Rsser's accident.

[NeilS]

When I were a lad...... :D

..... we weren't allowed to have anything as fancy as SSPS, EDLIN or FORTRAN, well not until we had completed our string handling chores in machine code....:D

.....

[Cliff Rogers]

Paper tape..... :cool:

[NeilS]

Paper tape..... :cool:

Nah, magnetic drum, Circa 1967.

.....

[rsser]

Punch cards! The data was loaded onto the Cyber's hard drive but was wiped at the end of each year unless you got authorisation to keep it. Otherwise it was back to the bleeding cards and redo the data cleanup.

....

Well I did 3 demos with the Easy Rougher, Finisher and Detailer and thoroughly enjoyed it along with the chats with the other turner (Maurrie from Peninsula Turners), Grahame and Michael of PWS, Carl of WW Machinery Warehouse, Stu and others. Sturdee was there, and Dynoforce and Soren.

I levered a Silky Oak bowl out of the chuck with the Rougher - luckily not many were watching at the time :-

Shaping the outside of a lump of Cypress for a bowl with the Rougher was fairly hard work and the paw's been griping but sod it.

Picked up a couple of Rock Maple bowl blanks and a metre of 100x100 Swietenia Mahogany. I feel a classic form candlestick coming on.

[rsser]

Last post:

The hand therapists are impressed with my progress; std rehab times for this condition range from 6 to 12 months. It's been 4 months and I can pull 40kg and most of the rotations are close to normal. A fill-in physio-trained therapist gave me one exercise which really helps to free up the wrist when it's stiff and painful.

Now the pain is mostly at the time it's caused and where, and that's a helluva lot easier to manage.

It's still a day-by-day thing. Wake up in the morning with an unknown amount of hand usage in the bank, but don't know what kind or for how long til I try. Sometimes the credit runs out fast; sometimes it doesn't at all.

Thanks for all your sympathetic listening and advice. They've meant more to me than I can say.

[Ozkaban]

Good to hear you're doing well, though the news that some days are better than others doesn't surprise that much.

Having exercises to relieve pain are very useful - I wrecked my back doing stupid things a few years back and had a set of exercises. If I did them, no pain. If I didn't, then I'd wake up in the morning in pretty bad shape... Managing a condition like that is pretty ok, especially if it trends towards getting better over time.

Always happy to listen for several reasons. We're all nice people here, we all care, and we're usually reading this on work time :D:D:D

Cheers,
Dave

[wally peat]

It's still a day-by-day thing. Wake up in the morning with an unknown amount of hand usage in the bank, but don't know what kind or for how long til I try. Sometimes the credit runs out fast; sometimes it doesn't at all.

Ern, you are an encouragement to us all. As the median age of this forum grows, more and more of us are confronted with our mortal shortcomings, and it is a salutary lesson to us all who grumble at the indignities of age to see you deal with this sort of injury.

It may never be perfect again, but it wasn't going to stay that way anyway, and making the most of what you have is far better than letting it rust because you wept for lost function.

Well done on your progress.

[Cliff Rogers]

Last post:....
Sounds like a good name for a piece of music. :think:

[tea lady]

:2tsup:

[NeilS]

.....I can pull 40kg and most of the rotations are close to normal.

.




.........:2tsup:


.....

[hughie]

Sounds like a good name for a piece of music.
..maybe use a trumpet or a bugle, nah! it'll never catch on :C


Good work with the hands Ern:2tsup:

[rsser]

Thanks guys and gal :)

Acc to the literature, rehab takes btwn 6 and 12 months with what I copped. So it's just been 4 months and while there's a way to go I'm ahead of the norm so far.

I'm still looking forward to enough rotation to move from, ahem, Muslim style in the loo to Christian, and the hand therapist is threatening to make me wear the ortho stap overnight. Only way that can work might have me waking in the morning thinking shoot!, haven't had that since a teenager :D

[rsser]

Well, I now have a new hand therapist, physio trained, and the exercises are working a treat, god bless her.

Just in the last week the wrist has been itching to move and it feels like it belongs to me again.

I'm rewarding myself with a 5 day guided glacier ski tour in NZ in August, which is also a wrist strength target. For me, and the poor physio! She looked a bit gobsmacked when I told her.

