This Tragedy Made Ski-ing Safer In N.Z.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 147, 23 June 1945, Page 8

This Tragedy Made Ski-ing Safer In N.Z.

VINCENT . TWO Susman> a A European" skj : er, gazed 'in at'-pu^ie^^aycat,: the sftQW , '&■ flie'Temglr Basin* ne|r ' iffe .;South. tslartcl. It w^sn^«rt^^)f : .th^^^al*'t^iuTe..

It§"wail- hi&iffirst jrisit s fo; ; and;>h^%as^jp!re:^- ; of ski-efcs, m'ti&ifcly women..* The srfow. worried r .him "fo'r?'a ;; It was a kind; lie had seen befofe;;'oniy ,on mucii'nigher altitudes in; the Swiss Alps. •He knew ft-as a d?i|gerous tj'pe, but the Temple. Basiri'Lwas a ski-ing ground of sucli:'gentle that he dismissed any-fears he may have had. No avalanchirig of consequence had ever been reported there, which was why if was,/the most popular ski-ing ground in tlie; South Island.

Near the;, end.'of the day. he went with several of the papty to. some of the higljer. 'slopes. ;V/e*'e not steep, as -lexiperts tregardi'.gteepness. From a hfere 2tf to 30 degrees they ran to about 40 at the place where he chose'tb make his rum, n The snow there was overlaid with lce;<f slightly powdery::?bn the surface, 'Seemingly ideal for >the downhill "ski-l^ufer."

Two girls below him saw the surface about him suddenly disin-tegrate.-.'There was no warning crack,-' no* roar and pound, thunder and shake of the usual snow avalanche. Merely a hissing and fast movement. All Particles in r Motion ; What actually was happening was that the ;ice .ove.r which Heine Susro!£#;B3;Sfc% had.bit]teh had become fragments , sliding :■ o.v'eK;.Vsnbw- particl^a'iSJptlJch, 'un'dec.. a , jpioroscppe, would'have appeared rounded' of. i|ie 'liisual fernlike ;shap;e:,;'&ii' the in motibn/rpinftg tifyer eaCh^Oinel , : like lubricated'r o|l;;bearingsl;4The' ice, which/'.h|Sy- ; b;e.en powd#i «etiv'iirited ihtp. !s6iid::&&l}s by freeing was? grinding ..itself intqi'^bwaer;fagainfveverly tHirig , ' , r'6ll- - 'BpeeU-gr.eater than; the ordinary -...■ a,valanchej of atoitiSjeac;h> : agilight as'a aggregating;; of 1 in weig|it,. of gr'e'at hamm'eF&.^i> i • ';■< v. '_ ;■.;'■,..■':,.,■'. ... Su%ian,?w;ascup:to his knees ;in it-i'''v- iii<eii' 'to^pis■:waisC: ■shoulfiersr: *Thiertt.the: fringe- of the hissing'--. avalanche rhit, -me girls, icauihji 1 them? <spil.led ti>em clear 70 yaryS,^e ( ldw. When' they the, sribw.*>vas pi-Hngrtfp'vat, the bottom, of the slope and of- Heijie Susman. : Under pressure of those mitiute If , 6iind particles the air had gusted out of ; i»m and he was dead." i ,

Was Nothing: NfiSfavj So a new ind mountaineers was'entered up—wind slab powder ice. It wasn't anything ne\v, of course; it had merely become recognised. , .

Naturally, a storm of a type which makes dry powder snow does not confine its attentions to one mountain. On the same. August day that Heine Susman died two skilful mountaineers, A:£p* JSekson and F. O. Tozer, ijT the Cass ;Valley. They, did not come back. Iftrpe ninths later their; bodies werej recover f torn Vfoe'snowy They had; worn foothold on hard snow c or ice. Experts, who have weighed'the > evidence;a£r , &e.'that they were killed in an .avalanche of ice slab. /

. Wjho many hav.e ; .'b.e.en\ pp^defr; ;tlie *|tK6ut 'Ap. being recog^^id^TVilni of on ■ after a# ; Peaki■'';O«r~, glissade "Was 'a' sitting w-«li,,;the. :V^^ d - as br^ki^^^We; sn6y?« when :>rsudQenly;;':y?;e.':'found-.^"our-selves'CcsKSotiiig '-overman ■ ice'glaze marked' iiifiili%i£J£kAs the' wiild. Snow seemed to', ; -yp6i'it : tfp? about went ~jJalf:smptliered, we were emptied-JT.ip I v..efy rockTv and ended up unconscious '^α'-hard* snow 'Again. ' ; ' : "''y. "M ■>'■■'\'\. :■ ': ■> v Body Dug .Mweek or so later lUlaree party of ■ taiiyersity students was grossing the sanie slope when, withoTJft jwarning, it collapsed. . T3fie>Qlimbers were carried some "Gear and Sice-axes were ibattere| students were retQSrffng ;j?iv|ien someone asked, A week or so later his body from the avalanche snow. ' '*■■*■'■

By'- general agreement' the «ollapse tof the slope w-a?'-caused by. the party' underctfttirwt ' it & wheit;~-. they fil&T across, later to have looked hi'- which my friend" and I had enqtninjfeged., ; Jspr was it seemingly regafdea.as'significant that on the day of tlfe. fatality a paKtyxrossing the neighbtfu£i,nr Goldney" Glacier was swept aySjjfiT 1 by a collapse of snow. Fortunately they escaped with nothing wor&e than, bruise's and loss of gear.

Some day New Zealand will be billfd as a winter sports paradise. Ice and snow lie on its mountains in greater masses than in the.'Swiss Alps, and it is inevitable that: 'skiing, ice-skating and mountaineering will become part and parcel of our national sports. Soon many service-: men who have learned abroad v r ,the robust joy of the downhill rush'on skis, the aesthetic thrill of the perfectly executed telemark or lifted stem-christiana turns, are likely to renew 'those pleasures among our mountains. They will find that our snow has.-a diversity as-varied asour weather 1 or bur bush. / • . .

Snow can drift down in soft flakes to -.cotton' wool: trees, or drive in frozen pellets to adhere to flesh and clothing.^r.it'can be of.. the consistency ofHsJcumor bear the appearance * of l^tae -■ tapioca of pre-war memory.-K#ut whatever type-it-is, cohesive '•'Qγ: non-cohesive, sun and winds can change it, and it can be very, treacherous. Worst of; all, because of its .'Velvety deceptiveness, is.wind slab.,.powder ice;.- The'one sure safeguard against it is knowledge.. Heine Susman's death gave us xsssj ' f-jrfi. vi