Challenge of "The High One" Calculating the climbing risk

Press, 13 April 1988, Page 13

Challenge of "The High One" Calculating the climbing risk

I B y

SUZANNE KEEN

Carrying 35 kilograms of'gear up a snowy mountain, sleeping more than 20| nights in a tiny tent, and surviving on a diet of dehydrated, foods is not everyone’s idea of fun.

Add to that the everpresent threat of hypothermia; of falling into a crevasse and it sounds more like a bad dream. For Kate Averill, however, it is not only fun, but an exciting challenge j for which she has been , ' willing to spend the last eight months training. Kate, aged 25,' and her ■ climbing companion, ! Hazel Chapman. 30, make! up a “Women on the[ Move” expedition which ! will fly out of Christ-:

church next Wednesday I on its way to climb Mt! .1 McKinley in Alaska. At 6173 metres, it is the highest mountain in North America, and is renowned for its seven-day storms and very cold temperatures. j Since about the middle of last i year, Kate and Hazel have spent most of their time at Mt Cook, practising the skills which, will be i necessary to get them to the top of Mt McKinley. "When we go we will be all alone and that is what [we have been building up for,” says Kate. ."We have [been putting all our energy, week-ends and holidays into climbing — it’s been fun.” | j When in . Mt Cook she worked! as a ,hut warden and an assistant guide/ The work paid off with

•I I hILH the successful completion of a professional ;mountain guides 1 course last month. I |. ii . Along with improving their rock climbing,l the women have also been concentrating on'the technical' aspects of mountaineering, such! as rope work and safety; |I 1 Cycling, running Lup hills, and weight lifting are part of! their fitness training. Hazel j has [ also practised climbing | with weights in her pack. | For the|. first |5lOO metres of the climb the women will'have to.carry all their gear! on I four sleds.

During a seven-day stay in a tent jon the i Fox Glacier, Kate and Hazel had the chaince to experience living!in a tent for four days during a Isnow storm.

"The weather was bad at Mt Cook, so we flew in with a tent an.d gear and landed well away (from the hut soi we could be completely I seif-sdffi-cient.” I ■ i I 4‘ The storm meant that they could not ventuire out of the tent (except to Ishovel snow away! Plenty' of books and music frqrri the Walkman which wjl be accompanying I them up Mt McKinley (could not completely ' stave off the restlessness which [comes with being unable to move outside. | I. . ||! "We were quite excited ■I II

with the storm, because it's what we will experience — we had the chance to see what it was like first-hand,” says Kate. “The winds were terrific so we dug ourselves well in.” When the storm let up there was time to practise crevasse rescues and the “incredibly physical" work of dragging loaded tobaggans through the snow.

At the end of a week, the women set off to climb Mt Tasman. The crevasse rescues proved a worthwhile exercise when a bridge collasped underneath one of them. They continued on until they heard the “plumph”

‘You do not underestimate the mountains' sound • of snow falling, which Kate says can be an forewarning of an avalanche. “We backed off really quickly, found the nearest crevasse and dug in and went to sleep. Later we went back to thee hut and got a forecast. - “A big storm was on its way and then there was a whiteout, so we had to navigate our way down and get lifted out by a helicopter.” Retreating turned out to

have been a [wise move as another group of people were! trapped on the glacier for eight days during the predicted storm.

“When we came!out we hadn’t done [a[lot, but we had! learnt a loti” says Katb.

With the high number of climbing [ accidents on Mt I ! Cook recently, climbers : rind ! nonclinhbers alike have been heajrjd to comment that "nothing could get: me up there." Kate agrees that the copclitions have been particularly bad, with more than: the usual amount of rock,' and ice fall. However! she believes climbers should always be aware when things start to go. [wrong, and think about turning back.

“il am conservative in my outlook [of climbing. I am confident of my ability [and don’t out-climb myself."

“I have turned back a lot this summer because I haven't been happy —

you do not’underestimate the! mountains." the physical preparation necessary for the “Wionien on the Move" expedition may have been tough, but the work involved in seeking monetary sponsorship was almost as arduous. At the end of last year, Kate and Hazel prepared a-[brochure about their climb which they could present to prospective

sponsors. The effort paid off with a $5OOO grant from the Hillary Commission for Recreation and Sport, and overwhelming support from climbing clubs, and businesses.

Kate says she was only disappointed that the Ministry of Women’s Affairs did not come forward to help an expedition which would promote women’s climbing.

All the travel costs and gear, including food, clothing, tents and stoves, have been paid for by sponsorship.

[ They are taking enough food for 30 days, but hope to be at! the top by the end of the twenty-third. [ "If you [are not up by [then your body starts to go down really quickly in the cold,” says Kate.

‘ During the climb the women"'will need to consume between 4000 and 6000 calories each day, so most of the food they carry will be high-energy.

Aside from chocolate, this generally means dehydrated foods — meals such as smoked fish and parsley, and macaroni and cheese. In spite of the tasty tidbits, Kate admits some of the food is “pretty awful," and a tad tastless. “They recommend you drink four to six litres of water a clay’ to avoid dehydration, and you have to be motivated to melt ice and eat even if you don’t feel like it. You

have to have the ability to just keep on [going day after dav.”

Kate and Hazel will also have to carry 60 litres of fuel to keep their small stove going. One of the biggest obstacles of the expedition will ibe the cold. Temperatures can fall to minus 40 degrees. The air is also very dry.

Climbers have to wear many layers of thermal clothing and face masks. Kate says she has also bought some special hand warmers which :burn on fuel sticks. She is confident that all the necessary preparation has been done [ for the trip, and that [she and Hazel have the experience to get to the top of the mountain. “I think we can do it for sure — slowly and carefully and not doing anything dumb on the way."

Kate adds that the route she took when climbing Mt Cook was probably much harder in terms of technical difficulty than that which she will face on Mt McKinley.

"I think that the chances of having an accident in the Southern Alps are far higher than over there. I an not saying that something couldn't happen, but if it did we would have the skills to cope.”

'Concentrating on technical aspects of climbing'