M ou n ta in E a rs D ig est N ews le tte r of th e C ape T own S ec
Transcription
M ou n ta in E a rs D ig est N ews le tte r of th e C ape T own S ec
Mountain Ears Digest Newsletter of the Cape Town Section MCSA June 2015 July to September 2015 Meets and Socials Circular 654 Panoramic view from Suther Peak showing much of the peninsula, from Skoorsteenberg through to Kommetjie. Photo: Corinne Merry CIRCULAR 654 Office Hours Will members please note that the office is ONLY OPEN during the day between 10am and 2pm Monday to Friday and on a Friday evening between 7:30pm and 8:20pm. 2013 Journal Please collect your copy from the office, if you have not already done so. Annual Subscriptions Please note that annual subscriptions were due on 1 January 2015 and must be paid urgently, if you have not already done so. Club Properties The Club owns and manages several magnificent pieces of unspoilt mountain land. Members are encouraged to make use of these properties for Club meets and for private outings. Members are also encouraged to interest themselves in the management of these properties by contacting the respective convenors and offering to join their property sub -committee. Hut Fees Please note the hut fees: Agtertafelberg Hut Cape Town Section Members – R20.00 per night; Members of other MCSA Sections and UCT members – R30.00 per night; Visitors – R50.00 per night Children under 13 – R5.00 per night Du Toit’s Kloof Hut and Table Mountain Hut Cape Town Section Members – R10.00 per night; Members of other MCSA Sections and UCT members – R20.00 per night; Visitors – R40.00 per night Children under 13 – R5.00 per night Access to Table Mountain through Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens The continuation of the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens concession that allows MCSA members to access Table Mountain and the MCSA’s TM Hut via Kirstenbosch is dependent on the conduct of each and every one of our members. Please take note of the amended opening and closing times for the Rycroft Gate.* Show both sides of your MCSA card, with a valid current-year sticker, to the gatekeeper upon entry. Note that this concession does not apply to Gate 1, the ‘new’ main gate to the Visitors Centre. For the other two gates, the following applies: Gate 2, the ‘old’ main gate to the Garden Centre: No entry after 08h30, except… When you will be leaving a car overnight (to stay over at the hut) you must notify Mr Jacobs prior to your arrival. Do so at [email protected] or phone 021 799 8674 / 073 969 2026, and 021 799 8674 / 073 969 2026, and Stipulate the make, colour and registration number of your car. Gate 3, Rycroft or the ‘top’ gate: Summer (September to March) – week days: 07h30 to 19h00 ; Weekends and public holidays: 06h00 - 19h00 Winter (April to August) – all days: 07h30 to 18h00 *Note: KBG prefers MCSA members to use Gate 3, because it is the entrance least often used by large tour groups. Occasionally, a new security staff member may get it wrong, in which case an informed and polite attitude on your part should save the day. Unfortunately some of our members sometimes abuse this privilege, thereby putting continued good relations with KBG at risk. Please ensure that you never make yourself guilty of any of the below: Failure to adhere to the above conditions, and then arguing with the gatekeeper about it. Failure to carry a valid card, and then trying to cajole the gatekeeper into breaking the rules that s/he is employed to enforce. Failure to obtain the new year’s sticker in good time, and then attempting entry with the previous year’s sticker. Use of the card to gain entry into the gardens for a picnic, instead of only for access to the mountain. All members must adhere to the following conditions: Mountain Ears Digest 24 June 2015 CIRCULAR 654 Procedure for Orange Kloof Permits Permits for Orange Kloof will only be issued on application by telephone (not email) to their Kloofnek office on 021 422 1601, at least two weeks in advance. Permits can then be collected at the office between 08h00 and 15h30 Monday to Friday, or faxed or emailed to you by Beulah upon request. Distribution of 2015 Membership Stickers Members are reminded that once payment of their subscriptions