Our wonderful new spa

Technically it may not be new, but it is unrecognisable from it's previous guise. It really is spectacular now.

Andrew & Justin worked incredibly hard to make it a success so it's only fitting that they got to celebrate.

The shower and toilet cubicles have also been replaced and the sauna woodwork has been restored.

If you haven't used the spa or sauna for a while, now's the time to give them a go.

Rooms 1 and 4 are now doubles

After the successful, and popular, conversion of Room 2 to just a queen, rooms 1 and 4 have been given the same treatment. All 3 rooms have also been given new bed bases with storage.

Justin & Tony finishing the remaining cabinet in Room 4

Harry & Hugh cheesing it up in Room 1

Room 1, complete with new bed

Working Bee Report

Another productive, and very sociable, working bee was held at the start of May.

Stacking firewood under the lodge has always been a huge task. It's still a big undertaking but we keep finding better ways of doing it with fewer people

John  gets the wood ready

Alan loads the chute

Hope the logs stop in time

and hand over hand

and still at least 4 more pairs of hands from here until it is stacked

The kitchen and all its contents were cleaned

Probably Nikki & Hayley, but hard workers in the kitchen anyway

Final touches were made to the spa area

John B working on partitions for the new toilet

The lockers outside the spa area were given a light facelift

Nigel & Mel transforming the once dingy lockers

Other jobs included

• converting Room 1 and Room 4 to queen beds only (see more)
• 1980s vintage posters in the foyer
• moved the TV in the games room to the TV room in preparation for a new 65" TV and soundbar for the games room (see more)
• storing dry goods (cereal, toilet paper etc)
• neatening shelf in Room 2 and adding more coat hooks
• repaired grout in the hearth tiles
• cleaned bathroom ceilings as needed
• prepare the spa for the season
• update software for lodge internet

If you haven't been to a working bee, or not for a while, we'd love to see you next year. Help keep our lodge in great shape.

Vale Ken Long

Ken passed away peacefully on 9 December aged 89.

Many of you will have known him from his booking officer days, a role now carried on by son Alan. Ken's involvement with AAC goes back much further.

He was a founding Member of AAC Falls Creek and briefly on the Committee. He was involved in multiple work parties at the lodge.

He was also a founding member of AAC Anton Huette where he held every position on Committee and was Chairman from1986-1996. He was a consistent representative at AAC National  meetings.

Along with Warren Peck was involved in the setting up of Patscherkofel although he was never a member. He also skied cross country with Warren across NSW high country and used most AAC projects at some point, including, Roslyn Lodge at Thredbo, Perisher Huette, Illawong Lodge, Patscherkofel, Guthega etc (all Lodges that were part of AAC at the time).

Ken was awarded Life Membership of both Anton and National. (Read the citation for his National life membership)

Away from AAC, Ken was heavily involved in Fremasonry. He also belonged to 3 car clubs: Buick, Rolls Royce and Masonic Car Club.

Our condolences to Alan and all Ken's family.

Photos for the website

We'd like to add some more recent photos to the website. Do you have some photos of  members and guests enjoying themselves at the lodge or Falls Creek in general? Summerand winter shots are needed.

If you've got some suitable photos, please email to me. (If you have a lot and you know how, you could use a cloud service like Dropbox or Google Photos.)

Facebook for AAC Falls Creek

Love it or hate it, Facebook has certainly become a widely used way of communicating. Some members are keen to use Facebook for club information and for sharing photos and chat about the club.

A Facebook page has been set up at https://www.facebook.com/fallshuette/ or just search Facebook for AAC Falls Creek. You'll know you are in the right place by the familiar wallpaper. You should be able to see the page without having a Facebook account.

Facebook will be an additional communication channel. The blog and email newsletters will still be used. In fact we are trialling a facility to automatically send blog posts to Facebook too. There is no pressure to use Facebook if you prefer not to.

Posts will need to be approved by our moderators before they appear. Please also be considerate of members and guests when posting or tagging.

Club Race

You will be shocked to learn that Ross B didn't win this year.

That makes more sense when I add that the race had to be cancelled because of the blizzard conditions.

Spa renovation

The gremlins have been paticularly troublesome, causing a few delays to the spa renovation.  The gremlins are now vanquished (hopefully)and it's almost at a point where we can open it. It's looking really good and we think you'll agree that it is worth the wait: new cedar panelling on the ceiling and walls, light grey non-slip floor tiles, pale blue spa tiles. The new shower and toilet can be completed after the spa opens, as can rock work on feature walls. The plumbing has also been improved to avoid external pipes and to improve access to some controls.

Racing success

Club members & guests have been competing in various events over the school holidays.

Firstly Sarah, Mia and Zara from St Catherines competed in Vic Junior Cross Country Sprints, with Zara winning the U14 division.

