Cr1 L Iejcanberra BUSHWALKING CLUB
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I Cr1 L iEjCANBERRA BUSHWALKING CLUB IEI N EWS LETTER P.O. Bbic 160, Canberra City, A.C.T. 2601 Lt 0 r. I Vol. 10 APRIL 1974 No. 4. Registered for posting as •a periodical Category B - Price 10/ GENAL MEETING.: Wednesday, 17 April 1974, 7.45 p.m. at Land Use Research Meetings Room, C.S.I.R.O., Black Mountain. ATTRACTION: 'Aspects of the Common*:Wombatl. An illustrated talk byDr.J. C. Mcllroy of the C.S.I.R;O. *Wombat s common! They're the kings of the Mulga! COMMITTEE MEETING: Monday, 29 April, 5.30 p.m. at 80 Cowper Street, Dicksbn. 7 A WEEKEND AT A CHALET IN THE MOUNTAINS. • Th8 weekend of 18th - 19th May is your opportunity to share the warmth of the Canberit A].pineCluS's Chalet on Mt. Fi'a.nklin with fellow bushwaj4cers, and friends. On Saturday evening abahquet will be held in the great hall to the musical accompaniment of the banjo and as many other musical instruments as people can bring. Book early - the first thirty to do so have the option of sleeping in the chalet. All this for the iowly sum of $4.00 for adults andgt2.00 for children (under 16) Tickets are available from Doug Wright Alan Vidler andCynthia Breheny * * * WALKS PLANNING EVENING The Walks Secreèbry is facing the evening with some trepidation; winter approaches and the flock heads south. If you are 'intetidãtgd in winter F walking (and it's not too cold) your attendance is urged. Time: 7.30 p.m., 23 April 1974 Place: 9 Bingara Place, Fisher To: Plan bushwalks for next1 four months Show bushwallcing slides; and Participate in congenial social intercourse. For: All those keen to participate in bushvalking B.Y.O. SLIDES; IDEAS FOR WALKS; Refreshments, liquid and isolid; Good cheer I 2 For new members and others this function is a recommended vehicle whereby you may discuss future walks with leaders and partioipate in their plaiming. - Of all walks whibh have taken place in the past year or so, the mst popular appear to be the csy day variety. This unfortunately is the area in whioh leaders are scarce. These walks are not hard to organise so come along and plan a fcw. I D.B. Buchler Walks Secretary * * * SOLO TRIP, n. = a trip led by a fool. * * * LHrTER(S) TQIHE EDITOR(S) Sexist Controversz - Dear Editors, As current club disputes now seem to he dying, far be it from roe to start another, least of all what may be called a. 'sexist' controers, but v:hy eh why won't more girls come on week-end camping trips?? Each weekend the club walkers more cr less split; the fellers go on an overnight camp and the girls on a Sunday walk. As an ARDENT womentslihher I deplore this self-imp,ced division of the sexes. Come on girls, where's your sense of adventure? There are 2eriences and joys to be had on a camping trip unknown on a day-walk. The relationships between the people become much more meaningful and deep, reflecting the wilder, graider country: Most of the girls in our club are magnificent physical specimens, quite capable of undertaking the average week-end camp, and, girls,, if you are a bit uncertain there are stalwart types abounding like Jordan, Vidler, Meda-ris, Whiteley (and myself) ever ready to lend a helping hand, give sustenance or whatever, even 22rhaps carry your pack. So come on, be in it girls, do your thing on a camping trip. Your segregated walker, Don Shepherd * * Dear Heather, On many bushwalks, more cars than are needed aásemble at the meeting place and these are left behind for the day or weekend. Sometimes this is unavoidable - e.g. when more or fewer people than expected turn up for the walk. But if everyone volunteering the use of his/her car wrote down it5 passenger capacity on the list at Paddy Pallins, the leader would. find it easier to calculate exactly how many cars are needed. Eliminating the surplus of cars is desirable for two reasons: first, the safety aspect of leaving - a car unattended for more than 24 hou'rsinra hotel car park; secondly, the convenience to non-bushwalking members of a household. Spending a weekend in Canberra without a car can be rather limiting, and it can be a bit annoying to learn th t the spouse/relative/housemate who took the car to go bushwalkirig didn't need it after all. Yours sinoerely, - Stephen Nisbet - - Page 3 IT API?ILH974. Dear cur/Maam, Eyes shamedya. In Decemba yews grizzlin a tars caws wear leave nit tew try Tn, makenit a pila rarbish. Enyow in Jan Feb Mar orl the blokesnaheilas getsorf thar rump an uget beaut stuff frm lotsa peeple speshly New Memba an oldy Oneless who both sterrod lota