Pioneer hut replaced
Mountain enthusiasts once again have an alpine hut on the Pioneer Ridge at the head of Fox Glacier in the Westland National Park. It is the fourth hut to be built at the head of the glacier and was a joint project of the New Zealand Alpine Club and the Department of Lands and Survey, said the park’s chief ranger, Mr Alan Cragg. The first two huts were destroyed by rockfalls. The third was demolished after
it was declared unsafe because of unstable rock in the area.
The new hut was designed in three sections and built with laminated, structurally insulated panels at the National Park’s workshop in Franz Joseph village.
Each section was flown by helicopter from Franz Josef to the new site which is at an altitude of 2362 m (7750 ft The hut was assembled by National Park staff on a prepared steel
chassis weighted with 15 tonnes of stone in wire mesh baskets. The hut’s interior, of natural oiled timber, was fitted in two days during a storm. The new hut is expected to receive much use, said Mr Cragg. A radio, which had been left in a toilet on the site of the old hut for use in emergencies, will soon be installed in the new building.
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Bibliographic details
Press, 25 May 1984, Page 2
Word Count
215Pioneer hut replaced Press, 25 May 1984, Page 2
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