IN EGMONT’S CRATER.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 24 March 1925, Page 7

IN EGMONT’S CRATER.

MOUNTAINEERS SPEND A, NIGHT

A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE

SOME IMPR.ESSIONS G AINED

A glistening star-lit sky above and

twinkling 'lights of townships below, giving a, isenisation of being suspended between heaven and earth, was the experience of the three Taranaki men, Messrs. R-. Syme of Hawera, L. Lovell of New Plymouth, and G. Mace of Wellington, who, as reported in the Star on Saturday, spent an afternoon and an evening in the crater of Mt. Egmomt.

The night on which, the adventure was pursued may be counted amongst the warm ones, but nevertheless- Eigrnont -stood! cold and uninviting to the population of the plains, who, if they noted the grandeur of Taranlaki’s landmark, never dreamed that sheltering behind the lip of the summit, dimly outlined through the night, were three of their-fellows, glorying in their elevated position of 8260 feet, and ?-t the same time experiencing a. vigorors mountain atmosphere of 4 degre< s centigrade below freezing point. There three young men, who- know the mour - tain well, spent 20 hours on, the top, and on tflie preceding night slept- on the moss at ran altitude of about 50C0 feet. For close on a week they hid explored the mountain region, seeing some Wonderful sights during the time, and meeting with some novel experiences.

EXPEDITION COMMENDES. North, Egrnont was left at noon last Monday, each member of the- party carrying a pack of about- 401,b5,. They had intended to sleep at the -Kahui Hut, nine or ten miles- westward of North Egmont, but the route they chose took them to an altitude of 6300 feet, skirting round the foot o-f The Turtle and involving a difficult climb. During previous explorations, necessitating many trips to Kahui, it. had been found t-lrat this higher route leading across a, great expanse of moss was shorter than, the regular track. However, with smelt, heavy packs slow time was made, and it- was seen that Kahui could not be reached before nightfall. Consequently the party descended down a -steep scoria- slone to the- moss line and camped for t-be right jlist abore the larger of the two pyramids at an aflititu.de of 4787 feet. The moists in this locality was about 6 inches high, and although wet, made an excellent bed when the mountaineers had wrapped themselves in their waterproof -sleeping bags. After a- good might, hreakfa-st was found to be not the easy thing -it was when camped beside streams in. tflie -country below. Obtaining water wa-s tflie difficulty; o’ne of the party had to descend about 700 feet- and travel over -a mile- to fill a billy with the contents -so. necessary for the morning porridge -and cup o-f cocoa. At. 8 o’clock the journey was contiu-oo-l up wb.a.t was known, as, the Old Rangers’ Track, skirting the southern side of Tire- Tprt'o and making for the summit over Hebhe-rley’s Ridge. LIFE IN THE CRATER . The- objective was reached at noon. Weather -conditions were good, but at such a height a cold southerly wind was blowing, which rna.de it imperative that the mountaineers -should, keep moving. Consequently the work of building a stone wall, under tflie .shelter of which they intended to pitch their small -alpine tent, served a double put pose. The location- of the camp wa-s just, inside the southern lip of the crater, and by the time the hands of the amateur engineers had become ksore with handling the rough rocks, a- fairly snug -shelter had been erected.

A ~ew minutes were taken, off to wa.tdh tihe sun/ setting. In their domain it was a. clear evening and they were able .to ilook out across a. sea pf rose-tinted clouds ito> where the sun slowly and majestically slipped down below the horizon. The beauty of the scene, the exhilaration of the situation., can be imagined. With the sinking of the .sun, however, a. very pronounced drop in the temperatune was noticed, and on returning to the camp it was fond, that in the ten minutes '“they ' had been absent, about two inches of ice had formed over the water they had la,borously gathered on the mountain-side during the morning. Two hours were spent in. cooking tea and washing dishes, the meal commencing with soup, and concluding with stewed apricots and cocpa. Having finished this, operation, they found that thev had almost run, Gift of something to do, and consequently it was decided to take a walk round the lip of the crater before turning in. The view at niedit was truly wonderful, and by watching the lights on the plains below they were able to appreciate their exalted position to an even greater degree. Soon- they returned to, the camp, and. crawling under the tent, they struck quite a number of a_oroved positions for physical drill while in the process of encasing themselves in their sleeping bags. a. process which, was made most difficult owing to the confined space.

SLEEP AT 8260 FEET. With nothing else to keep him warm than ample clothing ami the oiled calico sleeping bag, each settled himself with a hip in a little hole scratched in the sand and soon was fast asleep. Everything went well until 2 a m., when by a coincidence all were awake, finding the bed. a. littfe hard and the atmosphere somewhat' chilly. Things were getting a, little monotonous, and so it was decided to, partake of a lump of chocolate, and smoke, a cigarette, “We did not feel so very cold,” said one of the, party, “and soon, we settled down, to, sleep again until 5.30 a.m. A thermometer, obtained from, Switzerland among other alpine equipment, was carried, and from this it was ascertained that during the' night the temperature had fallen to four degrees below freezing point. A WONDERFUL SUNRISE. Before 6 o’clock the party had again climbed to the highest point on the summit, and were Watching the dull light spreading in the eastern sky. Soon.the outline of Ruapehu could he dimlv seen in the .distance, and presently, when the sun began to rise, it cast" a clear-cut shadow of the sister mountain across the intervening sea of clouds. It was a wonderful, effect, and looking back across the sea it could he seen that the shadow of Egmont was being thrown out in the same manner. As at /sunset the previous night the same beautiful colours were infused in the sky, and as the brilliant orb rose the white-clad peaks of Ruapehu guided the shafts of light into a majestic scene, where fantastic shapes arose in the cloud fields and as suddenly disappeared.. In the clear morning air the Alps of the South Island could alio he

seen. As on the night before, when the sun had set and a decided drop in the temperature had been felt, so a feeling of warmth was experienced as soon as the run rose, and with a feeling of appreciation at the change, the party returned to the camp to breakfast. '

THE SUMMIT LEFT. After the morning meal had been partaken of, packs were again shouldered, and the mountaineers left for Lake Dive, which lies in surroundings of scrub some distance to the west of Dawson Falls, For a time -the conditions underfoot were rather treacherous, the way lying down a steep slope of frozen scoria, this being oh the shaded side of the mountain. Packs were discarded at the edge of the scrub, and some time was spent in cutting a good track down to the lake. The lake was reached at 2 o’clock, and, returning for their packs, the party made their way to Dawson Falls House and spent Wednesday night there. Thev returned to North Egmont on Thursday, and on Friday climbed to the top again, making the third ascent within the week, the first having been made before the sleeping-out expedition was undertaken. The following day they returned to town,* each having thoroughly enjoyed the expedition.