Dear fellow climbers,
I promised in my last blog to keep you updated on the work of the committee, hence this short note.
The committee held its second meeting on 27 April. The full committee was present and Kate Swain, the editor of Western Climber, also joined us. We discussed possible topics for the Western Climber and the way the committee will be involved in the editorial process. We finalized a letter to DPaW which the Access Subcommittee had prepared, with feedback on the new camping arrangements in Kalbarri (more information available in the recent “Kalbarri Update” post). We began working on a survey for members, which Nat is preparing, so we can find out what your concerns and wishes are; and we began working our way through our constitution, which requires significant reform due to upcoming legal changes (you will hear more about this over the year and see the proposal for change on the agenda for the next AGM). Other items on the agenda included the question if we should purchase a plastic card printer, to replace our current paper membership cards from 2017, necessary updates for our website (Dirk handles this aspect now), the necessity to replace the first aid kit, and insurance matters.
Most importantly, we drank beer and discussed the work of the “Subcommittee on Sending.” You might remember that we decided in our first meeting that as a committee of climbers, we had to climb as well as sit in meetings. Anybody who would not send anything outdoors between two meetings, would be formally excluded from the “subcommittee,” be subject to generalized pity, and be encouraged to send two routes before the next meeting to be “readmitted.” So far, the only victim of this policy was Vice-President Dan, who had not managed to get on real rock at all. Pitiful, indeed. Thanks to a short trip the Blue Mountains, the President was safe this time around, with, among others, a 21 flash and a clean 22 after a couple of attempts. Dirk and Nat had a very successful Tasmania trip with lots of trad climbing (and seemed to like to climb dodgy local climbs in the rain as well). Treasurer Kate had climbed Baylac Direct at Peak Head, Woody had pulled off hard boulders between V4 and V9, Remi climbed two trad routes (13 and 14) in Kalbarri. Brian limped over the line with one V2, normally a warm-up for him, and Peter also knocked off 4 fine climbs at Cosy Corner having been encouraged by the recent South West Rock guidebook.
Our next event is the Mt Randall Bouldering day on 21 or 22 May (depending on weather). I will have to go to get the necessary send to stay in the subcommittee and I hope to see many of you there. Meanwhile, if you do more than bouldering, don’t forget to check your knot.
Mark Edele
CAWA President