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View this email in your browser Annual Meeting: 28th October 2020 - 7pm Lakes Hayes Pavilion This could be called an AGM but I didn't want to scare you! It will be a fun an interesting evening where I will summarise what has been achieved and we can also discuss where to go in the future. This event is open to anybody interested in the Turk project. I'll be there from 6:30. Please bring something to drink and if somebody is really generous some snacks would be much appreciated. It would be good to make the evening social as well as having to do the formal club stuff. Turk progress and tasks to complete All six of the turks are fully installed and safe to use, however there are currently two limitations: The Toilet at Mt Hyde is not yet set up. The water tanks at Mototapu Saddle and Crown Basin are not set up. This is a problem at Motatapu since there is no running water for...

View this email in your browser The freshly installed Turk at Motatapu/Polnoon Saddle. Looking north with the Polnoon Burn reaching to the peaks of Craigroyston and Sharks Tooth Peak in the distance. The high peak to the left of the Turk is Centaur Peaks. Final 2 Turks installed This is a bit of a long story - but it was a long and significant day... Thursday the 3rd September was another important milestone in the Mahu Whenua traverse project. Two teams flew from Wanaka, collected some lifting gear from Motatapu/Polnoon saddle and continued down into the Polnoon with the plan of bagging the gravel required to anchor the saddle Turk. When I jumped out the helicopter I found the riverbed to be frozen like concrete. We continued up stream and found the next gravel beach to be no better so flew further to where the sun was shining. The gravel was still frozen but fortunately some hacking with a mattock revealed a situation more...

Installing the foundation frame and deck at the Motatapu Site. Looking north with the Polnoon Burn in the background. Motatapu/Polnoon saddle site prepared Sunday the 23rd August saw 9 of us fly to the Motatapu/Polnoon Saddle armed with shovels, timber and tools to prepare the site. My initial plans had been to build on the flat land at the saddle but when working through the resource consent last year it became apparent that the northen tip of Coronet Station was on the slope above the saddle. Hence we needed to cut into the slope to make a level surface and build a low retaining wall. The benefit of being on the slope is the amazing views looking up the Polnoon Burn. This view will be appreciated long after the digging effort is forgotten. A huge thank you to Bill Day for flying us up there. We were careful not to exhaust him with too much digging since we wanted him to get us home...

Looking north from Advance Peak with Mt Saint Just slightly left of centre and the upper Arrow River to the right. By Beni Martial (https://www.benimartial.com/archive). To be installed in the Vanguard Peak Turk. Three more Turks installed (but not yet commissioned) On Tuesday the 28th a small and focused team helicoptered from Coronet Peak's lower car park as soon as there was enough light. The team had been promised an easy day of adventure that might involve dusting the snow off the foundation frames and positioning the Turks. On arrival at the Vanguard Peak site it became apparent that the day probably wasn't going to be relaxing. We spend the first 20 minutes walking around with avalanche probes looking for the deck and frame the Turks sit on under 1.5 metres of snow. After a few false starts we got the right spot. After an hour of digging we sent the helicopter away to fetch the first Turk. Fortunately it returned with the...

Tyge and Christine return to the re-installed Crown Basin Turk. The black thing with the angled top is a heat wall. The ventilation system will draw warm air through this to heat the gravel under the floor (not quite completed). Crown Basin Turk re-installed On the 20th of May the original Crown Basin Turk (the first ever made) was removed because it did not meet the consented design and engineering standards. Last Sunday on a stunning blue-sky day with no wind, it was replaced. 17 people were split into two teams - one group flew to "Coronet Saddle" (not an official name, between Deep Creek and Coronet Creek) to complete the vegetation assessment (requirement of the Resource Consent) and roughly position the foundation frame and deck before joining the other group at the Crown Basin. Glenorchy Helicopters successfully lifted the Turk from Arrow Junction and lowered it gently into place. The positioning went well with the corner bracing of the pre-leveled foundation frame acting...

