A MOUNTAIN EXCURSION

Evening Star, Issue 21636, 3 February 1934, Page 2

A MOUNTAIN EXCURSION

[Written by W. S. Gilkisox, for the ‘ Evening Star.’} Probably no one would have been more surprised than we were, in view of bur earlier plans, to find us, three days after Christmas, hastening towards the New • Zealand Alpine Club hut in the West Matukituki Valley. Already we had ventured into the valley of the East Branch, albeit with little success; for no sooner had we, by dint of mucll toil and hard work, established out* selves in a little, valley on the eastern side of Mount Aspiring than the weather turned against us. To make matters worse, we had no tent, and our supplies were of the scantiest; but with the assistance of a great morainic boulder we managed to construct a makeshift bivouac, where we spent five long days of wind and storm, while for two days the snow lay six inches deep round our camp (height 4,500 ft;. After weathering out a heavy snowstorm, we managed to snatch a climb on Christmas Day; but with another storm on our heels, and no food left, we retired on December 26 to base camp, ■which was duly reached after a long struggle down wet bush and slippery bluffs. Our plans now had to be definitely changed. Without an alpine tent and other gear we could not consider a .return to the high camp. In any case, it» was very doubtful whether any climbing would be possible in that locality for days, or possibly weeks. The hut at Cascade Creek in the West Branch appealed to us strongly as a base for the remainder of our holiday, and we made all haste in that direction. The first fine day, a party of six, we w.ere on our way up the valley, leaving the hut at 2.40 a.m. Before sunrise we were at Pearl Flat, the end of the bridle trail, and at once, leaving the main valley for a tributary on its western side, we plunged into the bush. During the coming hours we encountered many kinds and degrees of bushwork; but the gem of the piece was a steep bluff, hundreds of feet high, covered with a layer of moss and sparsely studded with shallow-rooted trees, up which we were obliged to hack our precarious way. Then came the sub-alpine scrub—that oft-reviled combination of veronica, dracophyllum, and other varieties, generously sprinkled with speargrass, in which the Otago mountainer is wont to spend so many of his choicest hours. But slowly we were rising, and shortly before midday wo had reached ; the easy tussock slopes above, leading presently to a creek—and so, for the first time since leaving Pearl Flat, we were able to quench our thirst. In the afternoon we descended some distance .to a creek-bed and clambered up a huge moraine, on the far side, along the crest of which we found easy walking for over a mile. Our objective, the saddle to the Arawata River, showed up ahead, and we could see that it, too, was well plastered with snow and ice from the recent storms. At the last patch of rock before the saddle we made,our camp for the night; and nearby we located the ten-year-old remains of the camp of another Dunedin party of our acquaintance. Three of us left our swags and _ climbed to the saddle before sunset, kicking steps up the steep snow for the use of the party early the. following morning. This saddle' has in the last ten years been visited by several parties, but the magnificent country beyond remains almost entirely unexplored, save fop the valley wanderings of prospectors from the West Coast. The first party returned from the saddle to find a meal prepared and a comfortable camp built within three rock walls, and the whole party was in bed at dark. The alarm went off at 11.30. p.m. t and before 2 we were on our way. The sky was overcast, a gusty wind was blowing, and, worst of all, the snow had not frozen overnight and pup steps, so carefully kicked a few hours before, were not of great assistance. But by the time we reached the saddle (5,600 ft) at 4 a.m. the wind, had died down and the sky was clearing for a perfect morning. Mount Banff, to the north, offered an easy snow climb, hut we were keen to inspect the rocky face to the south, which wo expected to lead us towards Mount Liverpool, and possibly also the formidable Mount Maori, as yet unclimbed. The first oj the rock gave us trouble, and we roped up at once; but the going became steadily worse. The rock slabs, which from below looked reasonable enough, were steep and terribly exposed, and the morning was well advanced when we found ourselves perched on a rocky platform, perhaps 500 ft above the saddle. Further progress m this direction being out of the question, wa were delighted to find a possible route of descent to a snow couloir, further to the west, which led well up the mountainside. and which would have given us, incidentally, an easy route almost from the saddle had we realised how slow our progress up the rocks would

be. Climbing steadily up the snow we reached a point (height about 7,000 ft) which opened up a splendid view or three fine rock peaks opposite and below the Upper Snowball Glaciers. Between us and these peaks lay .much problematical broken rock and ice; direct assault appeared practically hopeless, and the only alternative was a long descent to the Snowball Glaciers, whence a feasible route might be found; but the day was too far spent to give any prospect of success in this direction. \Ve contented ourselves, therefore, with a climb of several hundred feet up the ridge we were on. and there spent a blissful hour in full appreciation of the superb arra.v of peaks, valleys, and glaciers. The Arawata, Waipara, and Matukituki Rivers all rose very close to us. while close behind us, we knew, was the source of the Dart Glacier, draining to Lake VVakatipu. The dominating peak was, of course, Mount Aspiring, which perhans shows to better advantage from this point than from any other; .but on all sides other fine peaks showed up, many unnamed, and with few exceptions unclimbed. For miles along the West Coast, from Jackson’s Bay south, a feature of the view was the blue of the Tasman Sea stretching to the distant horizon. ■ .. Time was passing; we had a long way to go before we reached our camp, and we must away. A glorious sitting glissade down our couloir led us a long way down, and in comparatively quick time we were back at Arawata. Saddle. Another spell here to dry out our seats! in the setting sun, and then, reluctantly, taking our last look over the unknown country to the west, we dropped over the saddle with our faces to the Matukituki. The next morning saw the end of the fine weather. We were off early on our return to base camp, and, striking a much simpler route than that of the ascent, we were back at Pearl Flat in good tipie. Two of our members mad* a gallant attempt on Mount Avalanche, but the weather knew better; and the following day they rejoined the rest of the partv at Cascade Hut. Several days later a rought crew of fourteen—our own and other parties—descended in force on the Wnnaka Hotel, and the Pembroke barber had liis busiest evening for months.