[NeilS]

Good one, Ern. Sounds like you are keen to get out there on the edge again.

I guess being on the edge of the odd crevasse or two will do it for you.....:U

Which glacier?

.....

[rsser]

Prob the Tasman Neil and those intersecting. Or possibly Franz & Fox Josef depending on weather and snow conditions. The guide makes the decision the day before we fly in.

[rsser]

PS, the crevasses you see can give an adrenaline hit; the ones you don't see, a king-hit :oo:

Mallory dropped into one during his 2nd expedition to Everest I think it was. Luckily his ice axe was underneath him and wedged itself between the walls, holding him. He managed to scrape a ramp and crawl out.

When they knew dangers were there they'd rope up, but even the heavy hemp rope at the time would fail with a body weight drop of 7 or 8 metres.

Much later Meissner, the first climber to ascend Everest without oxygen, also dropped into a crevasse and managed to haul himself out.

[NeilS]

Prob the Tasman Neil and those intersecting. Or possibly Franz & Fox Josef depending on weather and snow conditions. The guide makes the decision the day before we fly in.

That makes sense. From my little experience of walking (tramping) in SW NZ, the weather can be fickle in that area and I imagine a whiteout on a glacier wouldn't be the best of fun.

And, as one very experienced NZ tramper said (met in a remote hut 5 days out), doesn't really matter which tramp you take the scenery is all magnificent in that SW area.

.....

[mic-d]

I'm still looking forward to enough rotation to move from, ahem, Muslim style in the loo to Christian

Whaa? I only just managed to get from Christian style to Muslim, now the trend is the other way?:wink:
Do be careful handling the crevasse Ern.:D:D
Cheers
Michael

[rsser]

We'll have a guide who will specialise in heartburn from watching out for alpine touring newbies. We'll wear transceivers in case of avalanche burial. My skis have release bindings so they should come off in an avy. I expect we'll get a lesson in prussiking up a rope to get out of a crevasse.

They've had one guide and one client die in avalanches on the Tasman in the last two years so caution will be the name of the game.

If we come in from the West, on a clear day the beaches will be visible from the tops of the glaciers; if from Mt Cook village to the Tasman, a bit of touring will take us to a saddle in the Southern R with a similar view.

Here's a pic of our most likely destination. Kelman Hut, 2500m. Ski plane to the neve nearby.

[NeilS]

Yummy... been in a few NZ huts with specy views, but that one takes the cake. I could spend a few in that. Just don't miss your step on the way down to that dunny.....:o

[rsser]

Yeah! Long drop takes on a new meaning ;-}

Well the reality is that 90% of the time is hard slog.

It's all either up or down in that terrain. An hour's climb up and a minute of turns down the slope.

Hut temps drop to lower than minus 5C overnight. Got the gear and have slept at minus 14C in the Snowies. Leather ski boots at the time froze; bindings had some moisture too and also froze and wouldn't hold in the mornings.

In some ways this is a last shot at things I didn't know about when young and now regret. Not really on the edge, except for having to crank up the cardio fitness big time and wondering whether it will serve :?

I love wild places and the way that the wind blows through you as if you weren't there.

[springwater]

Good move Ern :2tsup: the mountain air will be good medicine and the spirit of adventure good for your blood :cool:

[haggismuncher]

Meissner, the first climber to ascend Everest without oxygen, also dropped into a crevasse and managed to haul himself out.
Was that the time he was alone?
Must have been "invigorating".
I always read "Touching the void" with a mixture of admiration and dread.
Crevasses are awe inspiring but take a terrible toll.

Mind you I'm as jealous as hell you're doing it, when I went to the Fox glacier there was no ice climbing available that week (can't remember why), I was trying to cure my vertigo. Having a target must focus your recovery so well. Good luck with it.

Chris

[rsser]

Thanks Chris, yes it's both a target and a reward.

Springwater, eloquently put.

Touching the Void is an amazing story I agree. Would have hated to be the guy who had to let his mate go. And then see your mate appear in camp. would you say?? 'Put down that rock mate'? ;-}

Not sure about Messner; whatever it was, he was as mad as a cut snake.

Fox and Franz Josef glaciers have acquired a bit of a bad rep since a couple of folk were killed by falling ice last year if memory serves. All the glaciers down there are getting shorter and some more dramatically than others!

