EXPEDITION 1: Big-wall climbing on the island of Socotra, south of Yemen.

Trip Leader: Chris Elliott (with Euan Brown)
Funding: $2,000
The Mashanig Towers are located on the tiny island of Socotra, to the south of Yemen. They range in height from 400m to 600m, and were only climbed for the first time in 2009. With only one route climbed on the Mashanig Towers, a wealth of big-wall climbing opportunities remain – and all of them first ascents. This trip aims to put the ANUMC back on the table as a serious player in the big-wall climbing scene. The expedition will take place over two weeks in December 2014.
Contact: Chris: cgaelliott (at) gmail.com

EXPEDITION 2: Exploratory Canyoning, Tasmania

Trip Leader: Nick Ward (with Jess Hancock, Chris Capon, Gab Scheufele + 3 others)
Funding: $700 per club member, with a maximum of 7 participants
Canyoning is a relatively new sport in Tasmania, and the majority of the state’s canyoning destinations remain unknown. This expedition aims to train a small group of 7 canyoners and venture into several promising regions in Tasmania to find, explore, and document the canyons. Some are in remote locations with different geography from where the ANUMC currently canyons.
All members will be required to have undertaken vertical rescue training and also swift water canyoning rescue. With training and short reconnaissance walks to be undertaken first, the actual expedition will take place over four weeks at the end of 2015.
Contact: Nick: nick.ward121 (at) gmail.com

ADVENTURE 1: Freycinet Kayaking, Tasmania

Trip Leader: Jason McQueen (with 7 others)
Funding: $350 per student and $200 per non-student, with a maximum of 8 participants
This 5-day kayaking trip will allow a range of ANUMC members to kayak from Coles Bay to Schouten Island and back again. The proposed route would explore world-class scenery and the chance to explore a truly unique location. With the large hurdle to such a trip being the cost of the ferry and other transport, support from the ANUMC Adventure Fund makes this trip very realistic. With transport, this adventure will take 7 days and is planned for the summer of 2014/15.
Contact Jason: jasonmacqueen (at) gmail.com

ADVENTURE 2: Mountaineering Course + Climbing, New Zealand

Trip Leader: Alex Duncan
Funding: $500 per person, with a maximum of 8 participants, however funding will be allocated to students/non-students based on Alex Duncan’s formula (contact Alex).
This trip will feature 2 parts, beginning with a 6-8 day technical mountaineering course, and followed by some ascents of a range of peaks in the South Island. Consequently, this trip will be open to a wide range of skill levels and will be an excellent follow-on from the mountaineering courses being run in the Snowy Mountains over this winter. The two components will go for approximately three weeks in November 2014.
Contact Alex: docdunc (at) gmail.com, or check out the trip calendar.

For all of these opportunities, keep an eye on the Facebook page and the trip calendar for information evenings and training opportunities.

You may have heard of our expedition fund – since 2007, it’s helped to get some awesome and inspiring trips off the ground, including mountaineering in New Zealand and kayaking down Tassie’s Franklin River. It’s also given a lot back to the club - through the upskilling of members, and subsequent trips that increase opportunities for all.

However, in recent years, it doesn’t seem to have met the needs of our members. So, in 2014, we’re trialling an addition – The Adventure Fund.

Whether you’re looking at a challenging and large scale expedition (The Expedition Fund) or a smaller, more achievable, but still challenging trip that’s closer to home (The Adventure Fund), we hope you’ll find some inspiration and put together an excellent proposal.

The details:
The Expedition Fund – the successful application will receive up to $5000 towards making their expedition a reality. Any challenging expedition that is of substantial scale, and will develop technical skills, teamwork and leadership, can be considered here.

The Adventure Fund – the successful application will receive up to $2000 towards flights, substantial fuel costs, buying new equipment … whatever you might need to take your skills further (and work towards one day going for The Expedition Fund). Some examples might be a mountaineering skills development trip to NZ or a more challenging sea kayaking trip.

Funding cap:
We’ve got a cap of $5,000 for the year, so that could be one (exceptional) expedition or a couple of smaller trips - we’ll see what we get.

