LURE OF THE WILD

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1932, Page 13

LURE OF THE WILD

AROUND MOUNT COOK

OVER THE COPLAND PASS

A WONDERFUL VALLEY

(By E. E. Muir.) The, Peak is high and flush'd ■At his highest with sunrise fire. —Tennyson. '■' "Out of one new world into another, and both wholly different," is, perhaps, how one might best describe" the great ; trip round the heart of the Southern . Alps as done from Waiho Gorge, on; the West Coast, to the Hermitage, via Graham's Saddle, and from: the Hermitage back, via the Copland Pass. But ,when one. says "a. new world" one means, not that it. is new, but old, virgin, "as it was in the beginning," ' yet all so wholly different to what one .is used to boxed up In a city 'midst ." ■-. all the rush and noiso and wrangles of our boasted modern civilisation. In the first stage, emerging out of sub-tropical . vegetation, so far away from the equator, one spends three days wholly amidst snow and ice and lofty mountains, t being transported, as it were, to the Antarctic with all the wonders and beauty that such a region provides; iv the second stage'of four days, except for the second crossing of the Main Divide, one traverses miles upon miles of the most; glorious alpine gai'dens, and still many more miles through the most gorgeous forest and mountain scenery, sees all the glory of the Alps from entirely dif-: ferent aspects, and crosses numerous broad glacial rivers and surging mountain torrents and streams by the score. GLORIES OF THE HOOKER VALLEY. Having successfully accomplished the , first stage,, from Waiho, to the : Hermitage, via Graham's Saddle, and having reluctantly said "good-bye" to Guide Reg. Gibson, who was returning to Christchurch, we, as a party ,of three (Guide Jack Cox, H.. Douglas, of Wellington, and the writer), set out from the Hermitage (2500 feet) for the. Hooker Hut (3770 feet), situated seven miles up the Hooker Valley, intending to spend the night there and start before dawn next morning for the climb over the Copland.Pass (6950 feet). On "this, bur fourth day out from Waiho, we.were again fortunate in the weather, being presented with a really ■ ■warm summer's day, in which the sun beanied down, in all his power'out of a .. clear, blue sky and not a breath of wind" disturbed the stillness of the air. Leaving the Hermitage at 2.30 p.m. lye enjoyed .the tramp up this wild valley,, button reaching the far side,soon found it stiflingly hot. It was a relief to round the bold bluff of the wholly picturesque gorge and get out on to the second swing bridge over the turbulent bluo waters of the Hooker River, dashing madly on 100 feet below, and to, croEis over into the delightful alpine garden filled with gorgeous mountain flowers, criss-crossed. by gurgling, run- ■ aing; streams of blue water, singing ' 'their .eternal song.; A half-hour spell beside -the':shelter;, hut in this truly beautiful'and wonderful spot was not to be denied. V. • ;-,- HEEDS OP CHAMOIX IN ALPINE GARDEN. With the'small Stocking Glacier and The Footstool (9079 feet) immediately above us on the right-we gazed along the' enormous frowning precipices and , ice-cliffs of: Mount Sefton (10,359 feet) ■and up into the great amphitheatre of .; the ..Mueller. Valley, the home..of the. -big Mueller-Glacier,1 eight-miles long,"' which drains the Divide and:the Sealey Barigo at the back of the Hermitage. Crowning the Divide at' the head of the Mueller ■ Valley stood '■■• Maunga Ma (8335 feet) and Mount Thomson (8646 ft).