We'll be up at the neves, the headwalls and above thankfully.

[rsser]

So much for the putative last post. Anyway, it's been good to share some good news after so many distressed posts.

Had the weekly review today and the right paw can now squeeze 52kg. Onwards and upwards!

Finally found out the tech term for the dulled/tingling palm: parasthesia. It still limits how hard I can push the rehab.

Contacted an alpine gear supplier asking for an ice axe the same length as Mallory's. No luck. 'What is Mallory? We don't sell them; contact the distributor.' :wink:

Also trying to get travel insurance. LOL. Pre-existing medical conditions. Check. Climbing mountains with ropes and/or guides. Check. Smoker. Check. Ever sought treatment for depression. Check.

Hey ho.

[Ozkaban]

All sounding pretty good Ern. 52kg sounds OK :o



Also trying to get travel insurance. LOL. Pre-existing medical conditions. Check. Climbing mountains with ropes and/or guides. Check. Smoker. Check. Ever sought treatment for depression. Check.


Are you taking an Axe with you... check :doh:

Do you like your travelling companions... ???

Cheers,
Dave

[rsser]

LOL.

They could add: would you eat dog liver if nec. to survive?

Answer: Yes, but I may be some time.

;-}

[NeilS]

Had the weekly review today and the right paw can now squeeze 52kg. Onwards and upwards!



If that improves any further I'll have to watch out for the hand crushing handshake...:U

.....

[haggismuncher]

It may be a long shot for insurance but try the BMC BMC - Membership Services (http://www.thebmc.co.uk/modules/insurance/Landing.aspx)
they were the only ones who would insure us over 6,000m cycling in Tibet.
There may be an Australian equivalent if they are unwilling to cover you being based in Aus. Good to hear the recovery is well on progress.

Chris

[springwater]

Also trying to get travel insurance. LOL. Pre-existing medical conditions. Check. Climbing mountains with ropes and/or guides. Check. Smoker. Check. Ever sought treatment for depression. Check.

Hey ho.

:D Bugger the insurance, it's only about odds anyway :2tsup:

[rsser]

True.

But last trip I had to cancel cos of the broken wrist and hadn't organised it yet. Dropped a bundle. Trip before I trashed a knee. 3x unlucky?

[rsser]

Hand therapist says we can now move to reviews every f/night.

She seems to think I'm doing enough self-punishment ;-}

Clocked missionary position on Sunday for the first time in 6 months.

Just in case you were interested :rolleyes:

[NeilS]

Clocked missionary position on Sunday for the first time in 6 months.



Definite progress there Ern.....:U

.....

[Terry B]

Hand therapist says we can now move to reviews every f/night.

She seems to think I'm doing enough self-punishment ;-}

Clocked missionary position on Sunday for the first time in 6 months.

Just in case you were interested :rolleyes:
Too much info.:U

[rsser]

Yeah, sorry.

It's just that at each review the therapist asks 'is there anything you still can't do with your hand?'

I'd never mentioned this limitation. Not easy with a young attractive therapist.

Who might actually reply in a way to make us both blush ;-}

[tea lady]

:rolleyes::D

[underfoot]

Clocked missionary position on Sunday for the first time in 6 months. :rolleyes:
Missionary position :? ...whats that ?... (mental image of black frocked bloke in jungle village kneeling with hands raised to the sky)...is that what you're doing?....does it help?

[underfoot]

It's just that at each review the therapist asks '
;-}
You don't need a therapist rsser, you've got us (the forum).
6824 veiws and 335 posts :rolleyes: bound to be some wisdom in there somewhere:rolleyes:
and cheap at half the price :D

[rsser]

Well, I've posted my satisfaction at moving from Muslim to Christian position with clean-ups in the little room.

Just thought I should add another progress note to my transition.

If holding my arms up in a black frock in the back yard before a crucifix could've provided instant wrist rehab I would've tried it. And sod the neighbours. What's the prob with floor length frocks I ask you.

[rsser]

Woohoo!

The bike started almost instantly today. Took it for a slow circuit of the back yard. No dramas.

Scrubbed the rust spots off the chain. Scrubbed the bug splats off the waterproof jacket. 2 seasons' worth. Damn drought.