What we’d like:
A detailed proposal, including (but not limited to): proposed dates, costings, itinerary, preparation and training, number (and names) of participants, and anything else that will make us get excited. See the link below for the specific criteria that we'd like to see.

Giving back to the club:
We’d really like you to demonstrate how you are going to give back to the club, and to document this in your proposal.

So you’ve got the funding, done the trip, what next?
On completion of the expedition, we want you to share your experiences with the club through slide shows, discussion evenings, skills nights - whatever else is effective in sharing your new knowledge and enthusiasm with the club.

Keen or mildly interested?
For more information and Specific Criteria:
http://anumc.org.au/about_the_club/member_subsidies/expedition_fund

Application deadline:
Applications are to be sent to the Executive by 5:00pm, Friday 30th May. The exec will consider all proposals and come to a decision.

Questions?
Questions are most welcome – please send them to the Executive by email. Individual contact details for the Executive may be found on the contacts page, and email may be sent to the Executive en-mass by using the contact form.

Good luck!

The 2014 membership has started as of 1 February, so it's time to join/renew for another great year of awesome adventures! 2013 memberships will last until the end of February.

We have early bird membership available until the end of O-Week (13 February), so come along to Market Day or the Gear Store (Tuesday and Thursday evenings) to get a $10 discount!

Information on how to join is here

Two key changes since last year:

As we have done over the past few years, a calendar is being produced for 2014 using the lovely photos from this year's AGM photo competition plus a few extra pics from here and there, all contributed by some of our very talented photographers who are members of the club. Sample images of the mock-up plus examples of an autumn, winter and spring month are available on Flickr (see the link below). Dates include public holidays in the ACT and also list a few of the club's key trips for earlier in the year.

We are taking pre-orders so that we can print just enough calendars for those who want them, and not end up with a bunch of spares left over. The cost of printing is yet to be determined, but should be around $20 dollars per copy. Once we have a firm number of pre-orders then I should be able to provide a more accurate quote of the cost to those who have pre-ordered just in case anyone needs to change or cancel their order. We are aiming to have them ready to be paid for and handed over at the end of year BBQ on at 7:00pm Tuesday 10 December. To help meet this deadline, please get in touch by email before the end of this Thursday 28 November so I can chase down some quotes on Friday.

So, in summary:

• Check out the sample images here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36856779@N02/sets/72157638039655605/
• Decide how many copies you'd like at ~$20 ea.
• Email me* with your pre-order by this Thursday midnight — money will only be required when they're delivered
• Also in the email, let me know if you are NOT attending the BBQ to arrange to collect and pay for your order at some other time/place (e.g. the gear store)

* to send an email via the website just click on my name at the top of this post and use the contact form.

In case you missed the email to members, the winter issue of the ANUMC newsletter — The Epic — is available on the Epic page.

This year, Lauren Bartsch joins the ANUMC Hall of Fame.

This incredibly motivated lady first joined the club around 2008. She came with a love for hiking and an obsession with pink, and soon grabbed onto every activity in the club to became one of our most skilled members. In addition to this, she demonstrated an almost super-human level of motivation on the committee: She’s edited The EPIC, been the social officer and Vice President, and one of the club’s longest serving Presidents with three successful years at the helm.

There is no denying the legacy that Lauren will leave in the club: a greater emphasis on training and competition funding within the club, as well as the hugely popular Bluies Weekend, the Coast weekend, and the brief annual foray into resort skiing where the club hires an entire bus to go to Thredbo.

I’m sure that all here will join me in agreeing that Lauren Bartsch is a most deserving recipient of the Ice Axe, and a very fitting addition to the ANUMC hall of fame.

The 2013 President and Treasurer's Reports are now available at the link below. Lauren and Dave will be presenting them briefly at our Annual Awards Night and AGM tonight (http://anumc.org.au/node/4560) - hope to see you there!

Club memberships are now reduced to reflect the reduced time until the end of the membership year. From now until 1 February 2014, club fees will be as follows:

Students: $20
SRA members: $30

The 2013 membership year started on 1 February. New membership will last until 28 February 2014.

For 2013, membership will cost $40 for students and $60 for non-students.
More details on how to join the club are on the membership page.