AIRCRAFT IN THE ALPS

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29192, 30 April 1960, Page 5

AIRCRAFT IN THE ALPS

[Specially written for-Thf PrW by

OSCAR COBERGERI

VVER since aircraft first began “to land climbers and tourists on the glaciers near Mount Cook, the thoughts of mountaineers have turned to the possibilities of landing early in the morning at 7000 feet on a windless, glittering day, with the chance \>f climbing a high peak nearby and in the evening returning to a hut, or even greater luxury, flying back tq the Hermitage. If this could be done, mountaineers considered, climbing and rescue work would be greatly helped, loss of time at high alpine huts eliminated, and long walks from and to the Hermitage avoided. But one problem was uppermost in their minds—would the human body adjust itself rapidly enough if lifted 5000 ft in 15 minutes to start a strenuous climb immediately?

No-one was quite sure, and opinions were very divided. There was a very simple way to find out, and I did so. Early Start

At 5.30 a.m. one day last December, Harry Ayres, the chief ranger and guide at Mount Cook, and myself set out from the Hermitage aerodrome by Cessna aircraft. We landed on the Grand Plateau below the awe-inspiring peaks of the main divide at 6 a.m. We have travelled from summer into a world of ice and snow.

After taking a few photographs, we started off across the foot of Mount Tasman towards the Silberhom. Before long we were on crampons, and after about half an hour I began to puff and pump for air. But this was nothing unusual for these altitudes, and after a few minutes’ rest we gained our wind and continued to make slow but steady progress.

After five hours of difficult climb, ing and considerable step cutting, we arrived at the summit of the Silberhorn. Then a traverse along the ridge to Mount Graham proved easy, and Mount Teichelman, further west, gave us little trouble, notwithstanding its iceglazed rock.

Then we encountered good crampon conditions down on to the Linda Glacier, although a thousand feet of the descent was under overhanging ice with a tremendous ice-avalanche lying at the bottom. We hoped the next fall would be the following day. At 3 p.m. the same day we were spotted by the Cessna on the Lower Linda Glacier Crevasses We found that cimbing, in the area is largely controlled' by the speed at which crevasses open up in the glacier. We stepped across one two-feet wide, and G. Hassel reported that 10 days later he saw our footprints coming up to a crevasse 30 feet wide and continue on the other side. At 4 p.m. the aircraft picked us up on the plateau. By 5 p.m., I was in a bath at the Hermitage.

Minarets Five days later, we landed at 8000 ft on the western side of the Graham Saddle, after having encountered some difficulty in getting through a hole in the cloud layer at 6000 ft. We climbed both of the Minarets and flew out from the upper Tasman Glacier. We found definitely that there are no ill-effects from this type of climbing, provided one has a sound heart, is reasonably fit, and starts to climb slowly. Yet in spite of the wonders of our one-day trip, no-one else succeeded in this summer season to do the same. However, one party landed at the -plateau and climbed the three peaks of Mount Cook to the Empress hut.

Unfortunately, none of the members of the search parties in the two tragedies which occurred in the area this summer could be flown in because of bad weather. Conditions for landing must be perfect, with very little wind, no haze, and no cloud cover, otherwise the landing area on the snow will show no contours. . Crevasses always appear later in the season. Weather The future of climbing in the Southern Alps, with transporting aircraft, is therefore certain, even though it is always at the mercy of the unpredictable weather in the region. Since no-one can be sure that the plane will be able to return in the evening, sufficient stores have to be taken for a stay at the nearest hut.