Then Ross B entered the Cranky Charlie cup for the first time and came away with the trophy

and the next day daughter Carla came 3rd in Division 2 of King of the Mountain

Congratulations to all our racers

Growing up in the lodge

Reeve is loving lodge life, coming out for a meet & greet most mornings and enjoying all the cuddles and attention

Meet Reeve

Myra and Andrew have a beautiful daughter Reeve Ann.

She was born on 21st March in Wodonga. (Vital statistics: 3.3kg and 53cm)

Mountain Bike Weekend

After the success of the mountain bike weekend in 2016, most of that crew returned this January. Once again there was beautiful weather for riding the trails as well as further afield. Great food, great company and lots of fun.

Spa renovation begins

The spa area has been crying out for some love (and money). As the debt for the lodge renovation dwindles, the committee has decided that we can now afford to give the spa area a light and bright makeover.

• The dark (and slippery) slate will be replaced with lighter tiles with a high non-slip rating.
• The spa will be re-tiled in light blue tiles.
• New cedar paneling will be installed, with some feature sections with rock effects.
• The old shower area will become a new toilet stall.
• The old toilet stall will become an open shower.

A hardy crew braved the landslides and floods on the weekend after season close to begin the project by stripping out the old materials.

Andrew & Tony R cleaning out the slate rubble

Justin C admiring the mess he's made

Andrew & Myra reappointed

The committee is very pleased to announce that Andrew & Myra Rist have been successful in applying for the new lodge manager contract.

With the growing vibrancy of green season at Falls Creek, Andrew & Myra intend to live at the lodge in summer as well. Andrew can give you tips on mountain bike trails, watersports, bushwalks and pizza making at the community wood-fired oven.

Easter 2016

After the success of the mountain bike weekend in January, all the participants returned to do it all again at Easter - and brought more friends along for a fun long weekend. Another long time member Clive B brought his extended family along too. Between these 2 groups we had a full lodge for Easter.

Clive's family were seen walking, riding and generally having a good time.

Our group of about 20 had many riders, but also a few who were more interested in walking or just relaxing and enjoying good food and good company. Mark R with wife Helen, daughter Kristo and friends Michelle, Dale and Brian arrived on Thursday so they could get some riding in on Friday. The rest came in in dribs and drabs on Friday, with many finding time for a stroll or short ride. Angie’s & John’s 14 month old granddaughter Holly charmed everyone with beautiful eyes and very sweet behaviour.

Mark R & daughter Kristo

On Saturday morning some rode the MTB trails, others opted for easier terrain and walkers enjoyed perfect weather. Garry H was surprised to find that a riding companion had kindly slipped several heavy rocks into his backpack to intensify his training. We all regrouped at the boat ramp for a picnic before splitting up for more riding, walking and scenic drives. The boat ramp area was abuzz with yachting, cyclists, picnics and people just enjoying our "beach".

Beautiful day for a ride around Sun Valley and beyond

The summit chair was running on Saturday and Sunday, for sightseeing and bike carrying. Garry H decided to use the chair to really work on those challenging trails around Summit and International on Sunday. Others split up much as they had the previous day, with drives, walking,  riding on roads, single track and fire trails. There were a few thrills and spills but no broken bones or stitches. Once again we met for lunch, this time for a huge barbecue at Raspberry Hill. Afterwards most headed back to the lodge or trails. Angie F, Bron S and Jenny H decided to ride back from Langfords West along the aqueduct trail so that they could properly admire Angie's beautiful bike and start plotting how to acquire something similar.

We had decided to share the food and cooking duties. Putting together meals for our big group was a bit of an undertaking, but it worked very well with everyone helping at times, and relaxing at others. We certainly ate well. Special thanks to Michelle and Mark R who oversaw most of the catering.

The village was pretty busy with families, runners, walkers and of course riders. Many places were open for lunches, dinners or drinks. The mountain bike trails are certainly helping to build green season visitor numbers, but the growing vibrancy is attracting non-riders too.

If you haven't visited the lodge in summer, get a group of friends together and give it a try

Peaks Weekend

Once again all rooms in the lodge were booked for the Peaks cycling weekend and all our guests seemed very happy with the facilities.

Peaks Challenge Falls Creek is the 235 gruelling kilometre loop from Falls Creek, over Tawonga Gap, Mt Hotham and the Bogong High Plain - in a 13 hour time limit. Held on the Labour Day weekend in March each year this event is huge and needs every bed that the village can provide.

This is a welcome boost to summer income but it's also an important step in the overall growth of Falls Creek as a summer destination.

As Myra said

"It's a crazy busy weekend. It is the biggest event that Falls Creek sees all year.
Great atmosphere in the village. Finish line was a great spot to be."

a drone captured this amazing picture of the pre-dawn start - click picture for larger version

The lodge books out very early for this event, so if you'd like to come up and part of the festive atmosphere (or participate in the ride) you need to book early. There is no longer an opening date for summer bookings, so don't wait till spring. There is a special package for the lodge for the event: minimum 3 nights with linen and cleaning provided.

