CLIMBER'S BODY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 4, 6 January 1938, Page 20

CLIMBER'S BODY.

RECOVERY DIFFICULT.

NEW YEAR'S EVE TRAGEDY,

(From Our Correspondent.)

HOKITIKA, Wednesday.

No immediate effort is being made to recover the body of Mr. Norman Dowling, the climber who was killed while descending from the summit of Mount Evans on New Year's Eve, because of the difficult nature of the country which must be travelled to reach the scene of the tragedy. As there has been much bad weather in the mountains since the accident, it is feared that the body, which lies on the McKenzie Glacier, -may now be buried under snow to a considerable depth.

Difficult Problem. The recovery of the body is likely to be a difficult problem. It is estimated that after the bad weather it will be covered by snow to a depth of at least 10ft. The transport of the body through this densely-bushed and gorge-riven eountry would also be a long and arduous task, even for a large number of men. "*

The glacier is situated in the heart of extremely wild and rugged country, and, although it is only a little more than 50 miles in a direct line from Hokitika., it is estimated that it would take experienced climbers and bushmen fully live days to reach the scene of the accident.

Although mountaineers from all parts of Kew Zealand have laid siege to Mount Evans many times, it was not until 1035 .that it was first climbed by Messrs. J. G. Malcolmson, J. D. Pascoe and A. P. Thomson, and the ascent made by Messrs. Dowling, Davis and Freeman on December 31 was only the second time that its summit has been reached.