side are sh eltered to a grea t extent. from the season, a number of t rips were made, bot h to Mount Wellington westerly gales and there seems to be a good Immber of drifts and to National Par k. where the club Chalet was well pat.ronlsed. and pmcl ice slopes that should be also well p rotected from more Owing to poor Sl1 0W In August and the absence of a number southerly weather. On the westel'll side of the main ridge t h e of members club competitions were not held. Snow in National mountnln slopes away fairly rapidly into the gullies that form Park and all southet' n Tasmanian mountains was not good and. the Picton Va lley and. apart from the t'idges round Lake Hartz. though July falls were very fall'. t.hey were not maintained or the west. side seellls too rough and exposed for good s kl ~ lng. supported during August. mild weather and thaws cutting out a The Hartz have a "Hoodoo" and a liLlie marble ston e . a. great deal of the n o t. ove['-abunclant J uly snow. I n consequence, hundred ynrds ft'om the Hut. tells h ow a party retut'l1in g from the later falls In September were not of great use, as they had prospectin g in the P icton Valley were exhausted by a blizzard little on which to accumulate. During' the Klng'S Birthday week­ th .. t broke upon them when crossing the ridge. It is this lla ~ end some of the nort.het'tl club members paid a visit to the Club billty to sudden bad weather and sea mists that Is the draw ~ Chalet at National Pa rk. a nd this meeting r esulted in the Tas­ back to Lhe s kl ~ ln g possibilHles, thaws cutting out t.he moors. manian Ski Counc!! constitution being started on its succes:;ful and mists wait.ing to cloak the dt'His and slopes from sight.. All course. Latet· In the spl'l ng some mcmbers wCI'e a ble to accept. this renders the Hartz snow far more uncertain than that o f the the N.T.A.C.'s Invitation to visit. their Ben Lomond Chalet. more inland ranges of similar heig h t. The track into t he mountains was cut a number of years On account of t he light snow in August the surface of Twi­ ago. bllt the popularlt.y of the mountains has suffered conslder~ light Tarn. on whose shores t.he Club Chalet is built, was in good ably with the open ing up of t.he Mt. Ficld National Park. Again. s kating trim a nd as n s l d e ~lIne some very good days' skating the famous O eeveston Mills a re no longer running a nd the were had. While hardly t he business of the Club. s kating Is an foresLS no longer produce t he scenes of timber-trains and h a u l­ In g: tea ms. Only small box~case timber is c ut and t h e trnm ralls and lines have been torn up or are rotting to decay. AU these fadors. as well as fires and t heir depreda.tlons Lo the once beau~ tlful dense scrub round the lakes, have tended to causc t he Hartz to be overlooked from a snow point of vIew; but. as they do not matter from the skie r 's viewpoint, there is quite a casc fat' w e ek ~ end visits after good snowfalls.

The penks and snow country o f the Hartz are cl early visible ft'om Mt. Wellington on fine days and. after a ilt!.le experien ce In snow~cl'nfi. It is quite possible to have a very good Iele n of the condltlons l!kel'y to be round on Lhe mountains from observations from Mt.. Wel li n gton. The time required for a visit varies with the t.astes and capnclties of the people conccrned. However, to nll able ~ bodled people two days Is sutncient to tryout the mountain: three seems t.he Iden!. The visitor has to take all food, bedding and gear with him. but., as pack-horses can be got out to within a mile or so o f the Hut.. according to snow conditions. the trip can be made quite The Club Chalet. Twilight Tarn. National Pllfk (3500 ft.). ea sy. In fine weather h orses arc takcn to the Hut.. By mot.or- A Spring Snow Scene. Novcmher. 1931. 226 TUE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND SKI YEAR HOOK. THE SK I C I, UB OF TASMANIA . 227 mit, There were three fall.s of snow over the Christmas-New Year holidays which were not. quite anticipated, ski and gear being left behind. As a result of the various t rips It seems clear that the three last-mentioned mountains all have had fair, and, In the case of the King WIlliam's, good, skl-ing country. In­ accessibility Is the main drawback. The King Williams are now served by the new West Coast road which runs across their northern spurs at 2,5{}() feet, thus making: some parts of the range falriy easy of approach, The best snow country. howevcr, appears to be further south and well away from accommodat.ion or cven pack-tracks fit for winter conditions, The road passes the northern Sptlt'S at the 1l2- mlle peg from Hobart. so, with lln accommodation house at the Derwent Bridge eight miles away, some skl- ing will soon be done. At the annual meeting thc following officers were elected for 1933: President, H. R. Hutchison: vice-presldcnt. V. C. Smith: cOll1mltt.ee, D. L. Anderson. W, T. A. Crookall. G . R. Brcttlngham­ Moorc, Professor A, L. McAulay, Evelyn Ward, Miss N. L. Hutchison: honorary secretary. G. T. F. Chnpman, 212 Davey Street, Hobart, The End of VnlhaJlll Vnllcy I'n CCCOllrse. 500 feet nlJove U1C Club Chalet.