gbodeye deart from orl the uthas muck dup only bye yor ushewal wingess. Orib 1os works reports - te*on *oi wárkever. Sowots the resalt? Yew tew then star twingen abart the kwality o peeples stuff - arota yewve muckd titup. I betha to scairdta publ pu$llparb,Lish print this bonza effet fer xample. Yew too vordy wan topen govinmt offit sez nice thing saboutya. S Effya donchang.e yer attitchewd thisll be the .fursnlars litry jem yool gefrom me. S Lana Drivel [I dootend twargree that the riznmarkwaz sumwot 'ifitra vines' et 'non politust. Eye yope itasent puttenny ovyreworf - Heather.j AMONG MY SOUVENIRS Madam, Inrezponse to your request (IT, January 19A0 for evidence of an alleged trip to Nepal last year, I submit the following exhibits, taken from a personal file labelled 'Rolwaling 1973 1 . 1 Couitles-pieces of ppr headed 'Ausventure - A Division of Warwick Deaco Enterprises Pty Ltd' ii The first of these, undated but received about January 1972,. has written on the 1.ack ot it in a fast red biro what appears to be the following words: 'Shar&c holderE heck Oct 73 A G Hanford G Budd Vi Deacock Ronalds wring - Tesi lqaika'. la etc Interested ? W..' During the 18 months or so which followed, this curious message turned into 'Die groac himalaya Bergfahrt (or D.G.H.B. for short) - a trek by Messrs Budd, Bomford, Deácock, Herd, MCutcheon, Miller, and Ms flastien up the Rolwaling valley in north east Nepal, over the Tesi Lapcha Pass, and down the Thami valley to Nanche Bazar. (The Germanic title of the trip eriginate& from a brochure, written in German, which seemed to describe the exploits of a group of Germans who had previeusly.visited the Rolwaling valley. The brochure was accepted by the only member of our party who could read German as evidence that the Rolwaling existed and would go.) 2. An itinerary, dated 12 Ju1ij 973 This had the party leaving Sydney on 28 Beptember 1973; starting the D.G.H.B. from Barahie a village about 90 km east of Kathmandu, on 1 October; flying by air charter from Lukla to ICathmandu on 26 October; and returning to Sydney on 28 October. Scattered through the itinerary are phrases ]ijce 'Transfer to Asia Hotel ... Transfer to Hotel Shankr .. Transfer to airport ... I These apparently simple directions, applying to phases in our transit through various cities en route to and from Kathmandii, ref ér to what came to be some of the more anxious episodes of the trip - when our mountain of baggage had to be assembled and temporarily separated from us forsome bureaucratic purpose. The party never fully recovered from an episode at Melbourne airport on its departure, when it became convinced that only 20 of . its 21 pieces of baggage had been loaded on the plane. 3e A picas of paper headed D.G.H.B. and dated 21 August 1373 Paragraph 3 reads as follows: 'If you want a colour stripe golf brolly I can Page 4 IT APRIL 1974 get in Sydney .. le me know by 12.9.73 if you want one. W.' This well meaning offer to all members of the party caused consternation among those who had been developing secret ambitions,,to go high. Such members had been greatly ecitea"by a note received the previous month from the party's itathmandu consultant, advising that crampons, ice-axes, and ropes would be issued to us in Kathmandu but suggesting, that we bring our own slings and karabiners. It seemed inconQeivable that a trip which required the party to be equipped with'gOlf brollies couIdhae any use whatsoever for crampons etc; and ludicrous t6'imagine a party so equipped crossing a high pass in the Himalayas. (We were to demonstrate later, however, that golf broflies can in fact go high, are interchangeable with ice-axes for &now-work, and have some advantage over ice-axeg in the rain.) a 4 A heavily fingered 'Trekking Permit For Place Inside' Written mainly in Nepalese, it states on the back that the Ministry of H )me Panchayat Affairs ' ... appreciate any such courtesy and assistance as he/she may stand in need of by the Anchladis ..., Sahayak Anchaladis ..., Pramtikh Zila Adhikari.' The trekking permit, it seemed, was supposed to be our main protection against arrest and possible execution along the track. However, there was only one occasion when we felt in need of such protection. This was during a noisy argument with some drunken inhabitants of the village of Sitni, over access to our kerosene. We decided on that occasion that a generous distribution by us of some crushed and sodden Gurkha brand cigarettes, and the frequent dropping of Sir Edmund Hillary's name, would be more effotie thaS porducing our trekking permits.