Cycling Weekend - what a great time

Thanks to Angie for organising our first mountain bike weekend and for this report. Thanks to Garry for the pictures.

If you like the sound of this, there is another minimum-fee-exempt weekend on Feb 12-14 and Blue Dirt shuttles will be operating if you want some help getting to the top.

And if you can't come that weekend, Blue Dirt have announced extra dates when shuttles will run (normal summer minimum fee applies)

Cross country skiers set the bench marks – 2016 MTB weekend at AAC-Falls. 

The first AAC- Falls Creek mountain bike (MTB) event was a huge success. A group of AAC-Falls members spent the second weekend of January testing their personal fitness, balance, strength and bikes on the new Falls Creek MTB trails – none were found wanting.

John G has set the bench mark for AAC-Falls by riding from Mt Beauty to the Nordic Bowl (in one day), backing up the following day with a ride up to Cloud Nine, and then descending initially via a single track, and then the road all the way to Mt Beauty.

Angie F gained the highest peak by bike (Mt Mackay) via single track ascent to Cloud Nine and then the road, backing this up the following day with a ride from the lodge to Mt Beauty and a ride from Raspberry Hill to the lodge; her bike’s attraction to the many puddles along this route setting the bench mark for the muddiest bike rider. As John and Angie are both Nordic skiers the challenge has been laid down to Alpine skiers and boarders to beat these bench marks next year.

Additional awards go to Garry H for the longest distance in a single day and the highest number of descents from the Lodge to Mt Beauty (3). However, Garry hasn’t achieved the highest ratio of km to words – that honour goes to Bron.

Falls Creek Management have completed a good number of the new MTB trail network. These include heart thumping elevation changes (Plaza to Cloud Nine and Gully to Summit), and adrenaline pumping descents (you may use your imagination here). For the less experienced (or less fool hardy) there is a very pretty network of “green” trails going in around the Nordic Bowl which are easily accessed from the aqueduct (also rated green). Riders can also cross the dam wall and follow the road and / or aqueduct out to Wallace’s and Cope’s huts.

The social aspects of the weekend deserve a mention. All enjoyed Jenny H's fabulous cooking, Garry and Marks’ ongoing narration of the weekend, Myra’s fabulous organisation of picnic and BBQs, Bron’s bruising walks and Brian’s impressive personal best ride. Mark’s unexpected (and belated) bah mitzvah was toasted and Elvis Presley’s 83 birthday was celebrated karaoke style. 

The committee is to be thanked for supporting MTB at Falls via waiving the $300 min fee for the January weekend, the weekend of Feb 13/14, and Easter. MTB at Falls is a lot of fun. If you aren’t into MTB you can road ride, or simply walk the High Planes and enjoy the Wild Flowers. We look forward to more MTB events. 

More pics

and if you don't know the people involved, we were a mix of downhill skiers, snow boarders and xc skiers. The xc skiers might have been the fittest but we all had a great time

Vale Marg Sewell

Many members will remember Marg Sewell who was lodge manager for 3 years, from 2006 to 2008.

Marg died recently after a long illness.We understand that she wished to be buried in Tawonga Cemetery in sight of Mt Bogong and the high plains.

twitter #aacfalls

We have been promoting the Instagram hashtag #aacfalls as a  great way for members and guests to add photos to the blog. Now we've been asked if we can do the same with Twitter.

If you tweet photos or comments with #aacfalls, the most recent ones will now be displayed on the blog.

A white start, a lean month and now snow

The snow gods put on a lovely opening weekend

... then let it all slip away with no more significant falls in June.

The lift company have done a good job with snowmaking on Wombats, Main Street, Drovers and Mousetrap. Even so, this has been barely enough for the school holiday crowd.

After some horrible queues early in the week, the lift company decided to open the lifts at 7:30am to spread people out as much as possible -  great initiative.

Quite a few AAC people have foregone Andrew's great brekkies to get out and join the"dawn patrol" with freshly groomed snowmaking, no queues and uncrowded slopes.

The lift company also set up a small terrain park on the edge of Nastar to provide another fun option. 

Now finally the blue skies have given way to cold snow-laden clouds and there is a beautiful layer of white throughout the resort again. Best of all, we are being told that this is just the beginning. 

From janesweather.com for Friday 10 July

The snow has begun, and we will have 10 to 15 cm on the ground by later today, as a trough passes through. But this is just the first little bit – there are huge snowfalls still to come.

Heavy snow is likely from Saturday to Monday, as a strong front passes through and a low sits just to our southeast. All resorts will see at least 50 cm from this, and 75 cm is not out of the question.

The next surge arrives on Tuesday, with another low to affect the area for the rest of the week. This set up doesn’t look as favourable as this weekend, but its still 15 to 30 cm on the way. Then there may be a break next weekend if the next high moves in.



So, this all adds up to 75 TO 120 CENTIMETRES OF SNOW, from today to next Friday. Enjoy.