MOUNT COOK HERMITAGE,

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18225, 19 October 1922, Page 8

MOUNT COOK HERMITAGE,

■ . '♦ ' THE CHANGE IN CONTROL. SPEECH BY HON. E. P. LEE. It was a happy thought on the part of the Mount Cook Motor Company which led it to organise a largo week-end exoursion to the Hermitage, says' the Christchurch Press. This tourisjb establishment has just been taken over by the company from tho Government. The visiting party left Timaru at 8 a.m. by motor-car, and , arrived at their destination before dark. One hundred guests sat down to an inaugural dinner in the evening, at which the Hon. E. P. Lee was one of the speaker*. Ho contrasted tho old methods of getting to the Hermitage and tho new method. In days past ho had tried various methods of "getting there and On one occasion Jto and two ladies had travelled on push, bicycles. Now he had been able to reach tho Hermitage in comfort in 24 hours from Wellington. Mr. Lee spoke interestingly of Ihe sport of alpine climbing and expressed the hope that it would bo encouraged in New Zealand. He said that" the Hermitage, although not a paying concern, was nevertheless an important asset to Now Zealand. Therefore the loss was not so great as might appear from the actual; figures. He advocated further improvements in the direction of making some of the more important and interesting climbs shorter by the building of more huts. At present, for many people, these climbs were too long and too- Btrenuous. For instance, ttoere should be a better hut at Malte Bran; a hut. was required at the foot of de la Becho for those going, over Graham's Saddle; a high hut was needed for the Mount Cook climb from tho Hooker Glacier. ' This would enableclimbers to spend a liight in comparative comfort, instead of .rushing over a route as they had to do at present. Huts should also be erected for the.climb of the Nuns Veil and Mount Chudleigh.