added attraction, parLlculnrly as one can don skates in the hut, t.he tarn being less than len yards from the door. As mentioned The N orthern Tasmanian Al pi ne Club earlier a number of members were abroad during the season, and it' was therefore decided to carry the General Meeting for­ The 1932 season was one of further development for the ward to March, 1933. when the usual club dinner and t h e Annual Northcrn Tasmanian Alpine Club. Every week-end between Meeting were held. the function ending with a dance. The Enster and June members worked enthuslasUcally at Ben dinner, "!ld a surf picnic at Clifton Beach, held in December, Lomond and succeeded In completing the first sect.l on of the p roved vcry popular functions and afforded m embers oppor­ Club lillt and clearing the three-mile track from the mad. The tuniLics for welcoming: back Professor and MIss McAulay from living room had to scrve a ll purposes and tcmpomry accommo­ Europe and the vice-president and Mrs. V. C. Smith f rom New daLlun was provided for lady members. Bcfore the coming Zealand and Mount Cook. winter It. Is hoped to add to the Hut and to Iml)rove the lowel' Looking forwa rd to the coming season. It Is good to antici­ section or the track so as to Ol)en it to motor vehicles. Although pate the Improvcn'lent.s Lh at. the Easter working part.y have el­ t he work done last year rendered a t rip to Ben Lomond reason .. reeted to the wood-running course, and also t.o the new ski track ably comfortable, it was stili a fairly strenuous undertaking and that has just been completed round the north-easl side of Lake It was, thererore, most gratifyin g' to see a considerable Increase Fenton. This new track will make access to the Club Chalet In the club's membership, considerably easier. for in good snow it. will be a matter of easy Last year Tasmania experienced an exceptionally poor snow ski-lng, even with large packs. In connection wlt.h communl­ season. Except for the June storms, which provided a good caLion and ro3." s, it is more than disappointing to report that covering for aU the highlands. there we rc no Ileavy snowfalls. the Lake Fenton Road unemployment relief work was quashed The skl - ing season was, consequently, particularly short. On Ben after tentative approval by the council appointed to l\lIocate the Lomond, howevcl', the club members skied without ilnerruption spending of the money: parochial and unenlightened I>oUticians from June to December. and this mountain undoubtedly carried dert.1y turned the funds to more vote-producing districts. The more snow t han any of thc other accessible h ighlands. Every seven miles of road needed Is very unwisely frowned on by cer­ week-end parties visited the Hut and at the end of the season a tain ministerial circles. As its absence absolutely stines the prac­ great Improvement in the skl-ing standard was evident. tablllty of winter skl-1l1 g. tourists are put ofT and. of course, The Race Commlttec ambitiously arranged a four-part Club the advancement of t he sport by local people Is handicapped. Championship wbich, unfortunately, had to be abandoned. At As usual, a mnnber of members spent their Christmas holi­ the week-end set down for the Downhill and Slalom, the con­ days anel tmnllllCl' vacatlons in exploring the skl- ll1& possibilities ditions were most unsuitable. Icc with pa~chcs of slow wind­ of some of the lesser-know n mountains. Mount l<~ e ll, thf' French­ blown powder made running difficult and dangerous, and a man's Cap, the King Wllilam Range and Wyld's Crag were blizzard did not improve matters. The Slalom was I>oslponed, climbed and im'estigated as far as summer condlt.lo ns would per- but an attempt was made to I'tm the Downhill, Of the fourteen TH E AUSTRAI.IAN AND NEW Z£'\I..\ND S KI YEAR BOOK 228 N .W . TASMAN I AN AI."IN!! CI.UB. 229 cOJl1j)elltors. only six faced the starter. These were sellt otT at is made to ' he Leven River for n distance of about sevcn milcs. two. mlnute Intervals over the middle section of the downhill The river Is then followed for two miles, when the homestead of cou rse, the top and bottom sections being hnposslblc. Four of '"Leven vale" is reached. This is lhe Ili"Ope rty ot Mr. G . P. the stllrtcrs managed to finish, but, on chcckln\; the times after Taylor and, as he was amongst t he party. aU present were made the race, It was found that one of the watches was out of orde~; at home In eit her some of the week·end shacks or In the main Bnd the Racing Committee had to declare the event " no race. building. which contains a large room for visitors. alse a large Later lhe whole ChampiOIlJihlp p r ogranmH~ was abandoned. fireplace, which was Illost acceptable on the return trip. In addition to Ben Lomond, other snowfields were visited The vehicles were left here and a start made on foot. whilst by skl-Ing parUcs. Among t hese were Cradic Mountain, .Black a few were fortunate In securing mounts. About two hours walk BlulT. Pine Lake :md Ironstone Mountal~ . The last.