IN HIGH ALTITUDES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 76, 1 April 1899, Page 1 (Supplement)

IN HIGH ALTITUDES.

Sill W.M. CONWAY SCALES THE

ANDES' LOFTIEST PEAK.

After an absence from England of eight months, Sir W. M. Conway, the well-known explorer and Alpine climber, has arrived at England. He left on June laM to undertake explorations and observations in the Central Andes, and was accompanied by two Swiss guides. |The tour, which began in Ecuador aip extended over nearly six months, was completed on Terra del Feugo: and Sir William and his guides embarked for the homeward voyage at Putlra Arenas, in the Straights of Magellan. The fact about the expedition which has obtained the greatest notoriety is the successful ascent for the second time of the great pekk of Aconcagua, upwards of 23,000ft .^ which Mr Fitzgerald first elimbeA two years ago. But that, Sir W. M,; Conway told a 'Daily Mail! representative, who went off to meet the incoming steamer, was by no means the chief objective of the undertaking.. The niain idea was the exploration of the gigantic chain known as the Cordillera Real, which runs for 100 miles through Bolivia, and includes some of the loftiest of the Andes. Regarding THIS REMARKABLE RANGE second only in altitude to the Himalaya, as well as other parts of the Central Andes, Sir W. M. Conway has succeeded in collecting a mass of exact geographical data previously wanting.

,Among other things, he believes he has established beyond doubt the important fact that Srtrata, of which he made the first ascent, is the highest peak in South America, exceeding Aconcagua by at least I,oooft.

'1 have not,' he said, 'worked the thing out completely yet, but indisputably the altitude is well beyond 24,000 ft. above sea level. We did not quite get to the top, because, the summit is a cone of snow certainly 400ffl in depth, and at the. time we reached it, it was in just that state in which at any minute it might break off in huge avalanches. To go further under such conditions was a physical impossibility.' 'You were fortunate, then, in being able to descend without a mishap?'

'Undoubtedly, although, of course, avalanches are not- the chief difficulty. The mountain is rugged, and from a moderate distance above the snow line is literally encased in ice. with rock jutting out here and there. Some of the glaciers are of immense thickness, many hundreds of feet 1 should say.'

'So that climbing was not exactly child's p*lay?' • 'It certainly required experience, but it was well worth the effort.

FKOM THE POINT OF VIEW OF SCENERY.

the district is one of .the grandest in the world.'

You also ascended Illimani?'

'Yes. Jllimani is the second highest summit of the range. It is similar in character to Sorata, and is distinctly a glacier mountain, but it' did not prove altogether unattainable. The snow cone is about the same thickness but -we succeeded in surmounting that, also, as it happened, without coming to grief. . ' Mn each instance the climb is about 7,000 ft. Up to that point, as is the case with most mountains, you. can ride. We had difficulty,, however, in getting carriers, since the district round the base^of the range is inhabited by Indians.'

Sir W. M. Con way .went on to refer to his ascent of Aconcagua, details of which he hayS already published. With regard to Sarmiento, the great peak of Patagonia, he said the snowstorm* which overtook the party when rather more than half-way .up wasone of the worst in his experience. The ascent of Sarmiento besides is exceptionally . toilsome because the o-laciers conic down to the sea level. As .to the permanent outcome of the expedition, he has brought home specially prepared maps giving-the results of his explorattions, a large collection of-views, and a variety of new and interesting geographical observa-

tions,