TWALK
Three OUTC teams made the journey up to Christchurch over the weekend to compete in CUTC’s annual 24 hour orienteering event, TWALK. It involved some pretty good costumes (See below) and a pretty good weekend for all those involved. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to beat CUTC this year, but our fastest team wasn’t far behind, and out of 65 entered teams, we were pretty near the top. Results, OUTC team ‘to be confirmed’ Josh Brinkmann, Joe Vincent, Abigail Bishop, Julia Loman, Claire de Hauteclocque. Came 9th overall, and second in the student section. OUTC team ‘Where’s fast-ish Wally’ came 10th overall, and third in the student section. OUTC team ‘three little pigs’ made up of Rowan Cox, Jamie Gardner, Neville Thorn came 13th overall and 5th in the student section.
A big thanks to Joe Vincent, OUTC Vice President, for organising the OUTC teams
Cheers
Luke Gardener
All below photos credited to Amy Lynn Sesar
‘Where’s fast-ish Wally’
Thomas Mckellar from ‘Where’s fast-ish Wally’ doing a bit of map checking
Members from ‘to be confirmed’ and ‘Where’s fast-ish Wally’ on the hunt for clues. That odd fellow Josh Brinkmann doing something strange again
Filed under Announcements, Trips | Tags: Josh Brinkmann, Otago University Tramping Club, outc, TWALK, Wally | Comment (0)Inaugural Makarora trip and other weekend antics
By all accounts the inaugural OUTC trip to Makarora was a great success. Tom did an awesome job of organizing, not just the trip, but the weather as well which could not have been better in anyway (as the above picture of Josh Brinkmann working on his tan demonstrates). While the 60 who went definitely looked like they enjoyed themselves, a miserable majority of the tramping club were stuck in Dunedin due to many reasons, but particularly uni assignments. Some of us did however manage to get up to some OUTC worthy antics, using aquanauts to go down some of the rapids on the Taieri river. A couple of photos from both trips can be seen below.
Lastly, Twalk is next weekend where we expect the OUTC teams to well and truly beat the CUTC who host the event. This has become somewhat of an OUTC tradition and we’d hate to abandon it.
Luke Gardener
Brewster Hut panarama, photo credit: Ben Drinkwater
A OUTC group climbing ridgeline to Mount Armstrong with Mount Brewster the prominent peak in the background.
photo credit: Ben Drinkwater
OUTC members, Luke Gardener and Anna Hoek-Sims, on the Taieri River
OUTC members Luke Gardener and Anna Hoek-Sims after taking on a bit of water…
Upcoming trips
Hi Everyone
It was great to hear about some of the awesome trips that went away over the Easter Break. These ranged from quick weekend getaways, like my own to Ball Pass, to 4-5 day trips, like the 5 passes that a number of groups successfully completed.
There are two club trips coming up in May. The first, on the 11th-12th, will be a bus trip a bit like Fiordland. This time we’ll go north of Wanaka to the Makarora area. There will be a number of small overnight trips radiating out from Makarora, ranging from easy to hard. If you’d like to lead or co-lead a trip, send Tom an email soon (you should have received an email from him over the list). Otherwise, you will be able to sign up at the OUTC meeting on Tuesday 7th of May.
On the 18th-19th there is TWALK in Canterbury. It’s an awesome 24hr orienteering-style event, and for the first leg everyone dresses up. OUTC will enter a few teams. No matter how competitive you want to be (from 24hrs-jogging to strolling-and-8hrs-sleep), you’re invited to enter in one of our teams. We’ll organise transport, entry fees, and some food. Talk to Tom at any of the meetings if you’ve got questions, and look at their website: http://twalk.cutc.org.nz/index.php
Finally, everyone is encouraged to lead trips through the rest of the semester. Email the club list for participants and check out the club website for trip ideas. And of course, ask away if you want some advice.
