2003 - the DHO

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greatly appreciated Tom Walduck sending a cutting from the 'Financial Times' of May
14th containing a short profile of Peter Lunn, an honorary member of the D.H.O since
1963, who has reached the venerable age of 88.
Peter is the son of Sir Arnold Lunn and hence a member of the Kandahar. In the final paragraph of the article Peter explained to
FT readers "How to join another club, the DownHill Only, with its races across the valley in Wengen".
"First, you have to be the right sort of chap. Second, a committee member lights a cigar and sends you up the mountain. If his cigar
is still alight by the time you have skied back down, then you're in. It's as simple as that". Well, now we know!!
Prospective members who wish to use this sage advice arc advised to provide cigars matched in terms of length and outdoor 'slow
burn' qualities to the terrain over which they expect to be tested. For example, a decent Davidoff Nol would give them 45
minutes, quite sufficient for the applicant to take the Wixi chair, the train to Eigergletschcr, ski down Black Rock or Oh God! whilst
being watched through binoculars and return to the committee member's chair. A 'Hamlet' simply will not do!
/
We have always wished to go Skitouring but have never had the time. To get behind the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau and explore
the glaciers and summits must be wonderful. For the 2001 Journal, Dick Edmonds and Angela de Klee wrote the obituary notice
for Oskar Gertsch, one of Wengen's brilliant ski teachers and mountain guides. In April 1951 Angela and Oskar skied from the
Jungfraujoch Station, traversed behind the Monch and climbed across the arete from the South to the North Eigerjoch. They then
skied down the Eigergletscher to the Scheidegg, had a cup of tea and went onto Wengen which was a brilliant ski mountaineering
achievement. Two years later she, Dick F'dmonds and several others made the second ski descent from the Jungfraujoch, first made
by Arnold Lunn in 1939. Sadly, Angela died in January this year. As a tribute to her and Oskar, we reprint her article 'The Eigerjoch
on Ski' which first appeared in the 1951 D.H.O. Journal.
As the letter from William Wells shows, there is a gap to fill after Coggins and there have been several requests for the club to
encourage snowboarding. To many skiers, snow boarding has always seemed a sport in which it's enthusiasts spend much time
sitting on their back-sides and, if they can do so in the middle of a piste, so much the better. However, the committee would like
to encourage D.H.O teenagers to 'do their own thing'. So *hands-up' - who is interested in forming a snow-boarding section? If
you want it then make it happen!
Lastly, two things; please see the AGM Dinner notice inserted between pages 10 and 11 and secondly, congratulations to Bob
Eastwood who has done so much for Coggins in recent years on his appointment as a Snow Sport England Alpine Coach.
Good ski-ing
David T. Price
!