New hut rises at Mount Cook

Press, 24 February 1977, Page 17

New hut rises at Mount Cook

By

NANCY CAWLEY

A three-roomed, splitlevel snow cave was home for 11 New Zealand Alpine Club members who, last week, completed the building of a 10-bunk hut at the head of the Murchison Glacier in the Mount Cook National Park. An earlier hut built by the club in 1953 became unsafe because of glacier recession and shifting of the bedrock, and was demolished and burnt on the site early in 1976. The club has a long- * standing association with the Mount Cook area and • administers four climbing huts in the park. The other three are the Godley, Pioneer, and De la Becher the last also is due for replacement. General club policy is for replacement of huts rather than their proliferation. Sited on the north-east ridge of Mount Cooper, at 6000 ft above New Zealand’s second largest glacier, the new hut is an important link in a chain of huts used for summer

climbing and winter skitouring. Access is commonly from the Tasman Valley via Tasman Saddle, or from the Godley Valley via the Classen Saddle. Ski-planes are often used, and the hut-builders were flown in from the Mount Cook airstrip by helicopter and ski-plane. The job of maintaining New Zealand Alpine Club huts throughout the country is divided between the various sections of the

club, and the Wellington section has traditionally been responsible for rhe Murchison hut. On this occasion 11 Wellington hut-builders were joined by three South Canterbury members. The unusual design of the 4.350 m x 3.30 m (14ft x lift) hut allows for dismantling and re-erection should this become necessary. The hut was prefabricated and painted at the Central Institute of

Technology, Petone, as a student project, and the sections were flown to the site in 900 kg loads. The specially-designed foundations have been strengthened by a steel triangle, and provision has been made for height adjustment. The whole building operation took a little more than a week, with the foundations taking most of the time and the assembling of the hut one day.

The destruction of the Three Johns hut and the loss of life caused no lastminute change of design. The hut is securely anchored by wire baskets containing rocks: club officials are confident of its stability.

The hut cost $lO,OOO, part of which was provided by a Council of Recreation and Sport grants, and the steelwork for the foundations was given by Parr and Co., Timaru.