have been received, the 2014 membership stickers will be available at the office or will be posted to you. If subscriptions are paid after 31 March 2014, the member must either collect from the office or send a self-addressed stamped envelope so that the sticker can be posted to you, otherwise you will not receive a sticker Change of status or resignation Members are reminded that while they can change their status during the year, it will only become effective from the beginning of the new financial year. So if you wish to change your membership status (e.g. country membership), please let us know before 31 December. We often get requests in February or March, or even later to make these changes effective from the preceding January. Unfortunately this is not possible. Newly Elected Members We welcome the following new members: Nicolas Larsen Roslyn Lavery Marisa Maccaferri Maryke Malan Daniel Morison Deon Murray Peter Murray Marius Nel Jason Norwood-Young Bradley Oldfield Nicole Panzer Marianne Parker Greta Pegram Colin Pritchard Matty Roodt Servious Rusvava Zelda Rutherfoord-Jones Matthew Schnetler Matthew Seager Walter Steenekamp Joshua Stevens Robert Tait Timo Tait Guy Theunissen Mountain Ears Digest Linith von Ahlefeldt James Vonesh Reinstated Susanne Streun Resignations Karin de Piaz Johan du Plessis MEMBERSHIP Chris Arderne Marisca Biagio Robert Brain Hugh Byrne Michael Champanis Michael Dawson Roger de Andrade Hendre de Villiers Bridget Ellender Stephen Farber Isabella Ferreira Frank Gaude Norval Geldenhuys Natalie Giliam Nadya Glawe Susannah Hall Mark Hewat Tanya Hewat Jonathan Kinnear Peter Kloos Hanne Koster Susan Joubert Sedica Knight Alister Koeresies Marchelle van Zyl Neville Venter Albert Viljoen Jonathan Joseph Merle Melvill Roger Melvill Andrea Sanke Paul Walker Deceased Members With sadness we announce the death of the following members: Ann MacPherson joined 1951 (d.o.b. 01/09/1932) Evan Morkel joined 1968 (d.o.b. 10/02/1944) NOTICE ABOUT THE PRINTED EDITION OF MOUNTAIN EARS DIGEST The last edition of this publication will be the December 2015 issue. Please make every effort to obtain your information about the Club and its activities from friends or family who have access to email. IMPRINT This issue of Mountain Ears Digest has been published by the Cape Town Section of the MCSA. 97 Hatfield Street Cape Town. Tel: 021 465 3412/ Fax: 021 461 8456 Web: http://cap.mcsa.org.za Email: [email protected] Or [email protected] Editor: Ineke Moseley Printing: Blue Mountain Graphics The views and opinions expressed in Mountain Ears are not necessarily those of the Mountain Club of South Africa, it’s Sections, Committees or members. 34 June 2015 LOYALTY AWARDS The Awards ceremony seems a long time ago now but for the benefit of those who were unable to attend, here is a short report and photos. Greg Moseley once again did his excellent job as Master of Ceremonies at the 2015 Long Service Awards ceremony. The Award recipients were presented with their certificates by our Chairman, Brian Lambourne. 70 year Awards Elizabeth Harper Jess Mathew Thanks to Rose Fergusson and Bridget Carrick for all their hard work behind the scenes to arrange the evening and refreshments. A very special huge vote of thanks to Reen Meintjies for her superb calligraphy on the certificates. 60 Year Awards Jeff Goy Atties Malan Merran Silberbauer Neil van der Spuy Philip van der Spuy Andre Schoon (2014) This year most of the recipients chose to say a few words about their association with the Club. Many of them told how often it was family members who introduced them to the mountains, how school or university reinforced their interest. Most of all, how important the friendships made with fellow mountaineers have been in their lives. 