Broke Leg In Andes

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30499, 22 July 1964, Page 1

Broke Leg In Andes

A broken leg on a 20,000 ft peak in Peru and a painful journey which began on a crevassed glacier and ended five days later with primitive medical treatment in a Peruvian hospital have done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm for climbing of Mr H. A. Jacobs, who has returned to Christchurch.

Bearded, tanned, and with a ready smile at the recollection of his hardships, he said yesterday that he was as keen as ever on climbing and had his heart set on another Andean expedition, finance permitting. “You can just as easily break a leg coming down the stairs,” he said. “And do you give up climbing stairs? Of course not.” Mr Jacobs was one of the party of New Zealand climbers who left for South America on April 24. Aged 33, he is a ranger at Te Anau National Park. Formerly of Christchurch, he is married, with two children. He broke both bones in the right leg while descending Quittoraju on July 1. The accident occurred when he

slipped on a patch of hard ice and fell about 30ft. After treatment and rest for six days in a hospital at Yungay, which had no X-ray equipment and no anaesthetic, he was flown to Lima and then to New Zealand through Miami and Los Angeles. He is awaiting admission to the Christchurch Hospital for further medical treatment.

He was equipped until his examination at the Christchurch Hospital with a crude pair of crutches a foot too short and manufactured from tree branches. At every airport he was met with a wheelchair, which was a great assistance in going through the customs and other airport formalities, he said.

He expects to be in hospital for about two weeks and to return to light administrative duties at the national park soon afterwards. The other climbers were Dr. Michael Nelson, the leader, formerly of Christchurch, and now a research economist living in Buenos Aires, Mr D. Mackay, of Christchurch, and Mr E. Cotter, of Gore. They were accompanied by Dr. Nelson’s wife and Mr Cotter’s wife.

As a preliminary to the main objective of climbing peaks in the Cordillera Blanca range in Peru the party spent a month in Bolivia climbing in the Cordillera Real. They

climbed Kasiri Agiya (19,050 feet) and Kasiri Oeste (19,000 feet) —both first ascents. Later the four men climbed a virgin peak of 19,300 feet, for which they have proposed the name Arichiri (the Sharpener) and another of 18,700 feet, for which they have proposed the name Taparacu (Butterfly Peak). It was later on his first climb in Peru, that Mr Jacobs broke his leg. He said the peaks in Peru were steeper than those in Bolivia, and he was just getting into his stride when the accident happened. The expedition for him was to be an adventure, and even though he was unable to share in later climbs events arising from his accident were an adventure in themselves. Mr Jacobs said he believed the members of the expedi-

tion were chosen as much for their probable compatibility as their climbing skill. There had been nothing but good fellowship throughout. Reluctant to enlarge on the pain he suffered after his accident, he had the greatest praise for the efforts of the other members of the expedition during the rescue, particularly for that of his climbing partner at the time, Mr Cotter, who gave up his down jacket to keep Mr Jacobs’s leg warm and spent the night jumping about to keep warm himself.