14 of isft.‘s finest will test their mettle against the worst Philip Island has to throw at them over the weekend at Victoria’s first Tough Mudder event.  On the agenda for the boys is a British Special Forces’ designed 20km course of mud, fire, ice-water and electricity. 

They are:

Adam Athorne

Oliver Scott

Charles Clemons

Steve Jones

Ben Stone

Nick Stacpoole

David Miller

Roshan Ghadamian

Nick Payne

George Gatenby

Scott Birrell

Nick Connellan

Jarryd Williams

Bryan Taylor

“Tough Mudder is not your average lame-ass mud run or spirit-crushing ‘endurance’ road race. It’s Ironman meets Burning Man, and it is coming to a location near you. Our 10-12 mile obstacle courses are designed by British Special Forces to test all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. Forget finish times. Simply completing a Tough Mudder is a badge of honor.”

Good luck gents…

The very generous offering was recently accepted at a lunch held at the club house in the beautiful surrounds of one of Melbourne’s oldest, most established golfing institutes.  Close to 90 ladies members went about showing their support for what they described as a “charity driven by young people for Victorians of all ages”.  isft. would like to anonymously thank a very special family for going about directing the initiative. 

Thanks to the help of the Riversdale Golf Club, isft. have now collectively raised over $60,000 for The Alfred’s Victorian Melanoma Service.

We thank everybody for their wonderful support in 2011 and welcome you to 2012…stay tuned.

As far as finding secret powder stashes go this book is the ‘holy grail’ and guarantees success in your quest for some soft untracked powder snow.

Using insider knowledge, the PowderBible can help anyone tailor their ski or snowboarding trip to maximise the possibility of finding powder. The book states the best way to find these untracked gems with a minimum of fuss and contains a comprehensive guide to 36 hand-picked ski resorts in the USA, Europe and
Japan.

Added, are links to weather guides, avalanche sites, ski forums, independent ski authorities as well as mountain resort guides, equipment tips and safety issues.

The book is written by long-term Mt Buller skier and Ski Coach, Richard Ross who says that “to a skier, powder is everything, but so many decisions about where to ski are poorly researched – many people rely on word-of-mouth or resort marketing to decide on where they are going to ski. It’s sometimes akin to the roll of the dice. I aim to lessen the risk considerably by giving the everyday skier some tools to increase their odds of making a winning decision.”

When it comes to finding powder Richard thinks that luck has nothing to do with it. He says his fail-safe formula is the only “luck” you need.

Richard is a long term supporter of isft. with connections to us through Mt Buller, MBRC and Trinity College. He has kindly offered to donate 30% of the book proceeds to isft when ordered here online or through the POWDER BIBLE website using this code.

So if you, or a friend are thinking of heading north, check out the Powder Bible site here….

Dear Friends,

We invite you to join us to celebrate our second year of supporting melanoma research and education in Victoria.

isft. 2011 GALA NIGHT
Melbourne Savage Club
12 -16 Bank Place, Melbourne
Saturday, 12th November 2011

Tickets are available at the webstore now.
$85

17 riders will take on the 2011 Bupa Around the Bay this Sunday as team isft.  As per last year, the polka-dotted kit will be out in force but for 2011, in an all-black design.   The team will make the 135km trek from Sorrento to Melbourne to raise funds exclusively for research at the Victorian Melanoma Service.  This year isft. have also partnered up with SunSmart to provide all participants with some tips for keeping their skin in-check over the day:

http://www.sunsmart.com.au/news_and_media/media_releases/media_release_201110101.html

Director James Lerner said, “This represents another fantastic fundraising endeavour for isft.  One that inherently promotes the full suite of our initiatives as we continue to educate people about the risks, causes and ways to prevent melanoma in memory of Tommy.”  

You can get behind the team by making a tax-deductible donation at the Alfred Foundation website:

https://secure.donman.net.au/client/alfred/alfred.asp

2011 riders:

Shunya Yamada
Tom Hood
Alex Booth
Tim Joiner
George Whittle
Chris Dellavedova
Charlie Bell
Jake van Hoef
James Ramsay
Steve Robb
Freddie Carlstrom
James Lucas
Dean Little
Carsten Murawski
Matthew Schepisi
Dan Portelli
Cam Harrison

Good luck boys.