Tried the new helmet on. A bit tight but the foam should pack down. Or my head might return to normal size.

Tomorrow we'll head out to meet up with the scheduled club ride start. A few minutes bullshitting and I'll head quietly back home. About an hour.

Matches the therapist's prof'l advice re functional rehabilitation :rolleyes:

[NeilS]

Tomorrow we'll head out to meet up with the scheduled club ride start. A few minutes bullshitting and I'll head quietly back home. About an hour.



Yeah, just turning up is 90% of what's required. Not sure who said that (or words to that effect), but reckon it's about right.

Have fun showing off your war wounds!

.....

[rsser]

They'll be more interested in the quality of the bike repairs :rolleyes:

[Calm]

Well, I've posted my satisfaction at moving from Muslim to Christian position with clean-ups in the little room.

Just thought I should add another progress note to my transition.

If holding my arms up in a black frock in the back yard before a crucifix could've provided instant wrist rehab I would've tried it. And sod the neighbours. What's the prob with floor length frocks I ask you.

It didn't work for corporal Klinger either Ern. :D:D

[rsser]

No, what a hoot Klinger was.

Well I survived the outing. Beautiful crisp sunny morning.

I just assumed that anything on the road was out to get me. Esp. 3 roos crossing at a gully. 3 dead ones lying on the road shoulder a testament to the danger.

Came home and iced up the aching paw. Have to unlearn the paranoia grip.

[rsser]

Hah, just completed the marathon of getting travel insurance for NZ.

What a joke.

All the paperwork for pre-existing medical conditions. GP has to do the assessment, but do I see the GP for soft-tissue injuries or joint rehab? No.

Anyway, it's done and it cost a pittance cos NZ has a no-fault accident insurance scheme (includes travellers from o/s) and reciprocal Medicare arrangements.

Had excellent service from YHA Travel, as I started with them online, being a member, and the Team Leader in Melb. couldn't have been more helpful. Dunno what their cut was but the premium for 2 1/2 weeks was all of $97.

Wrist's excluded off course, so I'll just remember to fall to the left :D

[Kev Y.]

Just remember the side-show operators instructions Ern..... please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times... :)

[springwater]

Wrist's excluded off course, so I'll just remember to fall to the left :D

Seems to me that some sort of support that locks your wrist movement wouldn't be too much of a hassle when skiing :think: do weight lifting gloves do that :think: ten pin bowling gloves :think: or there's always the full face plant :-:D

[rsser]

Face plant should slow me down nicely.

The hand therapist will make a small thermoplastic splint to stabilise the thumb; that'll reduce the arthritis that predates the wrist fracture..

But if it comes to an insurance claim, the underwriter will want a professional opinion that the problem had nothing to do with the wrist. I'll need to be skiing with a GP or Physio at all times :rolleyes:

[NeilS]

.....just completed the marathon of getting travel insurance for NZ.



....:2tsup:

.....

[rsser]

Good grief, I emailed the guide company about what the av. vertical ascent might be on a day tour out of one of the huts, and the answer was ..


1000 m

Hmph. Time to crank up the fitness training big time.

I've done 1200m in a day twice but in much younger days.

Pity the snow is so carp here in Aus ATM.

[NeilS]

My daughter-in-law and her father 'summited' Kilimanjaro on Sunday. Evidently they both found it the most demanding climb they have done. 4,600 m of ascent, 1300m on summit day which was scheduled to be a 16 hr day.

They had been in training for months before they left for Africa, in addition to being quite fit anyway. Got tired myself just hearing about it.

So, better you than me, Ern, and all the best with the fitness programme

.....

[RETIRED]

Sooo, Ern, are you running down on Saturday with you pack on?:D

[Grumpy John]

I think he should put some roller blades on and use some poles to simulate the skiing action :D.

[rsser]

It may come to that; strap the DVR XP on the back as well :rolleyes:

Will go up to Falls Ck next week. Walk up Wombat's ramble, ski down, walk up etc etc. Not enough natural snow to ski yet. Need to do it with skis since each leg will be pushing about 4kg of boot/binding/ski.

