Climbers Safe; One Snow-blind

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31261, 6 January 1967, Page 1

Climbers Safe; One Snow-blind

(from Our Own Reporter?

TIMARU, January 5. One of two experienced climbers who were reported overdue last evening from a climb of 11,475 ft Mount Tasman is suffering from severe snow-blindness and snow-bums to the face and hands.

He is in the Plateau hut, where he is being treated by two nurses.

The man, John Andrews, a son of the Rev. Canon R. P. Andrews, of 3 Cracroft terrace, Christchurch, and his companion, Dick Sheffield, of 5 Purchas road. Takapuna, Auckland, returned accompanied by searchers who had left the Plateau hut, at 7600 ft on the west ridge of Glacier dome, in the Grand plateau, at 4.15 am. to try to find them.

The Mount Cook National Park Board’s chief ranger (Mr M. L. Burke), who controlled operations in the field, said that the two men were seen early yesterday by the parties which were descending Mount Tasman. Messrs Andrews and Sheffield were going to the top and back. The weather worsened in the afternoon, and snow fell. The weather was clear when search parties left the Plateau hut on various routes for the Tasman area, and about 7.30 a.m. Messrs Andrews and Sheffield were seen coming off Mount Silberhom (10,757 ft just to the south of Mount Tasman. The climb on Mount

Tasman is usually made by first traversing Mount Silberhorn. The two had been unable to descend Mount Tasman because of the weather. Furthermore, Mr Andrews, who had lost his ice-axe, in circumstances not yet known, was snow-blind. In spite of his blindness, Mr Andrews, who is likely to be incapacitated for a day or so, was able to walk out part of the way.

Mr Sheffield is fit and well. If the weather is suitable—there was rain from the south this evening Mr Andrews will be flown out to Park Board headquarters at 7 a.m. tomorrow. The airstrip on the Grand plateau is only 20 minutes walk from the hut. Mr Andrews was exhausted by the time he reached the Grand plateau, said Mr Burke, and helpers had to use a sledge fashioned out of a pair of skis to haul him across the plateau to the hut. Egmont Climbers Two Auckland climbers, overdue on an ascent to the summit of Mount Egmont, walked out of the bush above the Kapuni Lodge on the southern slopes, says the Press Association. They are Messrs R. C. Pennell and P. J. Matheson. They had left at 3 p.m. on Monday. In signing the log book they had said that they would be back no later than Wednesday afternoon. The South Taranaki Search and Rescue Organisation was eailed out when the climbers failed to reappear. Three members of the organisation and Sergeant P. T. Killen, of Hawera, left Hawera as an advance party. They found the climbers walking down the track from the Kapuni Lodge to Dawson Falls. The men had made their climb to the summit by way of Fanthams Peak, from a base camp at Kapuni Lodge. Poor visibility and adverse conditions had delayed them for 24 hours longer than they had anticipated their climb would take.