Cheers
Luke Gardener
OUTC members, Erwin and myself, on the top of Ball Pass with Aoraki Mount Cook in the background, on Easter Monday. Photo Credit, Clément Boixel
Fiordland
It was awesome to hear all of the stories from a number of members this week about the weekend trips to Fiordland. Though not all of you managed to make it to the peak or pass you were aiming for, mainly due to the weather, all of you sounded like you had a pretty good time and made it back largely unscathed. Two photos below showing the best and worst of the weekend weather.
Luke
the U pass group enjoying the a-typical Fiordland sun
Group having breakfast under the bus to avoid torrential rain
Filed under Announcements, Trips | Comment (0)River Crossing
Thanks to everyone who showed up to river crossing on Sunday! We hope you had a good time and that those of you who got on a trip have a wicked time in Fiordland this weekend!
Upcoming events
Hi everyone
- Leadership Training in the Practice Room in the Clubs and Societies building (FREE). Saturday (9th March) 10.30am-11am. A quick 30min seminar about how to lead a successful trip, some good places to go and info about how the OUTC can hook you up with some sweet discounts on hut passes and Ferry Tickets to Stewart Island and more. (Those that have signed up for ropes practice will leave after this)
- Ropes Practice at Long Beach. Saturday (9th March) 11am till late afternoon (TRIP FULL). Those that have signed up bring $5 for petrol money. (Will leave once leadership training is finished)
- River Crossing Training at Taieri River (FREE). Be outside the Clubs and Societies Building by 10am, Sunday (10th March). We will all jump on a Bus and head out to the Taieri River to practice river crossing techniques. You MUST attend this if you want to come on our Fiordland trip. Those that have done river crossing in previous years with the club do not need to attend.
- Fiordland Pre-meet. Burns 2 Lecture Theatre, 7pm-9pm, Tuesday (12th March). Sign up to a trip for our amazing Fiordland Weekend. Will cost $60 cash. We will be trying a new way of signing up to mitigate the craziness that was the Paradise Pre-Meet (details to follow).
- Fiordland Weekend. Meeting at the Clubs and Societies Building at 5.30pm on Friday (15th March), returning to Clubs and Socs late on Sunday night (17th March). An awesome weekend in Fiordland with multiple Easy-Hard trips being dropped off along the Milford Road.
Ropes Theory & Practice
Ropes Theory & Practice
Hello members – Rock climbers, or aspiring climbers, will be interested to know that the OUTC owns climbing ropes (new!), harnesses, and some gear (e.g. cams). However, if you wish to check-out such items from the gear room we first want to make sure that you know how to handle yourself and the rope appropriately, especially since it will be a lifeline for various members. Therefore we are holding a theory night and a practical in the coming week/weekend; if you want to check-out the rope, you must attend one or both events, depending on your experience:
Training Officer
1. Current climbers: you must attend the theory night and then talk to the training officer or appointed training helpers so that your knowledge/experience can be gauged. If we deem your skills trustworthy, you will be allowed to check-out therope(s) without attending the practical.
2. New climbers: you must attend both the theory night and the practical.
Theory night (Monday, 04 March @ lecture theatre Burns 2 @ 7:00 pm): this night is intended to introduce you to the basics of rock climbing, rope handling and the necessary gear. We will show pictures or give demonstrations of essential knots and climbing methods, including anchor and gear use. We will also stress the importance of taking care of the rope.
Climbing practical (Saturday, 09 March @ TBA @ TBA ¾ of the day): we will get you onto some rock and put a rope in your hand/through your harness. The venue is not yet sorted, but the options are Long Beach (a Dunedin favourite), a training wall at Logan Park, or a wall in Port Chalmers.
Because we only have two climbing ropes, we have to limit the group to 20 people on the practical day to ensure climbers get enough time practicing. I encourage everyone interested to attend the theory night, of course.
