The Lake District Ski Club - The Blog , Work Party

A Day in the Life of a LDSC Lifty

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 18:29:21 +0000

The Lake District Ski Club is run entirely by volunteers. We currently have a team of approximately 10 helpers who run the tow at weekends and mid week, depending on their particular circumstances. However, we are always looking to expand the team.

Interested?

If there has been heavy snow or ice, walk up the tow to check there are no buried pomas. If there are,

dig them out!

Prepare the tow loading area, such as adding more snow if needed or digging out if there is too much

If you joined the team, you would need to arrive on site at Raise around 10am, from which time the first members will start arriving.

There are a number of jobs to start the day which are usually shared between the 2 or 3 volunteers helping on that day.

The first jobs include, starting the generator, taking out the signage.

check the rollers on the tow are free from ice, if there is any, remove it
open the toilet
Take out the fire extinguisher and starter

Start checking passes / taking money from members

Go up the tow and visibly check all is running well

There may be other jobs throughout the day such as adding snow to the tow line, slowing the tow if there are any children and going up the tow regularly to check all is well. At least one of the team will be positioned at the hut by the emergency shut off at all times.

The bonus is, because there are usually a few of us helping, we all get to have a good ski or board by sharing the work out.

At the end of the day all the signage needs to be stored away, close the engine shed down and make sure that everyone gets back down the hill safely at the end of a great day.

If you would like to get involved please contact the team for further details. webmaster@ldscsnowski.co.uk

7th September 4th Work Meet

Tue, 09 Sep 2014 21:17:52 +0000

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Ski and boot clear out

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:08:45 +0000

There is limited storage space for skis at the club. 27 pairs were unused last season and have been removed from the rack and placed under the benches. If you have a set of skis or boots in the club hut and you didn't use them last season, please remove them or contact the Hut Warden to reclaim them before the next workmeet scheduled for 12/13 July 2014.

All skis unclaimed by this date will be taken down from Raise on our vehicle and stored temporarily off site. If they are not claimed within two months they will be considered as abandoned and disposed of. There is insufficient space for the hut to be used as a dumping ground for old skis.

The Warden is Eleanor, Email eandg.unthank@gmail.com - please email Eleanor to check if you aren't sure whether your skis are on notice!

The Future: Note that all skis/boards and boots left in the hut must be identifiable with the owners name. Any unidentified equipment or equipment unused for one season will be considered as abandoned.

Work Parties

Sat, 19 Apr 2014 07:19:48 +0000

Real dedication to the club

Sat, 12 Oct 2013 18:52:32 +0000

This is what you call dedication to the club.
Bernie and Terry were up raise today to fix the electric problem on the control box for the tow. After 10hrs of head scratching it was finally fixed. We can now run the tow but the operators will need some new instruction's on its use.
Many thanks to them both.

It’s all systems go!

Sun, 06 Oct 2013 16:47:43 +0000

We’re all ready for the snow now, thanks to a party of about 15 members who made the trek up Raise today to finish off the winter’s tasks in some fairly grizzly drizzly weather.

The hangers have new bolts to replace the original pins, they’re greased and re-hung. The new safety cable to the stop buttons is installed in the trench up the pylon line, dug by sweat of member brow.

There’s a new heater in the club hut, the water to the powder room flows freely again, the snow fencing is repaired and the Kubota four-wheel drive flatbed canopy is lashed down below the tow hut to provide a temporary shelter for the portable ski tow.

(The portable tow goes out whenever the snow is particularly good and gives access to a significantly bigger ski area, including some tempting drifts down towards Sticks Gill below the usual way back to the tow from the Way Out West run.)

Just one improvement remains to be completed. Pylon five now boasts a wind turbine which will power two new web cams to be installed in the next few weeks. One will point down the piste and the other will look out past Greenside to Ullswater. Together, with the existing webcam, they should give a much better impression of conditions up the mountain.

Our further-flung members will particularly appreciate this feature to save themselves a wasted trip. We also anticipate that the latter cam will prove popular with a wide range of mountain users – not just club members – which should enable us to earn a few quid for club funds from selling ad space. Potential sponsors form an orderly queue!

Many thanks to members who have attended work parties this summer. We couldn’t do it without you.

Work Party Sunday 6th October

Thu, 03 Oct 2013 07:00:29 +0000

The Work party will go ahead on Sunday. Cleaning and greasing the hangers. Also some maintainance jobs to do.Then we will be ready for the snow bring it on!!

Wiring up ready for the new webcam

Sat, 07 Sep 2013 07:12:17 +0000

At the last work party Jim got started on the wiring for the new webcam on pylon 5, but high winds and frequent showers stopped play.

Jim and Davie went up last Wednesday to finish off the job - decent weather meant that they both got the job completed and the weatherproof box is now in place and ready to fit the camera.

Pulleys greased, toilet fixed and more repairs

Sun, 01 Sep 2013 11:15:55 +0000

Another work party done and dusted, 10 members in total, plus dogs. Weather wasn't quite as advertised with sleety showers and blustery, chilly winds, interspersed with very momentary sunny spells.

We dug a trench to run a drainage hose from the Powder Room to solve the problem of the pipes silting up. Water for the flushing toilet comes from the bog further up the hill, and the supply has normally been turned when it's not being use, which has led to silt blocking up the system. The new pipe will allow the water feed to run continuously, via a bypass when it's not being used, hopefully solving the problem. All of the hangers have now been modified, with bolts replacing the pins that had been failing and, as the hangers cost over £500 each, hopefully this will solve the problem of failure.

A bit more repair work was done on the fences and Stuart greased all the pulleys on the pylons, noticing a dodgy bearing on one of the pulleys on pylon 5. A reasonably simple job of replacing a couple of bearings should see it installed at October's work party. Some more groundwork was done for the new webcam that's due to be installed on pylon 5 ready for the 2013-14 season. This should give a good view down on the bottom two thirds of the pistes, as well as Ullswater and the surrounding hills.

New safety cable installed and a solution to the blocked loo

Thu, 22 Aug 2013 19:05:33 +0000

Six members attended a special mini work party, which was added in to ensure that work is completed before the beginning of the season. The new cable for the safety system was installed and passed through the ducting. A great effort by all. The team also managed to get the problem with the water feed for the toilet sorted out and the work on pylon 5 for the wind turbine is now ready for it to installed at the next work meet. Most of the hangers are now ready for greasing. A very good day's work by the few for the many. Remember there is still plenty to do for the next work party - see you there.