Recreation permit achieved! I'm pleased to announce that the Mountain Turk Club has been granted a 20 year permit to have 6 Turks on the Coronet Peak and Glencoe Station Crown Pastoral Lease land. The permit is issued by LINZ who have the statutory authority to approve non-farming activities on Crown Lease land. This was the final piece of approval the club needed before we can go ahead with Turk installation. There is a reasonable list of requirements that all fit in the category of "reasonable and to be expected". The process has taken a while longer than expected because of Covid, but it's very pleasing to get past this milestone. An excellent video about Turks Below is an wonderful video prepared by club member Grant Johnston. It provides an excellent explanation of a Turk and provides a great idea of what they are like inside and some of my thinking about the design and club. Well worth watching. Revised install date My initial hope of installing...

Install date set  (Actually this didn't happen. I was being much too optimistic) I am confident the Turks will be completed and ready to install on the weekend of the 4th July. The plan is for as many members to be involved as possible since this will be a celebration as much as a work activity. I'll have more details next week. Current Turk status Last weekend saw solid progress on the internal fit-out. This involved fitting the benches, bunk ends then bunk horizontals. The internal trim was also completed as were the mattresses. In progress Fitting doors and windows Plastic welding guttering for water collection Fitting bunks Fitting internal shelving To be done Plastic weld door and window shades Attach solar panel, internal lighting and other wiring Install ventilation system Build outside waterstands Build and attach outside seating Make outside ski rack Make door and window stop with weather seals Becoming a member Some people were struggling to work this out. It is quite simple. Decide what...

Progress Last Saturday and again on Monday saw 20+ people on each day continue to assemble the Turks. It is a rewarding (and at times stressful when you are the designer and in charge of quality control) to see the Turks take shape. Installation of the wall paneling, felt and ceiling fabric went smoothly and suddenly transformed an industrial spray-foamed tank into something of beauty! To do: Complete installation of benches Install bunk horizontals and ladder Assemble and install shelving Finish ceiling and wall trim Install lighting, solar panel, battery Route, seal and paint doors Assemble and hang doors Cut door and window stop, install weather seal Complete and stuff mattresses Fit inside seating Make and install coat rack Plastic weld guttering onto tank Build water tank stands Plastic weld tags and assemble outside seating Erik Bradshaw 4th June 2020 ...

Preparing gravel loads in Skippers Canyon. The original plan was to find gravel up high in the mountains but Covid time restrictions have changed our plans. Easier to have it prepared and fly it in when required. Each Turk is anchored by 3 tons of gravel between the tank base and the floor.       Photo by Lewy Edwards Next build dates: Saturday 30 May 10am The Hangar 182 Arthur's Point Monday 1 June 10am The Hangar 182 Arthur's Point NOTE: If you're not going to be at the Saturday build day please email/text/call me before Monday to check tasks/skills. It's difficult to predict how much we will achieve on Saturday and therefore what skills will be required for Monday. Things to do: From my newsletter last week we got most of the way to stage 4. We were a bit limited by running out of some materials. Here is the list again: Trim and tidy the spray foam insulation. This is a low skilled and messy job. It...

Mount Vanguard site from a visit earlier this year.                 (photo by Lewys Edwards) Next build day: Sunday 24th May 10am The Hangar 182 Arthurs Point What's been happening Turk progress While the Covid restrictions were at level 3 (construction activities permitted) a small group of us completed preparation and had the Spray Foam insulation applied. Previous Turks have used a flat sheet insulation similar to a sleeping mat that is cut with a knife and fitted to the walls. The spray foam allows for the insulation to be bonded onto the tank (yes it does stick) with no interface for moisture to accumulate. It also allows for insulation to be applied to the domed (complex curve) ceiling. While a bit more expensive, I think the result will be vastly superior in warmth than previous Turk builds. Materials strategically positioned The goal is to get the Turks in place for use this winter, however it might arrive with vengeance any day...