A VIRGIN PEAK CONQUERED

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21319, 12 November 1934, Page 10

A VIRGIN PEAK CONQUERED

SUCCESS OF RANGIORA CLIMBERS

ASCENT OF MOUNT GREENLAW

The last virgin peak in the Arthur's Pass National Park, the lower peak of Mount Greenlaw (7500 feet), was climbed by two Rangiora climbers, Messrs S Brookes and A. S. Logan during the week-end.

The climbers left Rangiora on Friday morning by c~r from the Harper hut and tramped six miles up the Harper river, and 12 to 14 miles to the head of the Avoca river. They bivouacked at an altitude of 3700 feet and on Saturday at 6.30 left camp taking a route up the east ridge. The climb took five hours over mixed rock and snow, including a stiff pull over the upper creek bed.

The hardest part of the ascent was after they had reached an altitude of 500 C feet, where a slope of 200 feet of rock and snow was encountered, which took them one and a-half hours to negotiate. The summit (6870 feet) was reached at 11.30 a.m. The climbers left the summit at 1 p.m. and came down a snow slope between th-- higher and lower peaks, the descent to the base camp taking three-quarters of an hour.

Mr Brookes said last evening that the climb was not an exceptionally hard one, although there were several fairly stiff slopes.

MOUNT WILSON CLIMBED

ASCENT IN BAD CONDITIONS

Mount Wilson, one of the chief peaks of the Polar Range, on the eastern boundary of the Arthur's Pass National Park, was climbed by Mr G. A. Doig, of the Canterbury Mountaineering Club on Friday. With the long and rough trip up and down the Edwards river the climb took 16 hours, and for a considerable part of that time rain and a cold north-west wind had to be contended with.

The climber left Christchurch by the Thursday night goods train, disembarking at the junction of the Bealey and Mingha rivers. He left the mouth of the Edwards river at 3 a.m. and enjoyed good weather on the trip up the Edwards and the West Edwards rivers. Early in the climb, however, rain set in from the north-west and quickly made the snow conditions very treacherous. After reaching the summit of Mount Wilson the climber traversed along the ridge about three-quarters of the distance toward Mount Scott, but the unfavourable conditions caused him to abandon this projected climb and also the descent into the Mingha river. He returned to the railway by way of the Edwards river and caught the night goods train to Christchurch at Arthur's Pass.