MOUNTAINEER KILLED

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28822, 17 February 1959, Page 12

MOUNTAINEER KILLED

Fall Into Deep Crevasse

(From Our Own Reporter) TIMARU, February 18. ' A man whose body cannot be recovered without great danger to life was killed in the Malte Brun area last Thursday. He was James Robert Anthony Glayde, aged 25, single, an Australian. In company. with another Australian, Barry Russell Hayes, of Melbourne, Glayde left The Hermitage at 5 a.m. on Thursday to climb Malte Brun. They reached the summit, and left to return to the Malte Brun Hut at 3 p.m., but lost the route back and got on to ledges on the rock bluff reaching a point about 100 feet from the glacier. They were roped together, but Glayde asked to be unroped. This was done, and Hayes retained the rope. Hay said that they were lost, and it appeared to him that Glayde wanted to go his own way.

Hayes reached the bottom just above the glacier and waited for about six minutes. He called several times, but got no reply. He traversed a ledge below the bluff of rocks, tailed again and received an answer from Glayde, who was then above Hayes on steep, smooth slabs of rock about 200 to 250 feet above the glacier. They were coming on to ice but still on rock, and there was no need for crampons.

Hayes could see that Glayde was in a bad position and told him to stay still. Hayes turned back with the intention of going up a scree slope to get above Glayde and throw a rope to him. He had almost completed his turn ' round when he heard a crashing noise. He looked up and saw Glayde falling over almost vertical slabs of rockHayes said he saw .Glayde’s body hit rocks twice before it reached the bottom of the bluff. Torch Lost

Hayes went down on to the glacier, put on his crampons and made a search for about an hour in steep and crevassed' country, lost his torch and had to give up the search because of darkness. He then set off to the Malte Brun Hut for assistance. On the way down he saw two lights approaching, and found two members of-the Alpine Club. Later, John Neil Hamilton, an experienced mountaineer, of Christchurch, took charge of a search party and searched until 2.30 a.m. on Friday. The searchers had to give “up for lack of light and because the country was dangerous to search in darkness they stayed on the glacier until daylight. At dawn the search was continued and Glayde’s body was found at the bottom of a deep crevasse at 5 a.m> on Friday. News of the accident was not released until Glayde’s next-ofr kin, his father, Mr ■C. E. J. Glayde, of Wilmington, South Australia, had been advised of his sc s death.