TRAMPERS MUST LEARN HOW TO CROSS RIVERS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25328, 30 October 1947, Page 6

TRAMPERS MUST LEARN HOW TO CROSS RIVERS

IN THE MOUNTAINS

(Specially Written for “The Press.'*)

[By

“ALPINO.”]

Last week a deer-stalker was drowned crossing the Edwards river, near Arthur’s Pass.' His death is a warning against one of the most serious dangers of the mountains of Canterbury. A long list of similar accidents shows that trampers and others have more to fear from flooded rivers than from most of the technical dangers they are generally told about. The. coroner’s words at the inquest are worth quoting: “Trampers and deerstalkers should be properly equipped with ropes for use in crossing swift rivers.” But it is also important to know how to handle such equipment correctly. A rope wrongly used in a dangerous river can drown a man just as surely as any. of the careless acts that usually cause disaster. Mountain travel in New Zealand is a much more exacting sport than its counterpart in Europe. In any river valley, extreme variations in weather may be encountered in a few hours. Hotels and tourist facilities are few. so that heavy swags must be carried miles through broken country and bush. Where there are no roads and bridges, rivers must be forded to reach stretches of country off the beaten track. This is well known to all whose main sport is tramping, climbing, or shooting in alpine country, and before they can enjoy their sport fully and safely they must train tnemselvfes to meet these difficulties. However, rising rates of pay, greater leisure, good prices for deerskins, and a surprising boom in all alpine sports have turned large numbers of novices to the mountains during the last few years. AU Rivers Dangerous Hundreds of picnickers, week-end deCr-stalkers, and trampers have splashed their way across the pleasant waters of streams like the during fine weather; but have they been told, or have they stopped to think, that a few hours’ heavy rain can swell such streams to a waisthigh torrent against which even a strong man cannot brace himself? Experience teaches safety; but to observe a few simple rules is enough to ensure the security of even the weakest party when faced with a dangerous stream. It is well to treat •'all rivers as aangerous, even if they have been crossed uneventfully hundreds of times. In entering a river the widest expanse of water should be chosen, or the stream should be tackled where it forks. Bluffs and deep pools should

be avoided. If no rope is av&ilafeu stout sticks will help to brace the lees against the force of the current aiS to steady them in a slow advance across the bed of the river. Qn e of the few advantages of a heavy is that in the water it adds weight to the body and tends to give the feet extra stability. But if you slip, throw off the pack immediately. A man with a load on his back has no hope of standing up again once he has been swept away. Before entering a river loosen the pack straps and perhaps disengage one arm in readiness for trouble. Fast flowing streams that rise above the level of the liips should never be attempted without a rope. After experience with the flooded and always dangerous main streams of the Waimakariri, Rakaia. and other big Canterbury rivets, members of mountaineering elutes have worked out a foolproof technique of river crossing At yearly camps and schools of instruction they have insisted that their young members should learn it. to Use the Rope One hundred feet, or even less, ordinary l-ljin hemp rope is required The first man (the strongest swimmer) with the rope attached, tries to cross the river, moving upstream. He if anchored by the other members of the party. If he is unsuccessful he will be washed down by the current to the bank he started from. He must then try again. On reaching the other bank, he should fasten his end of the rope. Another man can then be brought across—using the sweep of the current all the time—so that he ends up somewhat downstream from the first man, who has been anchoring him. With a stone tied to end,, the rope can then be flung to the remainder of the party, who must tie all the packs on to be hauled to the opposite bank. The others can them be brought across by repeating the procedure described. Fixing a rope across a river and using it as a handrail is not recommended as it is not enough support in deep, swift waters. Packs, of course, should be waterproof. Although a party may get wet, crossing a river with a rope, they will be safe if they use it correctly. The method may have to he modified in crossing gorges of the kind found in Westland; but the principles are the same. In any case, inexperienced parties should serve an apprenticeship in easier country before they attempt the specialised problems of gorge crossings.