[rsser]

Last year my son emailed me a single frame cartoon, of the Big G sitting in heaven at his 'puter. There was a special key on the keyboard, labelled the Smite key and he was hovering over it.

I figure he hit it twice when I'd wandered into view.

Last week I did the fitness training in the snow and built up a fair amount of stamina. And the wrist coped well with several hours of poling a day, though another nerve got irritated by it. Nothing that couldn't be worked around acc to the hand therapist.

But after 3 days on a lousy mattress and a longish drive home, I could barely walk the next day. Acute lower back pain.

Yesterday the plane for NZ left without me, and the physio and I are spending a lot of time together.

We may be able to get it sorted by Thursday which is about the latest to make the prepaid glacier ski tour but I'm not hopeful.

This time travel insurance was organised in time and I've been studying the PDS closely. It's somewhat ambiguous. There may be a battle looming over the $2.5k that's at stake.

.....

Actually I'm an agnostic. If I was a believer I'd be having doubts now about the divine plan for my life.

[NeilS]

Bugger.... and here's hoping it all works out OK.

.....

[Big Shed]

Wow, life is certainly throwing you some curve balls at the moment Ern, what a b*gger.

Hope you can still make it somehow.:2tsup:

[rsser]

I think the lesson must be 'book at the last minute', when I'm out of His peripheral vision :rolleyes:

[rsser]

Well, the back's still giving me curry and NZ is just a memory.

I hope to make the next booked trip which is next week with the YHA ski group; we stay at Dinner Plain for a few days in order to ski at Hotham. A day on the lifts, a day skating between the two towns and a day touring back country. Which is the best of all; nothing like the wildness and splendour of being out on a remote spur with no sign of other humans.

[NeilS]

Well, the back's still giving me curry and NZ is just a memory.


Brugger!




......a day touring back country. Which is the best of all; nothing like the wildness and splendour of being out on a remote spur with no sign of other humans.

Agreed, and the silence in the back country after a fresh fall of snow is bliss.

.....

[rsser]

Yes. Camped overnight once on the Bogong High Plains, at Tawonga Huts. Snow fell during the darkness creating a thick silence in the tent. Morning broke sunny and the snow like thick cream had obliterated all footprints and ski tracks around us.

....

New lathe arrived yesterday.

A painless process: about 2 weeks from ordering. The freight company said Friday or Monday; they rang in the morning and specified between 11 and 12 and were as good as their word.

The driver's eyes popped when he saw the dirt driveway but with him pulling the pallet trolley and me leavering the pallet rear with a star post we got it up the gentle slope and slid each pallet in turn up some skids into the shed. The driver was willing to have a go and take suggestions from someone who'd done it before.

I could've been smarter and put the pallet with the stand in last but live and learn.

It's all been a smooth process thanks to Brendan Stemp and Vicmarc.

The DVR XP will have to be sold to make room for the VL175.

That can wait as I'm going .... er ... no I'm not. I'm hopping in the car on Wed. and going round the block. It may or may not have skis in it. :whistling2:

[Sturdee]

If you need a hand Ern, let me know when and I'll see if I can.

Peter.

[rsser]

Thanks Peter.

I'll try the neighbours first.

Once upon a time there were barn raisings; these days, lathe raisings ;-}

[rsser]

Well Falls Ck and the Bogong High Plains are not quite NZ class but it's been an amazing late season recovery, with steady good snow falls over a week or so.

Today I spent on the tows and the conditions were what they call 'hero snow' - ie. you can do anything. Firm base with fresh dry snow on top. Was able to recover last year's telemark form and take it a step further

Yesterday was filthy weather: windy, foggy, driving snow/hail. But a few hours following pole lines was a great restorative nonetheless.

In the gully near Howmans Gap camp is a resident lyrebird and he was in good form. The maggies and currawongs' carrols also cut through the thick snow-flaked air and there was even a black cocky making that inimitable squeaky-hinge door sound.

Tried to load some pics but the laptop card reader can't cope with SDHC cards.

[NeilS]

NZ can wait, Ern. From what I hear they have been having some full on blizzards there this year.... long way to go to be hunkered down in your digs waiting for it to blow over.

Anyway the Bogong High Plains sounds like bliss to me.

Telemark away.

.....