Cheers,
Tiffany Stephens
Paradise and Paradise Pre-meet
Our first trip of the year is on next weekend (1st – 3rd March) to the wonderful world of Paradise (actual name). To come on the trip you MUST come to the pre-meet on Tuesday (26th February), 7pm in Burns 2 Lecture Theature (Arts Building).
The trip will cost $60 cash which you MUST bring to the pre-meet.
If you cannot make the pre-meet then unfortunately you will miss out as we are possibly already oversubscribed for this trip so we cannot go about reserving places.
- Meeting at Clubs and Societies at 5.30pm on Friday (1st March) and travelling to Paradise via Bus/Vans (approx 5hrs travelling).
- Staying at Lake Sylvan Campsite
- Easy, Medium and Hard day walks going out on Saturday
- Some Activities Saturday night
- Swim and a picnic at Lake Sylvan on Sunday
- Depart the campsite for Dunedin at approx 1pm on Sunday
If you know of anyone who is intending to come to Paradise, tell them that they MUST sign up at the Club meeting (Tuesday, 5-6pm Otago Room, Clubs and Socs Building) prior to the pre-meet at 7pm.
Filed under Announcements | Comment (0)Semester One – key dates for your diary
Wednesday 20th Feb- Clubs and Societies Day – 9am -4pm Come and join the club again! $30 gets you free gear hire, hut discounts and more!
Friday 22nd Feb - First tramping club meeting- 12.30-1.30pm, Otago Room, Clubs
and Societies building
Tues 26th Feb- Second Tramping Club meeting- 5-6pm, Otago Room, Clubs and
Socs Building (Meetings will continue every Tuesday and Friday until end of
Semester)
Tues 26th Feb - Paradise pre-meet- 7pm, Burns 2 Lecture Theatre. Paradise is our first club trip of the year, to the Routeburn region. You must go to this meeting to get a place on the trip.
Fri 1st March (evening)- Sun 3rd March (evening) - Paradise weekend. An awesome weekend away in Paradise (yes this is the actual name of the place!). Go on a day trip on Saturday, return to camp for a cooking competition and late night festivities. Wake up not very early Sunday and swim in beautiful Lake Sylvan before heading back to Dunedin. Must attend Pre-meet on Tuesday.*
Tues 5th March – Rock Climbing/Ropes Theory 7pm (Venue TBC)*
Sat 9th March – Rock Climbing/Ropes Practice (Time/Venue TBC)*
Sat 9th March – Trip Leader Training (Time/Venue TBC)*
Sun 10th March- Rivercrossing Course- 10.30- 2.00pm Taieri River at Outram Glen. Meet 10.30 am Outside Clubs and Socs, Free. Must attend to go to Fiordland.
Thurs 7th March - Bivouac Outdoor OUTC gear buy night- 6.00-9.00pm Massive discounts on lots of tramping stuff. Meet at Bivouac Outdoor on George St (Just north of the Octagon), and make sure to bring your membership card.
Tues 12th March - Fiordland Tramp Pre-meet- 7.00pm, Burns 2 Lecture Theatre. You must go to this if you want to come on our typically awesome Fiordland tramp.
Fri 15th March evening- Sun 17th March- Fiordland weekend tramp- Amazing and often challenging weekend tramp somewhere in the northern part of stunning Fiordland National Park, centred on Milford Sound. See glaciers, mountain parrots (kea) and stunning bush. Trips to suit all experience levels. Must attend the pre-meet on Tuesday.*
Silverpeaks date to be confirmed (DTBC)*
*More information concerning the above dates will be communicated via email closer to the time.
Here’s a nice photo for no reason:
Fiordland Mountains
Enjoying the summer weather
Hi everyone
Hope everyone is making good use of the amazing summer weather by getting out in the bush/hills/mountains. For those of you new to Otago in 2013 or those who want to know a bit more about the club OUSA will be having their clubs and societies day on the 20th February 2013, so come down and have a chat.
Luke
club member making good use of the amazing weather to do some tramping around Mount Cook