■-. . . Not far away, in the midst of, this. charming flowering wilderness—a priceless asset because it involves no climb, and is, therefore, easily ..accessible to young and old alike ■ —were -herds of Chamoix feeding on the vegetation. Although outlawed last year as.vermin, they-were so tame that they took not the slightest notice of-us,.sufficient evidence that they are left.'quite.undisturbed. It did not require, much imagination to picture, what will be the state of this lovely spot when the herds have been allowed to - increase, and multiply" and have eaten • out the mountain grass. . Turning to the right and wending . our way up the well-defined track along the Hooker Valley, between the-Divide ■ and ' the. Cook Range, we found the mountain lilies ana daisies and shrubs . more gorgeous still in .their lovely blooms. . .-". But look up there on r the left at the crest of the Divide! • Dense white clouds, very beautiful in their huge mass formation, were creeping over the main range from the west, rolling slowly on and. down, all-conquer-ing, obliterating ■everything in their path... . . Soon the track, led over enormous slides of completely shattered rock, and the wind began to rise in gusts. We must hasten to get .round "Windy, Corner," where, when the , storm kings iporf themselves in their native elements, it is necessary to descend to the Hooker Glacier below in order to prevent being blown off the slope. "Windy Corner" is a wild, desolate spot, where rock slides have been splintered into •billions- of fragments upon which nothing will grow, and is rendered the more depressing by the sight of the ugly glacier, 300 ft below, wholly covered with the debris of the Cook and Dividing Ranges, for several ■miles along its length. After a mile or two of this the pathway leads out on to a long, narrow glacial bench, about 200 ft above the glacier, in which oidelweiss' and the upper mountain flora flourish, and on which the Hooker Hut is situated. We were glad to reach the shelter, for it had already commenced to rain, and we had npt been' long inside before the storm burst in all its fury, and down came the deluge. STORM-BOUND FOR TWO DAYS. We were; kept storm-bound there for two days,.during which the flood-gates of heaven were opened unceasingly, and thowind at times howled and shook the hut with-full gale force. On the first might the visitation was.' accompanied for .over an hour by vivid flashes of lightning and heavy peals of thunder, •which.roUed down the valley and echoed and" xe-echoed between the gigantic ■walls of Cook and the Divide. In the day Mine, imprisoned in the hut, it was stirring to look out of the door and see the glacial bench covered with ■ a sheet of running .water fully an inch thick, while over on the far side of the glacier were, scores of smoking; milk-white waterfalls tearing flown the Cook Range, leaping far out into the void, and dashing down on to the rocks , and ledges below, resuming their plunging career—truly a remarkable sight. A LENGTHY ROCK OL3MB. We left the Hooker Hut (3770 ft) at 4- o'clock on the morning of oui- seventh day out from Waiho for the climb over tho Copland Pass. (6950 ft) and, the descent'into tEs Copland Valley, intending to' spend the night under the wellknown Douglas Rock. The rain had ceased, and, though it was pitch dark, the weather showed signs of clearing, and by tn"e aid of two lanterns we proceeded by the track up the mountain side. The first streaks of dawn began to appear as we rounded the first ridge • and crossed the raging torrent essaying from tho " glacier above, and then, still, following the track, crossed

