13 members braved the rubbish weather of Sunday the 3rd August for the third work party of the season and got a whole bunch of stuff done.
Last month, 800 litres of diesel and the new electric motor was airlifted up to Raise by helicopter. First job was to roll the 200 litre drums up to the tow hut so the diesel could be pumped into the fuel tank.
Meanwhile, the old electric motor for the tow was dropped and the new one lifted in it's place. The old motor isn't in bad condition, but we've had a problem with the inverter, which converts the electricity produced by the diesel generator and turns it into something that the electric motor can use. The existing inverter is shot, although Terry (our resident sparky) managed to bodge it last season so that we were able to ski. While we're fitting a new inverter, it makes sense to put a motor in that's compatible with the newer type of inverter. The last thing we need is a motor failure in the middle of the season - not the sort of thing you can do in the Winter! The new setup will allow us to vary the speed of the tow, so we can speed it up a bit when it's busy and slow it down in high winds - last season we could only run it at a single speed.
The fencing team did sterling work on getting new posts and wires in, although there's plenty yet to do.
We didn't get a pint in the sun at the end of the day this time, but Helvellyn Gold was on at the Travellers and another couple of work parties should see us ready for the 2014-15 season.