Time running out for party

Press, 24 December 1986, Page 5

Time running out for party

By

JEFF HAMPTON

Time is running out for a party of Austrian mountaineers and scientists waiting in Christchurch to begin an expedition to Antarctica. The two scientists in the group have biological projects they want to begin. The three mountaineers have an unclimbed peak to tackle.

However, the ship which will take them to the Ice, the Aurora, is running late, according to the expedition’s leader, Bruno Klausbruckner. The Aurora is now due at Lyttelton from Antarctica on December 30. “We have been in Christchurch for more than a month,” said Mr Klausbruckner. “At the moment this would be the latest possible time to get down there.”

The group plans to be picked up again from Cape Hallett by the Aurora in late February, before the pack ice closes in.

The Aurora is owned by the Norwegian 90 Degress South Expedition, which set out for the South Pole about December 17, several weeks behind schedule.

“We hope the Aurora doesn’t encounter any more problems,” said Mr Klausbruckner, aged 41, an engineer. The other members of

his group are the deputy leader, Leopold Krenn, aged 32; Wolfgang Petz, aged 25; Dr Fritz Seewald, aged 44; and Friedl Pummer, aged 54. Dr Seewald wil study soil biology on the Ice, and Mr Petz will study protozoa, microscopic organisms which live in the soil.

The other three, who are experienced mountaineers, plan to climb Mount Minto, a 4163 m peak in the Admiralty Range in northern Victoria Land. Messrs Klausbruckner and Kreen have visited Antarctica twice before. They were aboard the British Footsteps of Scott expedition vessel Southern Quest which sank in the ice-covered waters of the Ross Sea almost a year ago. Members of Mr Klausbruckner’s expedition are members of the AustrianHimalayan Society, Austria’s leading mountaineering organisation. The expedition has

been financed by the society, private enterprise, universities, and the Government. Mr Klausbruckner said that the expedition would set up base at Cape Hallett. From there, members would trek 160 km to reach Mount Minto, which he said was a “nicely shaped mountain which appears to be not too difficult a climb.”

They would travel on skis and tow sledges holding their gear. “The biggest problem for us is to reach this area,” said Mr Klausbruckner, who has climbed the fourth-highest peak in the world, Lhotse, in the Himalayas. Once there, they would be “in the biggest unclimbed mountain area in the world.” More than 1.5 tonnes of equipment will go with the expedition to Antarctica, including climbing and scientific gear, dehydrated food, and tents.

Mr Klausbruckner said

that the expedition would use specially made polar pyramid tents, designed to cope with harsh conditions. He believed the expedition had taken all possible precautions, although “things can always go wrong with technical things.” “Everyone has to be aware of the special circumstances down there.” The expedition would be in radio contact with associates in New Zealand and Australia. Meanwhile, members of the expedition are waiting in a Christchurch motel for the arrival of the Aurora.

They have kept fit by running and they have also completed smaller climbs near Lake Wanaka, although they are limited in what they can tackle because the Customs Department will not release their equipment.