Out In The Cold

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30212, 17 August 1963, Page 11

Out In The Cold

• A party of 18 pupils • from Christchurch Boys’ ; High School, and four ; Deerstalkers’ Associa- ! tlon members, are still • talking wryly of the sad • experience which they ; had while travelling ; over Porters Pass last ; week-end on their way I to a shooting and moun--1 tain safety course. A • truck carrying the ■ party’s gear could not • tackle the heavy snow ; and ice on the pass on i the Friday evening, and : all hands helped to push i it several hundred yards ! up the slope. They came • on another truck taking ; a skl-ing party to a ; championship meeting. ; This truck was bogged : in snow and ice at the : side of the pass road, ; about a quarter mile • from the summit. An • offer by the shooting ; party to lend its man- • power to the skiers to : get their truck to the ; top, if the skiers would

do likewise, was accept- ■ ed eagerly. • School pupils and j stalkers toiled for 45 * minutes pushing the ; skiers’ truck and shovel- ; ling grit under the : wheels for traction. Near : the top they w’ere j assisted by a utility • vehicle which offered a ■ tow for the last 200 ; yards. But at the top ; the skiers continued on : their journey, without f returning the help, and ■ still carrying a spade > which had been left on ■ the deck of their truck. ; The shooting party ■ retraced its way deject- : edly down the pass, with ! the prospect of another I hour’s toil to push its ■ own truck to the top. ■ Its faith in human • nature, however, was ; restored considerably : when near the top ! another party of skiers ! came on the scene and ■ readily offered its assist- ; ance.