Little hope for lost climber

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34026, 15 December 1975, Page 1

Little hope for lost climber

(From Our Own Reporter)

TIMARU, Dec. 14.

Little hope remained that the 30-year-old German climber, Mr B. G. Mueller, was alive, said [the senior ranger at Mount Cook National Park headquarters (Mr C. S. Irwin) this evening.

A week ago, Mr Mueller was seen at noon climbing towards the Gardiner Hut. at an altitude of 5600 ft. on the Hooker Glacier, to the west of the Mount Cook range. He was then barely an hour away from his destination. Last Thursday, a party of specialist climbers from park headquarters entered the region, traversing the area between the Hooker and Gardiner huts.

The next day. the search was expanded to encompass both huts. Bad weather and unstable crevasse country endangered the lives of searchers, compelling them to return to park headquarters. It was not until today that two rangers. Mr O. McCahan

and Mr I. Whitehouse, went into the area on foot.

The day before, there were strong north-westerly winds and heavy rain at high altitudes. but the weather today was fine. Cold south-westerlies, however. were blowing across the tops. Mr Irwin said that everything depended on exploration bv the two men. who were concentrating their activities on the Gardiner and Empress hut areas. The switch to the Empress Hut (8300 ft on the western buttresses of Mount Cook, between the Empress and Sheila glaciers, is a new development in the search. The hut, the highest in the park, is two hours and a half from the Gardiner Hut. One or two small areas had yet to be checked, and the two men also proposed climbing towards Empress Hut, which they expected to reach tonight. Mr Irwin said. Unless anything was revealed. the search would be abandoned.

“There is not a great deal of hope. We assume Mr Mueller has fallen into a crevasse in the Hooker Valley.” Mr Irwin said.