Welcome to Winter 2019!
It is not every season that either opens early due to an unprecedented snow fall or has a new chairlift … this year we had both!
Snowsports Junior Sponsorships
Information on Gunuma Snowsports Junior Sponsorships and application form for the 2019 season is available here. Last day for entry is Friday 12 July.
In 2018, sponsorship recipients, Sophie and Elliot De Plater (pictured) both participated in the Subaru ACT and Southern NSW Interschools Snowsports Championships representing Hawker Primary School. They also skied for Gunuma Lodge in the Smiggins Bowl which is always a great day of fun and camaraderie and look forward to doing the same for the coming season.
Thank you message from Rudi and Jenny Zimmerman
‘Dear Gunuma members,
Jenny and I were innocently involved in a head-on collision last year and were lucky to just survive. We were evacuated by helicopter and had to spend nearly 100 days in hospital. My 6 weeks in intensive care was marred by periods of delirium and nightmarish visits of ghosts going back to street fighting at the end of WW2 in Vienna.
When we were finally discharged, after outstanding care in the Canberra hospital, we both had to learn to walk again. We also had to learn how to write again. Some of the permanent damage to our bodies is very hard to live with, but we manage.
The most encouraging experiences were the many visits we had and the many mail wishing us well.
The purpose of this note is to thank for you for your visits and good wishes. It would be difficult to describe the importance and value of your friendship and support during this difficult period. Thank you
Sincerely, Rudi and Jenny the first’
This is a police photo of the Zimmerman’s life-saving car from the scene.
Booking & PayPal thank you 
A special thank you to all members for your understanding and patience during the Winter booking process. It was certainly a baptism of fire for our newly appointed GAO, Renae who was impressed with the polite and constructive manner in which people dealt with the situation.
Another thank you to those who have moved to using PayPal, which is most of you! March payments, which included Booking Round 1, saw 92% (94/102) of total payments made by PayPal. The remainder used EFT.
Fire Safety Update
The Committee is working on getting quotes for the Switchboard Upgrade and finalising design for the Fire Sprinkler System and obtaining quotes and subject to satisfactory outcomes these the projects will proceed following this season. The committee has found it difficult to obtain trades to quote as most local ones are committed in advance of the building season. A learning regarding lead times and availability of resources willing to work in regional centres. These projects along with the Southern Bathroom upgrade are to be incorporated in our Fire Safety Upgrade Strategy for approval by NSW Planning. We have however already commenced the minor works type jobs from Strategy and these have been undertaken by work parties and all are nearing completion.
Issues Register
We appreciate the numerous suggestions and items for maintenance that visitors bring to the attention of the Winter House Manager (WHM) and Committee Members during their stay. These items are recorded in an Issues Register by the WHM and reviewed for priority and action. Often the communication loop back to the original source is missed. To rectify this, moving forward, we will endeavour to give feedback in the Newsletter.
At the moment, one of the main items is the number of rooms with leaky windows. Additionally, the bathroom windows are showing significant wear and tear. The Committee is investigating lower maintenance and insulation friendly options as replacements. This will be a major job and is prioritised behind the fire safety upgrade and south bathroom renovations. In the meantime, repair and patching is being done as required to maintain building integrity and to keep everyone as comfortable as possible!
Work Parties
The April and May work parties went ahead with small but enthusiastic groups of attendees. Thank you to those who contributed their time. Work was completed on the fire exit stairs and the new drip trays for under the ski racks. The remaining wood was packed under the lodge and store cupboards restocked. Even the garden received some attention by one industrious attendee!
If something runs out during your stay…
Please ask the WHM who will address. Note that for items outside those routinely stocked by the Lodge, Committee approval will be required before purchase.
Also be aware that the Lodge is planning to go back to the stove top coffee pots (already a couple at lodge and plungers) to reduce the amount of waste the current capsule machines create. These go against the aims to reduce waste and increase sustainability.
Reminder: if you are the last to leave
You know that niggling feeling after you have left home: ‘Did I turn the iron off? Well, the same applies if you are the last to leave the Lodge…please check the lights are off in the public areas; windows closed; rubbish bags removed to the outside bin for collection (during Winter) and the Lodge doors are securely closed on leaving,
NSW National Parks and Wildlife
Fox ground baiting program
We have been advised by NSW National Parks & Wildlife that a fox control program will be undertaken from 1 July until 23 August 2019. The program will involve the burial of 1080 baits within the areas identified in the map available here. The winter program in Kosciuszko National Park has been undertaken since 1999. Research in the 90’s indicated that foxes moved into resort areas (in search of food and shelter) during the winter months and so it provides an ideal time to reduce the population size.
The control program is designed to reduce fox populations and their impact of predation on native animals including the threatened species Broad-toothed Rat and Mountain Pygmy- Possum.
The program is part of an integrated pest management program that also includes cage trapping for feral cats and soft jaw trapping for foxes and feral cats during the non- snow periods.
Results of aerial shooting program
During April, a pest animal aerial shooting program was conducted in Kosciuszko National Park and other reserves in the area.
The final totals from the program were 199 fallow deer, 79 goats, 53 sambar deer, 26 pigs, 25 red deer, 3 dogs and 1 fox.
This operation was part of a 3-year plan to reduce impacts by deer and pigs on high conservation areas. The areas include the montane bogs and fens threatened ecological community. Other feral animals such as dogs, foxes and goats were also targeted during this program.
