CONQUEST OF EGMONT

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 57, 23 February 1918, Page 13

CONQUEST OF EGMONT

LADY MOUNTAINEERS.,

EXHILARATING EXPERIENCES.

(By MONICA MURRAY.)

The weather had been wet and foggy for a week, and intending climbers had been disappointed day after day. Wednesday, January 16, dawned clear and fair, and our party, which included two adventurous young ladies —the Misses Ward, of Wellington—and was guided by Mr. George Meuli, of Wanganui, set out with hope in our hearts and the summit as our objective. Mr. Meulffi experience in the Swiss Alps-makes fain* invaluable as a guide in mountain dimbing, and his enthusiastic love for the strenuous sport renders him the most delightful and interesting of companion* for a trip such as ours.

. Four a.m. saw us out of bed anxiously scanning the sky for prospects of the weather —which looked favourable— and 5 a.m. saw us fairly started, "travelling light," with a small rucksac packed with a meagre lunch. The ladies were sensibly clad in gymnasium costume. Skirts, I may add, are, on such a trip, a superfluity and a nuisance.

A good trudge on and upwards takes us along a track edged with mountain primulas and scrub of oelearias and veronicas, and occasionally tall mosscovered ribbondwoods making greeni gloom of the pathway, with the Kapuni Stream gurgling mysteriously down in. its bush-hidden-ravine. Then a slightly, steeper pull through sub-alpine scrub, and we come out on to the open plateau on the shoulder of the mount. Proceeding by way of Manganui Gorge, we scramble round its steep,, stony sides, and, keeping Warwick. Castle on our right, gain the mossy ridge that leads on to solid rock-climbing.

Just here a magnificent view, rewards . us. In the clear morning atmosphere the grey,rocky rent of the gorge lies at our feet, flanked by sub-alpine scrub, and further down we see the varied pro- . fusion of the greens of , forest trees which clothe as in a mantle the lower slopes of Egmont. And then, below, the whole of Taranaki is spread out like a map come to I life —dotted with red- . roofed villages and dark plantations, '; and intersected 'by faint, lines wind*- , indicate roads. Farther back, tb* i rising country melts to purple hnrinesA, 1} and right across the Island Ruapehu 1 * j snowy top and Ngauruhoe's darker art* 1 line show distinctly against the sky, ) with rolling masses of white cloud, J , gilded to silver by "the morning 6un, ! piled up round their bases. * To the right, above the purple haze of j ocean, peeps the 'serrated edge of land j away on the southern horizon triad*; marks the South Island, while. on our J left the curling edge of white surf on. 3 the Xew Plymouth beach '' is plainly 1 visible. And over all the deep, clear • blue of miles and mile's "of sky. ' This is. One of the - fairest pictures -the •writer; lias .ever seen

The weather kept clear 'until a few j hundred feet from the summit, when the ' thick jog, which had enveloped the peat / around •. I fronV'tbe .northern slopes, ;and all view; I was'shut; out a« effectnally - am- if a cor- ' tain had been drawn. . J

: But we wjere; determined to finish ..oaf 'climb, and-toiled steadily upward through the ever-thickening mist until the summit was reached. Here the fog was so dense that one. could see only- a few yards ahead, the cold so intense that loitering about was but" of the question; so, to keep. moving and to add originality to the cliinb,.the Shark's Tooth was scaled,' : arid the ladies were lowered one by one on , ithe rope over the sheer drop of nearly.' 100' feet to-the' bottom Of the crater. -They j were much pleased at having • negotiated j this rather difficult bit of climbing, and they are, I believe, the first ladies having ' this unique experience. On leaving the crater we ascended to the "trig," which is the very highest point, where we partook of a hurried lunch. **-

■ It is rather a weird experience" to stand on top of a mountain; high above all earthly sounds, and all sight, too, shut j off by a fog so dense that the light is I dimmed and strange, and our party was \ beginning to feci duly awed and im- ' pressed by the solemn soundless solitude * of Egraont's-summit, when - gay voices ' were heard, and there loomed out of the fog close by another climbing party— i this- time from the North House— and . which ' included . amongst others Mr. ••' Ernest Drake, the well-known Auckland tenor,, who is spending a vacation on Egmont. He, with his usual versatility, looked just as much at home on' the , mountain top as.l have seen him do on the concert platform before a critical* Auckland.audience. After a short chat and mutual good wishes for safe refcirrncy; the parties separated, and we began onr.'., de&cent by way of Fantham's Peak. "<

: Going up, we'kept to. the rock and avoided snow and step-cutting where possible; but on the return journey the snow wan available for about 1500 and glissading, skating and shuffling • were indulged in to our heart's content, much to the delight and wonder of the ladies, to whom- this swift *and pleasant mode of descent xwas a novel and thrilling experience. Mr. Mculi, who is an adept in Alpine sports,-gave us an exhibition of this method of progress, at which we could only. wonder and vainly attempt to emulate. The descent was uneventful, anil Dawson Falls House was reached just in time for a well-earned lunch.

For the benefit of other climbers, I may say that the ascent, as described, by way of Manganui Gorge, and the spur above it, is' much ahead of others, for the reason that the loose scoria is avoided, and solid rock-climbing reached as soon as the moss is left behind. This makes the ascent more expeditious aDd much less tiresome.

The ladies proved themselves tireless walkers and daring climbers, and showed much adaptability and cleverness on this their first mountain climb. They were most enthusiastic over the beauty and interest of the trip, which they averred surpassed all expectations.

To anyone who has never climbed it is hard to describe the exhilaration which accompanies the actual conquering of a mountain — the anticipatory excitement of the early start before the first streak of dawn gilds the sky; the rapture of witnessing the radiant glow of sunrise turn showy peak to rose, and waken to beauty every dew-laden flower and leaf; the buoyant sense o? prevailing over difficulties with taut braced muscles and excited thrill of nerves as the perilous bits are negotiated with enforced care and patience; and when at last the topmost peak is scaled and the climber stands oa the- highest pinnacle, what a triumphant glow of satisfactorily accomplished desire pervades the soul. " Cold and hunger, weariness and difficulties, are all alike t forgotten. Your troubles may all be ' awaiting you at the foot. What care you—you've vanquished your mountain! You sit on its snow-crowned head! No- ! thing eke matters in all the world. ",