AN ALPINE TOUR.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17056, 29 January 1921, Page 8

AN ALPINE TOUR.

DISCOVERIES ON GQDLEY

GLACIER

An interesting alpine excursion into the practically unexplored region of tfee Godley Glacier, in the I/ake Tekapodtstrict was made during tbe recent hojidavs bv a. party consisting of Messrs T. A ' Fletcher, of Wellington (editor of tfc 9 "School Journal" and the "New Zealand Alpine Journal," which is n?w being resuscitated after having been ?n abeviinco for about 15 years), .A. Kennedy (of tho Woolston School staff), Johannes O. Anderson (librarian of the Turnbnll library. Wellington), and AS. Sutton-Turner (of the Department, Wellington), "with Mr J. Lapp to a. "Press"' representative, Mr'Fletcher, who is an old CJhristchurch boy. said that his recent trip was the third he had mado into the distnot. Ho met with exceedingly bad weather in the two former trips, *nd in tfee second one his party's camp was burnt out- necessJfta.t'ing a struct ion. and a re-fumishing of supplies. As the camp was 26 miles from thp nearest station, and the intervening country extremely rough, the experience was little short of heayt-breaking. On each visit, however, now peaks wefe discovered and conquered, pqd one gi them nn\y bears Mr Fletcher's name. The recent trip marked the first occasion pn which any of the peaks on tip Divide had been climbed. The Godley Glacier district, Mr Fletcher stated, wpa a very fine one, and the scenery was splendid, but it was very difficult "of access, the means of communication being extremely bad. As previously stated the nearest station was 26 mites awai, nnd thp provisions and outfit generally had to be taken many miles up ttya lake and then "packed" for several miles more. On this occasion it tow the party about five days to establish & base though rain at interferes with tho operations. The party loft Tjniarii December 22nd, and established its bam camp Ifie root of tne glacier, the uvouac hiking plwed abwt eit wiles turtle «p. For the next ten or twelve days, exceedingly fine weather was experienced, and the climbers sncoeded in ''getting l ' five peaks, three of them being previously unfpnqnered; Tbe §wt wW » fine one, of ]l?st updw 8Q(& fftpffe, and tHey named "it Mc. Dennistojin, after the IVtr J. R. <>f Peel forest, wh(> had been qysf m flwtrict once or twice. Mr })pqnjfrt<]|uij lon his life in the war. Ha Was » IUM*, and his machine waq shot qomi in gapea . iQ France, Mf (Jying fa -A German jfflgjm fren* Ipf jgjuHas." He c|im,b pri>y<id a good <m thaqs the rock %ya» very had, :!; - A sapor mk Spfe Mt. I?#nj«tann was the nelt sqaM, MaJthus Peak th«l>wnw gpkhe Jrilly bfiflk WjJA th® »rtv Mpum, Psatf to the feft at §sM»'§ Pass was W9if MH WW m a new one wfuph tnegF Mwitaion after t&a on the statjfift referred to; CflnOnfi, stud; Mr ms «mjjf fH»t» • fotfw op w tha gagog ife gaggl «g|UI osBB & *M or Mgjrijfe fiftsnpy &&& but teter tRW h|iww WpllJ^whfT fiWßwei jf .ft fM, m p9i *i»« ' rads- psp .HI .«» mm wp>to belong to MaKeVeak district. There was, however, a gredt deal .to choose between the fwg in favour of Wplseley. Tho disoqfyered an intw€6thia unknown fact about Walseiey, and was that, contrary to tba official |iiap which places it on the »6t' on the Divide ajl, galf a mile from it, on a spur running jwn from the Divide. It nad a coromaiidinK popftictyt W»A wa? fiu^ed from the glacier below, where it appeared tfl fce bb |He DdYifte- goyever, as stated, it 'was half a niile or so . and P«M»a fit thp vat»f ftwj it yaii ; down to the "Weft sidfi. „ the Mpefii Vf wialfelay, tha ' tp pwfeF ■ m-xm** w»ae! an oti one o§ thp nea&» in the Alps, bpt the weather drafa. them back.' Speaking generally of file esoipiflfl, Mr. a»jd ifeft" fhs climbingwas hard, particularly w tpa . PB!W of WWSP%* fflß Ifflt ltself to magnificent eopnery, pt(t "the ehW fawm# Hwi <&#*' was its ungodly fnoj^ines.." Petpnuan, ftt tfie hwd «f the g&der, on thf Terra Nora Sflddle. s &?a fiewTOP wfcqr ttl9 Jlaßgitata oould ba obtained. Frpm some of the other peaks there was a ftpe view right up to the Rjlkftia, Cook could be seen, and several oj\ tne West €3oa«t side that were not pwp at all, As far as cliffs were concerned, tne flfoffatt and Livingstone Peaks on the Divide wer© tho §nest on the AIBB, and ph^r'drops !ojf 8000 f«»t.' Anmmm thero praotjpalJy it was ft Wff wlw pottoy to "kp?J from under, 1 ' but the party ppppnachtiq them almost to the foot. Mc€lure, at the hpftd of the Gfldtay Qlacier, where the i fwo Thumb range branched off waa jaleo a pretty peak, but /Petermann wgs propaWy the most »peetftcql&? of tlwm all. ''Undoubtedly, l ' Mr Fletcher -Voroe pf tljp gpept V l . the whole Alps is to be seen from tne Godley Glacier, .but it is rapidly retreating." Incidentally. Mr Fletcher remarked that the. party had "solved tl»e difficulty of keepinpwpjrrn wtow camping on the ice- They slept pqt fHJ th® plftcier on several oocaaions and fenqfl tliat by placing an oil-sheet on the ice, then a good supnlv of bhqw grass, a«d tn«n another oil-sheet.. they' fQririeq a kind of mattress ©n they wer® pwfeotly comfortable and thoroughly warm. Mr Flotcher in securing a verv fine collection of photographs during the trip, which he intends to ' repeat on the first suitable opportunity.