THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1931. ALPINE PERILS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20967, 2 September 1931, Page 10

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1931. ALPINE PERILS.

The last •words arc being added t p an unforgettable chapter in th story of Tongariro National Park Ott Ruapehu there has been sleeples energy of rescue, in the hope o saving from death the party that se out for the summit on Saturday • morning last and lost its way bad to the Chateau in a sudden blizzar< met within a few feet of the objec tive. Days and nights of terribli anxiety have been endured by rela tives, and every whex-e in th< Dominion there has been an aching eagerness l for tidings of the lost Each incident of rescue has beei noted with glad relief, mingled witl a tense concern for those still miss iiag. In the history of this resorl such a dread occurrence is rare. The usual route from the Chateau tc the summit presents little difficulty as a rule, and to the swift onrusl df bad weather must be attributec what befell. How courageous was the struggle to return, how unbending the endurance through the night spent amid hurtling sleet and snow, how determined the effort to win a way through to safety, and how one after another set off for help when th<3 gravity of the plight was realised—all this is matched only by the splendidly organised work of search and succour, a service involving danger and hardship, and ever memorable. The whole community has been moved to admiration of these endeavours. It is even yet too soon to learn all that has happened, for the task of rescue has been beset by colossal difficulties. But that these have been met with tireless purpose has buoyed the general hope of eventual success. Throughout these anxious days the minds of very many have been driven to dwell on means to lessen such hazards in future. A few may be disposed to let those bent on ruinniAg risks take c'are of themselves. Even climbing more perilous than the modest feat of reaching Ruapehu''s crater should be, on the view these few take, left without restrictions of "any sort: a mountain is a standing invitation to ascend it they would say, a'nd nobody should impose restraint on a perfectly natural ambition. To these it is gladly conceded that alpine feats are to be encouraged rather than decried, and that by such feats fine qualities of spirit and physique are fostered. A race of mollycoddles would merit contempt. But the ready conceding of this does not warrant either the conclusion that recklessness is a virtue or the neglect of regulative precautions against serious accident. Guideless climbing has much to its credit. The Everest expeditions, in this connection, come inevitably to mind. Much of the achievement of British mountaineers in the American continent has been of this order. German climbers are notably inclined to dare unaided all risks of bad weather and to trust to impromptu bivouacs. Since the war there has been a marked revival of French guideless climbing, as instanced in the brilliant work of the Groupe de Haute Montagne. The Alps have been the scene of many such exploits by students of the Berne and Zurich universities. In the daring conquest of peaks yet unsealed there is a sphere still awaiting the intrepid explorer eager to pit strength and skill against forbidding heights. Nevertheless, there is a necessity to save some folk from themselves, and this should be done, as it can be, in all regions where da.ngers imperilling the unwary exist wifchin domains under governmental control. In navigation—to which mountaineering is held to bear a strong likeness—there are to-day legal checks on audacity, as the owner of the Teddy found when setting out from Norway on his roving adventure. Such checks are exercised by countless marine authorities' in insisting on certificates of efficient skill and minimum requirements of the seaworthiness of craft. A similar practice is already well developed in aviation. Whatever must still be left to individual sanity of endeavour on the frontiers of mountaineering as a serious sport, there is a call—impressed poignantly in these days of anxiety—to institute an adequate measure of control in every alpine region frequented by numbers of pleasure-seekers, wherever circumstances necessitate this control and it can be legally enforced. In New Zealand there are several regions of the kind, and the Tongariro National Park, while not the most perilous, is certainly one of them. The associated alpine clubs of the Dominion have recently affirmed their desire for an effective system of licensing guides, a wise precaution. They have also asked for recognition of such certificates of proficiency in mountaineering as they themselves may issue to approved amateurs in their membership. The intention of these recommendations is to ensure a requisite measure of safety for the general public as well as a reasonable status for professional guides and the associated clubs. Both ideas should be given practical shape, since they are designed to foster rather than restrict alpine recreation. They could be extended with advantage—to make it compulsory that no party should set out on any hazardous expedition in the controlled region without the leadership of either a professional or an amateur of certificated standing, invested with authority to insist on proper clothing and equipment of his party and to issue instructions en route. Nothing irksome need be entailed by such regulations ; they would really make for safe freedom and enjoyment. To devise regulations calculated to reduce risk of tragic accident to a minimum, and to have them administered with the co-operation of the alpine clubs, should be deemed urgent. The result would benefit the resorts by increasing the popularity of alpine recreation, while diminishing a sadly evident risk of loss of life.