-named, and we were wen in the snow region and, on reaching the which Is situated in the Great Western Tiers, offers great ski­ plateau a fine a rea of snow appeared which reached for miles Ing possibilities but present inacccs.slbillt.y may be judged it.s in a southerly dlre<:Lloll. A party of skiers was seen in t he dis­ from the fact U;a L the three members who nHl.de the trip had to tance. One of these proved to be Mr. R. O. Hall, honorary sec· carr)' their ski twenty miles. retary of the N.T. Alpine Club. who. with a part)'. had gone up DUl"lng the Australian Championships three members of the thc mountain earlier In Lhe day. The country was found to be club vlslled Hotham as spectators. most s uita ble for the spo rL, but the snow, on lila!. day. was Last wlnte!" a new ski club waS fo rmed on the North-west. mther so ft; this was the opinion expressed by those of lile party Coast, with the Intention of exploltlng Black BlutT. I ~ Is hoped who were experlencecl. Tile outcome of the trip was that most the coming senson will be kind to them ami that ~h ey Will dev~.loP of the party Joined the club, nnel many pleasant trips have since Into n stt"Ong club. Black Bluff Is u fine 1l100mt.:1.l11 which ea! r les been held. a Greal de:\! of snow and which abounds In excellent slopes. The Ski Club of Tasmania and t he Northern Tasmnnlnn The view fl' om this mounLaln Is s uperb to all l)Oint s of the compass. It Includes Bass Stmits. PorL Sorell , Lake Lea. Cradle Alpine Club have recently constituted n T~ s m a nlan Ski Council: which should assist the clubs in their relntlons with one anothel Mount. Barn Bluff and Middlesex Plains. " hllst, nestling under and have a beneficial effect on the sport generally. t he West Hend, is that miniature lake 0 1" tarn known as L.'l.ke Patrick. called a fter t he pioneer who was responsible for t.he The following a re the of11cers of the N.T.A.C. for 1933-34 :­ o penlny up of this t rnck a nd making ~h e highlands of Tasmania Prcsldent, C. I ~. Monds. Esq.; vice-preside nts. C. J . R. St..'l.c khouse so accessible to the various towns of the North WesL Coast. a nd O . E. Perrin: captain, F. Smithies; committee, !. D. Carr. O . TIll' homestead of Lcvenvale was reached slightly before C. McKinlay, W. F. Mitchell. H. L. vo n See, and O . Hutton; nightra ll . He re a cheery fire was burning and. after partaking honorary treasurer. S. V. Tilley: honorary secretary, R. O . Ha ll. 7 of some hot coffee a nd other refreshments, Ulve rstone was Dowling S U"eet, Launcest.on. R. O. lI a ll , Honorary Secret.'l.ry. reached a fter nbouL one and hnl f hours' motor run. As interest in the span Is s t ill keen. the members are walt­ illg for t he next heavy fnll of snow for nnothe r trip. N. W. Tasmanian Alpine Club It. Is possible to reaCh these ski - In g grounds from e ither Burnie, Ulverstone 0 1' DevonpoJ"L in from three to four hours. A This club came into being last wlnt.e r a nd was t he outcome pa n)" of tourists could leave Melbourne, say, on Tuesday after­ of a I'ellort submitted to the Tasmanian Tourist Bureau .by Major noon, be meL by cn l" or take t he train to Ulve rstone. be at the R. E. S mith who, in company with Mr. O . P. Tnylor, vls lt.ed the snOW-line by 10 a.m. on Wednesday and reLurn by the steamer. Black Blull during t he winter of two years ago. arriving in Melbourne by midday Thursday. A number of Ulverstone enljlUslasts, consisting of Messrs. O . This trip Is well worth considering, and Mr. O . Cruickshank. Cr ulckslmnk. Petcr and Dick Jones. D. Wilson, O . Hodgkinson t he honorary secretary, or the PresidcnL, Mr. O . P. Taylor. would and several othel's called a meeting, of which this club Is t he be pleased to ma ke all a l"l"angemenls fo r any party Illa klng the outcome, wllh Its headquarters at Ulverstone. Later on. a trill tour. Ac commodation at "Leven vale" is available for r1 small was a rranged t.o the Black Bluff to try Otlt the possibilities of party. skl· lng and a party of abo'ut 70 made the ascent. IIOUAII'L' S KI CLllU. This mountain is situated south of UlverSLOn e. One good point fl. bout It is t hat it is visible fmlll mllny points in the town, As mentioned In the Tasmnnlll.l1 Ski Connel]"s report. a new and when Sl10W I~ there It. can be seen plainly. The distance by club was formed last s<;!nson to exploit Lhe skl -Ing on Mt. Wel­ motor road Is 30 miles, then a walk of t hree miles takes one to lington. The officers for the yenr are:- E. T. Emmett, president; the ski-InS" ground. 'V. A. C. Johnson, vlce-presldenL: A. F. Hannon, honorary secre. The party lert Ulverstone in several cars and pmceeded by tary (240 Macqunrle Strect, Hoba.rt!: committee, A. J . White, J . t.he best graded Inland route known as Castra Road. At Nletta l3. Thwnltes, R. Reid. C. Oldham. O. O. Lofts. and G. T. P. the road reaches a n altitude of 1.750 feet, a nd thence a descent Chapma.n.