the rock slides and got out on to the long, sharp, steep ridgs which leads out into the centra of a small, steep snowfield, and so on to the pass above. Up and ever upwards, in the steadily increasing light of a grey dawn, and, ■with the wind blowing in strong gusts out of dense clouds on our- right, we clambered over and up and round and in between the rocks, hoisting ourselves up with hand and knee holds where necessary, rounding now and again steep corners whero the abrupt descent left nothing to the imagination, and keeping to the left as much as possible to avoid tho wind. It was wholly fascinating work, very enjoyable in that wonderful air and those weird surroundings, and, with everywhere good foot, hand, and knee holds, was in no sense.difficult 01 dangerous. How high the rocks appeared immediately above us, how deep the immense chasm far, far down below, and how gloomy everything was on the right, blotted out by the clouds as though it were the end of the world! Only the lower buttress of Mount Cook were visible across^tho valley. .. . ' ■ "LOOK AT THE LOWER PEAK OF COOK!" Reaching the top of the ridge, where its head is buried in the snow with hard blue ice descending far down on either side o£ it, Cos advised the writer, who had got his feet wet ;in crossing the mountain torrent, to change his socks— evidently as a precaution against frost-; bite, for it was now freezing hard. This accomplished, we roped together, and commenced the climb of some 400 to 500 feet up the steep snow-slope. Gusts of wind kept raising flurries' of snow and sleet, which ; drove stingingly against our faces where they were not protected by balaclavas -and goggles; occasionally the gusts were so strong that now and again we were obliged to "anchor" ourselves in : the snow with our ice-axes' in order to preserve our balance. ... "Look at the lower peak of Cook!" said Douglas, who was in the rear. ... It was blood red, glistening, standing ctear out of dense black'clouds to- the north, .and set against a sky of the. palest green. A mile or more across the Hooker Valley from where we stood; it rose some 4000 feet above us, and was really a most beautiful and wonderful sight to behold. ... Away to the south-east, over, the Liebig Range and the Mackenzifl country, were bright red and rose-pink clouds, gorgeous, billowy things, being driven across^ a; sky of emerald green and'the palest rmauve, while to the south great masses of black and white clouds were rolling over the Divide and spilling down in extraordinary sweeps like vast waterfalls into the Hooker Va11ey....,- v,As .a; pageant of the skies, vast, lolling, spilling, quickly changing in. its wonderful colourings and effects, its' beauty arid majesty were such that they had to be seen to bo believed, for no pen or brush could' ever' hope" to paint such a, scene. . \- • ' Steadily up the ■. snow-slope-.; we climbed, negotiating several concealed ''schrunds? '., en . route, and finally reached the,top at 7 a.m. But where was the Pass? ..; It comprised'a series of sharp,rocks,. 20 or 30 feet high; like huge shark's' teeth,.jutting up out of the snow, and with narrow passage ways in-between, just wide enough to pass'through in single file. .■.!. Owing tothe clouds, we were unable to enjoy the remarkable views of Mount: Cook, Mount Sef ton,and The Footstool to be obtained from here, ybut we were more than satisfied with ' the' r magnificent aerial pageant we had already seen, and,, under the shelter' of the Tbcks,- in' a temperature well below 'zero,- proceeded to "discuss", the usual tin;of pineapple—^the irresistible t luxury of all mountaineers. -~:-. DOWN THROUGH THE CLOUDS. Passing between the. Tocks to the right, we looked, down the other side, hoping to see.the' Copland Valley, but all; we saw : was a dense, ,^all of on-' coming' do'iids,- white, against' the "upper.] .snowfields,; arid beyond ; the, blackest' gloom. It was bitterly cold, freezing harder on. this side than on the other. A . small rock "chimney,'' down which we: commenced the descent and which; presented its own problems to negotiate, was covered with, hoarfrost, standing out fully an inch'thick. Having worn out the tips of the fingers of his woollen gloves in-ascending the rock Tidge on: the Hooker side, the writer's- fingers soon '•' became • numb, and were slightly frost-bitten. . . . Down, down,: down: the snowfields we went; down, down,. down through the. all-embracing clouds, ■ down rock; slides, across surging torrents, down, ever downwards, into the gloomy depths that lay sO far below. Gradually we began to get beneath the clouds. The, keas greeted us 'with, their mournful cries. Down through the upper ; m O untain flowers, Vdown through the thick danthonia grass we descended, i .; -. How ■ dark and foreboding it looked away-down there' to the; right—an; immense chasm, whose rocky mountain 7 sides rose sheer for thousands of feet,' and the home of a glacier which could be seen covered "with moraine! " "PARADISE FOR A BOTANIST." Soon -we struck the zig-zag ' track leading; down the mountain side, and descended through, a veritable paradise for a botanist—shrubs of many varieties, gentians, lichens, mountain lilies' and daisies, all 'most gloriously in bloom. ... The further .we descended tho more riotous and luxurious tho display of blooms, grew. . . . Finally we reached the ■■ upper valley floor,'and entered into a region which ons loves to !re-plcture m one's dreams.' ■ ' ■'. ■-..

■, If-is, of historical interest to note that the Copland River was first explored'and mapped by tho late Mr. Charles.B. Douglas, one of the greatest of the West Coast explorers, in 1892. _ ; In March, 1895, the late Mr. E. A: Fitzgerald and Guide Zurbruggen, using- Douglas's map, , succeeded in making ; the first transit over the Divide from the Hermitage into this valley, via Fitzgerald Pass (6863 ft); a route which has never been used since. A month later, from the Hermitage, Mr. A. P. Harper, alone, found an easier route, a mile north of Fitzgerald Pass, over the Divide into the Copland Valley, and this pass, -since named the Copland Pass (6950 ft) after the valley itself, has been the route regularly , followed' since. In 1905 Dr. Teichelmann arid the Eev. H. Newton, with Guides Clark and Baxter, made- the - first crossing' to Baker's Saddle (7148 ft), which leads down to the Strauchon Biver and thence into the Copland Valley.