MOUNT HOOKER.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 16 January 1929, Page 10

MOUNT HOOKER.

A SUCCESSFUL ASCENT. WONDERFUL ICEFIELDS. .i Mr. Samuel Turner, F.R.G.S., of Wellington, the well-known alpinist has returned to Tima-ru from the Hermitage-, Mt. Cook. Mr. Turner has iust completed a mountaineering trip in the Lake Wan aka region, which lasted nearly six weeks. In climbing Mt. Hooker. Mr. Turner realised an ambition of twelve years' standing. On liis first attetnpb he was unsuccessful, in discovering a route. Ou the present trip, Mr. Turner-s party had ten pack horses. The country is most difficult, and pack horses have never • previously been m some of the regions traversed. The trip was accomplished without misnap, although two of the party had a narrow escape while negotiating a glacier. ■ Interviewed by a representative of The Press, Mi-. Turner- said that twelve years ago he -went down to Lan-ds-borough valley and climbed the three peaks of hit. McKerrow (about 9000 ft), and then decided to attempt to conquer Mt. Hooker, the highest peak in the district. He w-as unsuccessful in discov-ering a route, as the Landisborougli river separated the party from the peak. Mr. Turner has endeavoured to- make the climb- nearly ever year since then, but could not get the men to take the pack horses* up, and w-as I only successful in securing packmen this- year. j Mt. Hooker was very difficult to- get at, he said, on account of several large rivers, including the Landsborough, which were between the party and the peak. The party left Maka-rora, at the head of Lake Wanaka, on December/ 7, and crossed the Haast Pass and the) Haast and Landsborough rivers. They then crossed the Clark river, w-hich lias its source in the Hooker glacier, and flows into: the Landsborough. After two days they reached the base camp at Rough creek, and at the end of two days of swagging reached Mark’s flat. GLACIERS EXPLORED. Prom there they climbed- Mt. Hooker and explored its glaciers and tho neighbouring country. On December 22nd the party returned to Mill’s bridge, on the. Haast Pass. Seven hours’, hard trekking through the busli saw- them reach their bivouac, and the following -day they explored Mt. Brewster’s magnificent icefields. At the headwaters of the Maka-rora w-as the best ski-ing ground he had seen in New- Zealand. The party left Makarora and climbed Castor and Pollux, at the head of the Wilkin valley. They made some interesting discoveries and were able to connect the East and West Coasts by looking over two passes w-hich they w-ere near in returning from Castor and Bollux. The party could not get lower than the bivouac, -as they had three miles of snow to cover before reaching the foot of the next peaks they were attempting. This area was an icefield at an altitude of 3000 to 4000 feet. The lake at the head of the "Wilkin valley had floating on it blocks of ice, which fell from an avalanche, the ice crashing over the precipices above. There w-as also another cirque lower dow-.n the valley, with even higher precipices. The ice cam© from the shoulders of the mountains-, dropped 4000 to 5000 feet, forming a glacier four miles long, and three to four miles wide, with a big moraine on the south-east side. . . Mr. Turner expressed the opinion that the Wilkin valley w-as one of the prettiest valleys in the w-orld. At thehead of it the party saw three branch valleys connecting with three. rivers, w-hich eventually formed one river and flowed to the- north-east side of Mt. Aspiring. ______