CLIMBING IN THE HIMALAYAS

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26770, 30 June 1952, Page 9

CLIMBING IN THE HIMALAYAS

Mr H. E. Riddiford’s Return

PARTICIPATION IN THREE VENTURES

Mr H. E. Riddiford, Who during the last year has taken part in three expeditions in the Himalayas, will arrive back in Christchurch to-day. A little more than a year ago, Mr Riddiford left New Zealand with Messrs E. P. Hillary, of Auckland, W. G. Lowe, of Hastings, and E. Cotter, of Christchurch, in the first all-New Zealand expedition to the Himalayas. The expedition, which was headed by Mr Riddiford, climbed six peaks in the Garwhal Himalayas t including the highest previously unclimbed peak in the district, Mukut Parbat (23,760 feet). The final ascent of the peak was made by Mr Riddiford and Mr 'Cotter with their chief Sherpa porter, Pasang Dawa, in nine and a half hours from their top camp at 21,000 feet. The exploits of the expedition were described by Mr Riddiford in a series of special articles published last year in “The Press.” Subsequently, two members of the New Zealand expedition, Mr Riddiford and Mr Hillary, joined the famous British climber, Mr Eric Shipton, in a reconnaissance of the southern approach to Everest. On this venture Mr Riddiford had a narrow escape when the party was caught by an avalanche on the icefall guarding the southern approach to the mountain. Recently Mr Riddiford, with Messrs Hillary and Lowe, has been with still another of Mr Shipton's expeditions, which has been attempting an ascent of Cho-Oyu (26,750 feet), 20 miles west of Everest. A leg injury forced Mr Riddiford to leave the expedition shortly before the attempt on the mountain was abandoned. The other New Zealand members of the party were doing well, said Mr Riddiford when he reached Wellington on Friday, and Mr Hillary was taking a leading part in the expedition. Mr Riddiford had high praise for the Swiss expedition which was reported to have reached a point only 541 feet from the summit of Everest (29,141 feet). He said the Swiss had made a “very fine effort” considering the difficult spring conditions—unsettled weather and many snowfalls. Mr Riddiford was diffident about discussing details of the reconnaissance of Everest’s southern approaches because of the copyright on expedition news held by “The Times," London, through the Himalayan Committee. Nepal, he said, was a most undeveloped country, though its unspoilt naturalness might well be the secret of its charm. Many of the Nepalese had never seen white men before and wherever the party went it attracted great curiosity. The down-stuffed Swiss clothing worn by expedition members was a great improvement in mountaineering equipment, he added. The party had nylon ropes, rubber-soled shoes, and dehydrated food. There was a great range of food specially prepared for mountaineering, which he had not even seen before. New Zealand equipment which he had taken with him had been satisfactory and had stood up well in comparison with overseas gear.