Alan Fredericks learned to ski in Europe and Canada, and he joined the Alpine Club of Kiama in 1969. He had grown up in the Jamberoo area but later resided far away, and he became heavily involved in club affairs only after he and his family settled in Sydney. In 1983 he was elected to the committee as club captain, and two years later he became the club's president. He was to hold this office for 25 years, standing down only in 2010. He was involved in the management of the club only after the move to co-operative status in 1981 and after the bulk of the planning for the present lodge had been completed, but he participated strongly in the many working bees that accompanied and followed the construction. Later projects, conducted during his presidency, included the development of the catacombs (in which the sauna, shower, laundry, ski workshop and tool storage area and overflow accommodation were created), the extension of the games room and the creation of the lodge managers' apartment, the addition of extra rooms at the rear of the building, the redevelopment of the carpark and the modernisation of the kitchen and dining area.  He also led the club through the protracted discussions about its share arrangements during the mid- and late 1980s, the codification of the duties of the directors, the advent of live-in managers, the negotiations of the club's lease, the writing of the club's story and the celebrations that accompanied its fiftieth birthday in 2008. He presided over a period of growth in the membership and change in its composition, keeping his finger on the club's pulse, leading it with calmness and common sense and always ensuring that board members and others had their say on the important issues of the day. When he stepped down from the presidency the club was in sound shape, financially and otherwise. His life membership, which was awarded in 2006, recognised his fine stewardship over a very long period.