A Busy Summer

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31058, 13 May 1966, Page 16

A Busy Summer

The recent summer has been an extremely busy, and expensive, one for the Craigieburn Valley Ski Club. The tow system has been overhauled and extended, and the access road widened.

Mr •R. A. Radley, president of the club in 1965 and again this year, estimated that about 3000 man hours had been spent working on the field during the summer months. There had been working parties of 2050 club members each week-end.

He estimated that £2OOO had been spent on tow development and a further £4OO on widening the access road. Of this money, £l6OO was spent on purchasing and installing a tractor motor to run the tow system. This new tow motor is thought to be the only one of its type in the world.

It will run three different tows; one uphill, one downhill and one at right-angles out on to the slope. It is estimated that it will, when the tow system is completed, be able to pull 40 skiers at a time. The motor has been installed at the junction of the lower tow, the beginners tow, and the projected access tow,

and is situated at the base of the ski-field proper. It is a diesel unit.

More work, if less expense, was involved in realigning the tows.

Top Tow.— This has been redesigned and extended to the top ridge (6000 feet). It now has a vertical rise of 800 feet with 2025 feet of rope. Lower Tow.—AH the old wooden standards on this tow have been replaced by steel piping. It has been realigned and lengthened to 500 vertical feet with 1263 feet of rope. Beginners’ Tow.—Placed in a specially bulldozed area, this tow is 200 feet long and has a vertical rise of 50 feet. It has been specially created as a learners’ area and is at right angles to the main tow line of the valley. But the most important work during the summer was that done on widening the access road.

This is narrow and winding and in the past, over its length of three miles and a half, has been too narrow to permit cars on the way up to pass cars on the way down. The narrowness of the road has been accentuated by the failure of the bulldozers to clear the deep snow off the parking areas spaced along the road.