[Manuka Jock]

Ern , you missed out on a bit of excitement in the Aoraki mountains over the weekend :U

Tasman Glacier drops 50 million tonne iceberg (http://www.3news.co.nz/Tasman-Glacier-drops-50-million-tonne-iceberg/tabid/1160/articleID/172215/Default.aspx)

http://static.stuff.co.nz/1282533686/683/4051683.jpg

[rsser]

Good grief.

Soon we'll be able to kayak to the foot of Aoraki!

[Manuka Jock]

Glacier cruises , gondola rides , ice slurry skiing :2tsup:

[kiwigeo]

I was lucky enough to visit The Ball Hut back in the mid seventies before it and the lateral moraine it was built on collapsed into the the Tasman Glacier. Highlight of the stay was sitting outside the hut at night and listening to the glacier grinding along.

[rsser]

Glacier cruises , gondola rides , ice slurry skiing

LOL!

It's a wild place nonetheless you've got down there MJ. Darn, I'm waxing regretful now.

You're quite right though Neil. I had a mate who came from Europe to do the kind of thing I'd signed up for and he spent several days hut-bound when the weather turned bad.

Tomorrow I'll get the skaters on and exhaust myself with a couple of hours on the Bogong High Plains 'road'. Lots of old pharts like me practising there as the big Hoppet race is on next Sat (aka World Loppet). At Howman's Gap camp I met a Cannuck who is a World Loppet master - he's done this international series of races four times! Our version is a mere 42km (and the winner will do it in about 1.75 hours); some of the Euro routes are over 70km and they light the last few km for those who come in late.

[rsser]

I was lucky enough to visit The Ball Hut back in the mid seventies before it and the lateral moraine it was built on collapsed into the the Tasman Glacier. Highlight of the stay was sitting outside the hut at night and listening to the glacier grinding along.

Wow.

And imagine the poor sods in the huts up there when the top of Aoraki collapsed.

[kiwigeo]

Wow.

And imagine the poor sods in the huts up there when the top of Aoraki collapsed.

Mount Cook is a mountain to be reckoned with....it's taken alot of lives over the years. One of my friends is up there somewhere....along with two other fellow students from my Geology Stage III year at Canterbury University.

[rsser]

Ah, sorry to hear that.

Yeah, the guiding company I was signed up with this time employed an upcoming guide but on Ball Pass on ropes two clients lost grip and she went down with them, to oblivion.

Think she now has a peak named after her in Two Thumb Range.

[kiwigeo]

No need for apologies Ern....all three of these individuals died doing what they loved doing best. My friend was the most careful of climbers but an unexpected and rapid deterioration in weather conditions got him.

Still...if mountain climbing didn't have an element of danger associated with it then nobody would bother doing it.

[rsser]

Yeah. That's why I ride a sportsbike. Fast.

The margins of safety are tiny.

Stoked at the end of the day.

[rsser]

Well there's been heaps of snow up here. 15cm yesterday and as it got down to -7 o/night it was powder. Snowing down to 900m during the day today.

I followed a pole line out and back at -3 degrees in driving wind and snow with visibility down to 60m or less. The flat light meant you couldn't see what was coming up and the first you'd know when you skied off a mound was a stomach in mouth feeling followed by a bum plant.

The conditions will be great for Australia's part of the World Loppet XC race series, the 42km Hoppet on Sat. The winner will do it in about 1.75 hours, on skating skis.

Hooroo from the mountains.

[NeilS]

Well there's been heaps of snow up here. 15cm yesterday and as it got down to -7 o/night it was powder. Snowing down to 900m during the day today.



Going by what is happening here there is more of that on its way to you, so should be good.

Enjoy!

.....

[rsser]

Well Falls Ck got 54cm of snow yesterday! More today.

The media wise-heads are saying the cover is better than it has been for 20 years but I was up there on my first ski tour 18 years ago and the snow poles running over to Tawonga Huts were almost buried then. This season isn't in that class.

Anyway, the Hoppet racers will be spared the 3 or 4 circuits around the top near Mt Mckay which has come close to being the normal dismal route and should have firm dry snow if the groomers can do the 42km before Sat morning.

[rsser]

Well after the fantastic late snow falls I'm back at Howmans Gap Camp near Falls Ck for a few days.