50 Year Awards Peter Berrisford Mary Berrisford Gillian Bowie Olwen Gibson Edward Malinaric Sandy Veitch Ellinor Wilson 13 March 2015 Loyalty Awards 60 and 70 year Award recipients: Brian Lambourne (Chairman), Andre Schoon, Neil van der Spuy, Jeff Goy, Atties Malan, Philip van der Spuy. In front: Jess Mathew (70 years) Photo: Mike Scott (Cont. p.6) Mountain Ears Digest 4 June 2015 SOCIALS Socials Programme July - September 2015 This is the programme so far - it is bound to fill up later. All shows start at 8:30pm. The Club house is open though from 7.30pm. The Library and climbing wall are also open. If you have asked for a braai fire, the boma is open from 6.30pm. Please check the Notice Board for further updates. Speakers are often organised at the last minute or a DVD may be shown, so it is always worth checking. DATE FRIDAY EVENINGS 12 July Film - The High Cost of Cheap Gas: What the Oil Industry does not want you to know! Adelle Horler and Geoff Dalglish will give the introduction. 19 July ‘Sand in My Shoes: A Short Trip Through Southern Namibia’- Ian Meaker & Sarah Middleton. Over Easter Ian and Sarah took a 9 days tour of Southern Namibia, starting from Aus and heading to Luderitz, Sossusvlei and finally Koiimasis. 26 July Wilderness Search & Rescue - Rik de Decker (detail of talk to follow) SNIPPETS DASSIE DISASTER An Australian backpacker has been left disfigured after mistaking a dassie on Table Mountain for a quokka. Quokkas are small Australian marsupials that look like they could be dassies’ first cousins. Unlike the friendly quokkas, which pose calmly in selfies, Cape Town dassies are violent and aggressive. According to an eyewitness, the young tourist knelt down and put her arm around the dassie, which responded by clamping down on her nose with its teeth. Table Mountain staff were only able to separate the two after the dassie had been sedated with a tranquiliser dart. A leading rodentologist, Evan Mowser, warned that this behaviour is becoming common amongst the Cape dassie population: ‘Clueless tourists have been encroaching on dassies’ natural habitats for decades, and dassies have responded with a heightened level of territorial aggression. Dassies have also had their nocturnal cycle disrupted by the lighting of the mountain by night. Finally, tourists have taken to leaving their cigarette butts all over the mountain, which the dassies are now eating.’ “Basically, what you have is aggressive, sleepdeprived wild animals which are suffering nicotine withdrawal. I’m surprised that a tourist hasn’t been killed and eaten yet”, concluded Mowser. Young Dassie near Cable Station, unperturbed by people. Photo: Ineke Moseley Source: zanews.co.za (MCSA National News April 2015) Mountain Ears Digest 54 June 2015 LOYALTY AWARDS (Cont from p.4) 50 year Award recipients: Ed Malinaric, Peter and Mary Berrisford , Olwen Gibson, Ellinor Wilson, Sandy Veitch and Brian Lambourne (Chairman) Photo: Mike Scott. A PROPOSED RAILWAY LINE LINKING CHINA TO TIBET MAY PASS THROUGH MOUNT EVEREST A Chinese railroad expert said a planned line linking China and Tibet may have to pass through Mount Everest. China is considering a plan to extend a railway line to Nepal that may run through Mount Everest, state media reported on Thursday. China has begun preparatory work for the project “at Nepal’s request,” China Daily reported. But the plan, which officials say could be finished by 2020, may have to run through Mount Everest along the border between the two countries, according to Wang Mengshu, a rail expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering. “The line will probably have to go through Qomolangma so that workers may have to dig some very long tunnels,” Wang said, using the Tibetan name for Mount Everest. http://time.com/3815463/chinamt-everest-railroad/ Mountain Ears Digest CENCOM NEWS: Change-over Terry White: new MCSA President At our club's AGM of the Central Committee on Saturday 9th May, our outgoing President Petro Grobler handed over the reins to our new incoming President, Terry White. The MCSA owes a huge vote of thanks to Petro for steering the Club and managing our International relations within the UIAA during her term of office, and we owe Terry a huge vote of thanks for agreeing to take over the baton. 64 June 2015 RECENT MEETS SNEEUBERG. Photo taken by Hugh Byrne on Torben Wiborg’s recent meet to the Cederberg. Theewaterskloof dam from near du Toit’s Kloof. Suzanne Wilson-Smith’s meet Mountain Ears Digest 74 June 2015 RECENT MEETS These photos were taken on Amphitheatre Wall, Elsie’s Peak. Eric Harley is an enthusias- Agatha’s Gully traverse. Don Jepson’s meet Silverstream Buttress on a misty morning. Brian Lambourne’s meet. Mountain Ears Digest 84 June 2015