SAFE RETURN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 69, Issue 159, 18 April 1949, Page 4

SAFE RETURN

Seven Missing Trampers

* OUT SINCE SATURDAY (P.A.) BLENHEIM, This Day. Seven Wellington trampers who had been missing since Saturday, when they attempted to climb Mt. Alarm, a 9400-foot peak in the Awatere Valley, are reported safe this afternoon. Searches were conducted yesterday, after the party failed to return to their base camp, but without success, and to-day further search parties were out.

The trampers are members of a large party from Wellington which arrived in Awatere on Friday, and established a base camp at the waterfalls, a four hours’ tramp in from the Hodder Bridge, on the main AwatereMolesworth road.

On Saturday a party numbering 14— all men—set out with the intention of climbing on the ridge leading to the summit of Mount Tapuaenuku (9465 feet), but later nine of the party decided to attempt a traverse of Alarm and Tapuaenuku. After some hours, two of the nine turned back, and one of them says he saw the other seven nearing the summit of Alarm. „, It had been arranged that the. Alarm party should be back at the waterfalls by 9 p.m., and the remaining members pf the party kept a night-long vigil, with hot meals ready at a moment’s notice.

The weather on Saturday night deteriorated, ' with snow falling at 4000 feet and oyer, followed by some rain, and then by a stiff frost. Yesterday morning the weather was perfect and searches were instituted both by! the party at the waterfalls and by a further party of Wellington trampers at Hodder but some distance downstream from the waterfalls, but without success.

To-day’s searches were carried out under the supervision of the climbing leader of the .party based at Hodder Hut, Mr Phil Gardiner.

A later message this afternoon says that the missing trampers found their way out of ‘-Waiautoa” station, ten miles upstream from Clarence bridge on the main Blenheim-Christehurch road, late this morning. It is .understood, that the party lost their way in the mist after climbing Alarm and Tapuaenuku, and went dowrf the southern flank of the latter mountain. They camped on the slopes on Saturday night, and, at. first light, attempted to regain the summit, but found that they had not the physical resources left to carry out the climb. They then decided to descend into the Clarence* valley. The are all fit and well. They comprised Heal O’Neill (leader), Lionel O’Neill, Raymond O’Neill (all brothers), James Lanigan, William Gibson; Trevor Parks and Roy Cave.