Today it's been very warm, very wet and very windy.

Had planned to join friends for the first leg of their overnight tour but would've needed a wetsuit and goggles ;-}

Have been watching the rain pour down and trash the snow.

The road off the mountain, like a number of others in NE Vic, has been closed. Landslips, fallen trees, or water breaking the banks on the river flats.

The Camp is filling up with asylum seekers and the YMCA staff, who run the place, have shown a kindness and care that puts successive Federal govt's to shame. The kitchen is in overdrive, linen is being hunted out, and advice on the future dispensed.

[NeilS]

The road off the mountain, like a number of others in NE Vic, has been closed. Landslips, fallen trees, or water breaking the banks on the river flats.

The Camp is filling up with asylum seekers and the YMCA staff, who run the place, have shown a kindness and care that puts successive Federal govt's to shame. The kitchen is in overdrive, linen is being hunted out, and advice on the future dispensed.

Yeah, you are still in the right place, Ern..... 9 killed in a plane crash near the Fox Glacier and a state of emergency has been declared and residents are being evacuated from Christchurch after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake....:o

.....

[rsser]

Oh heavens, not another tragedy out in their glacier country.

The score is mounting.

Without the NZ no-fault accident compensation scheme (which includes tourists) folk would have to walk in or pay a squillion.

And Christchurch, yes, caught that on the radio. Sounds awful.

[rsser]

Well we've had a little dose of excitement too.

Bucketed down yesterday. Hotham got 130mm and Mt Buffalo 150mm in the 24 hours to 9am today.

The road up the mountain was closed yesterday due to fallen trees and landslips.

The wind up the gully below Howmans Gap camp was strong enough to drop a Mountain Ash every couple of hours or so. These are trees killed in the 03 fires.

Finally the call came this afternoon that a convoy of vehicles would be escorted off the mountain at 4pm, another escorted up and the road closed again.

It's been two days of alternating boredom waiting and excitement watching the wild weather.

The Howmans Gap resident lyrebird came out this morning and picked over the grass exposed by the rain having washed the snow cover off.

Most of the roads back to the Hume Fway are closed; I can only make out one tortuous route but luckily I had a motel room booked and will sit down with a beer and see what the morning brings.

[kiwigeo]

Most of the roads back to the Hume Fway are closed; I can only make out one tortuous route but luckily I had a motel room booked and will sit down with a beer and see what the morning brings.

Dont get your hopes up mate...it's been bucketting down all day here in the Adelaide Hills so I'd say you're in for the same.....better make sure you've got plenty of beer!

[rsser]

So the morning might bring a hangover? ;-}

Sure has been weird weather patterns up in the Alps this winter. Little snow, then bucketloads, and then this tropical change.

[artme]

Have we not meandered miles off topic???:rolleyes:

So how's the paw Ern???:?

[rsser]

Which was, err, how many woodworkers does it take to change a lightglobe?

Paw's pretty good thanks Arthur. The hard splint helps keep thumb pain minimal and I can grip a ski pole for several hours at a time.

And a useful side-effect of the fracture is that having had to use the left hand much more, nearly all of the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome in it have disappeared.

[NeilS]

Dont get your hopes up mate...it's been bucketting down all day here in the Adelaide Hills so I'd say you're in for the same.....better make sure you've got plenty of beer!

Yeah, we have almost reached our average for September in just five days and if any of what we got here yesterday drops as snow over the Alps you'll be in for a blizzard Ern, but unlikely, as I understand that a lot of this moisture is coming down from the north with some residual warmth in it.

Hope you can make the best of it..... how well does burnt Mt Ash turn?

.....

[rsser]

Well I made it back to Melb via the one available meandering route open.

Most of the big rivers in the NE have broken their banks.

Mountain Ash is OK to turn Neil; a bit coarse and plain grained.

[rsser]

Well as Artme implied the thread has also meandered and gone well off topic.

Can I thank again all of you who have provided advice and encouragement, in the thread and in PMs. In particular Sturdee who was kind enough to start it and NeilS who has been a faithful respondent.

It's been my annus horribilis in a variety of ways (well, if Betty Windsor can have one why not me?!) and the support of forum members has helped greatly in my getting through it so far.

Time to drop the curtain Mods.