Climbing fears nearly realised

Press, 6 July 1977, Page 6

Climbing fears nearly realised

Fears expressed by the Peel Forest Park Board that -I lives could be lost on Little Mount Peel (4294 ft and Bigj j Mount Peel (5715 ft) were 'nearly realised at the weekend. j Two Christchurch men were lost for two nights on! the mountains during veryj low temperatures and in! near blizzard conditions. The men were Stanley John Batchelor, aged 51, of Flat 2, Third Street, Belfast, jand Raymond Arthur Dowse, I aged 29, of 202 Worcester Street, Christchurch. The men left Peel Forest to climb into the mountains at 7 a.m. on Saturday. When there was no sign of them at 7 a.m. on Monday, the Peel Forest park ranger, (Mr F. D. David) alerted the search and rescue organisation. Orari Gorge, Mount! Peel, and Lochaber Stations! were asked to send out staff! ■ to check huts on Mount' Peel. The search was started at; !9 a.m. on Monday and about! II a.m. Messrs Bruce McDonald and Roger Gould found the two men making their way down Harper Ridge. Mr Dowse was exhausted. The trampers apparently climbed Big Mount Peel on Saturday, but got tired on their return and failed to find Parson’s Hut. They spent the night in I the open, with only the shelter of a fly tent. ' On Sunday they climbed! lout on to the ridge and! jCooper’s Spur where they! again spent the night in the] open in the fly tent. “Chief guide Thomas at; Mount Cook has to cope; with the problems of ex-1 perienced climbers who aref;

■ over confident. But in the Mount Peel area our problem is inexperienced climjbers who are over confident,” Mr David said. | “The park board is concerned because property 'owners and others have to ■be called out to search in 'poor conditions when cominion sense should tell trampers that they should return 'to base as quickly as possible in deteriorating weather.” Constable J. W. Lester, of Geraldine, who took part in the search organisation, said the men had adequate sleeping bags but carried onily a fly tent which was insufficient in the near-bliz-zard conditions, it the snow which fell had fallen to any depth, the men could easily have lost their lives, he said. Constable Lester said that .apparently easy mountains (like Big and Little Mount iPeel could be deceptive in ■poor weather and could be a trap for the inexperienced. ; There is an increasing interest in mountain climbing, both in Geraldine and throughout the province, he said. He warned climbers and parents to ensure that young people were warmly clad, properly equipped and that a climbing party included sufficiently experienced climbers who knew snow conditions. Mr Lester said that Big iMount Peel could be especially dangerous because ■ conditions could change suddenly and cloud could descend at short notice, blotting out well known land marks. Then there was the [danger that even experienced trampers could not [cope with if snow fell to any depth.