FAST TRAVEL BY CAR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23055, 4 December 1936, Page 9

FAST TRAVEL BY CAR

MOUNTAINS EASILY REACHED A WARNING TO TRAMPERS One of the incidental effects of the perfection of the modern car is the ease with which our mountainous areas can now be reached. Tourist roads, such as the Eglinton-Holly-ford, are bringing still more mountain country within popular reach, so that climbers, too, have a word to add on the subject of " Safety First." The New Zealand Alpine Club and Mr J. A. Sim, secretary of the local section, possess some definite opinions on the subject.

" Before touching on mountaineering proper," said Mr Sim, " I would like to mention the particular problem to trampers of the flooded creek, as it forms, in many cases, a more serious danger than any met with in the mountains proper. This applies particularly to the Lower Hollyford, where there are at least five creeks between Howden and the Pyke which may be impassable for days on end. There are well-tried methods of fording, which can only be learned by experience, and the best general rule is "when in doubt, wait till the water goes down." It is a wise precaution for a party to allow several days in its itinerary for just such a contingency rather than be on the horns of the dilemma of attempting a doubtful crossing or causing alarm by failing to arrive back to schedule time. "Turning now to mountaineering proper, this is as pleasant and safe a pastime as it is possible to find, but it is a specialised sport that requires a careful apprenticeship. One of the problems of our club is, while offering encouragement to climb, to do so only along sound lines, and to inculcate those principles of safety which simply cannot be ignored. The simplest mountain may, under certain conditions, become the most difficult, with the result that it is on some of the easiest mountains —Egmont, for instance —that the worst accidents have occurred. If these are analysed their causes are found to lie in want of fitness, lack of proper equipment or ignorance of its use, and a profound ignorance of weather conditions —in fact, what may be called casual mountaineering by persons whom mere propinquity has made into climbers for the moment. It is an* unfortunate fact that our jealously preserved record of freedom from accidents on the Southern Alps has been tarnished by recent happenings on easy country now within reach of roads." The ideal apprenticeship for climbing, said Mr Sim, was a season or two with a guide, but this was more a counsel of perfection than practical politics, because there were very few guides, and the expense was prohibitive. There were, however, in Otago and Southland at the present time well over 100 men, and some women, too, engaged in the Alps each season, the great majority of whom had never seen a guide. Their original qualification had been keenness and an average physical fitness. On their introduction to the club they had been able to obtain advice as to proper equipment and to attend lectures on alpine technique and mountaineering generally. Many had had their I first introduction to climbing in a club camp, when they could be distributed amongst the more experienced parties. One of the most pleasant features of the development of climbing in the whole of New Zealand during recent years had been the willing way in which the more experienced men had guided and encouraged the recruits. Gradually the new man obtained confidence in his own powers based on sound lines, and in two or three years had found his level and settled down to his own wellmatched party. "The club, therefore," said Mr Sim, "has its message at this time of ' Safety First,' and that is to discourage casual and ill-conceived mountaineering. Perhaps a camping holiday may take a party into the mountains, and an innocent peak nearby may suggest a climb The party may climb it with the utmost ease and pleasure, and this; in turn, may encourage others, but one day that same innocent peak will have its dangerous mood, and an accident will result. The Grave-Talbot Pass, normally an easy enough proposition, has provided three or four such happenings, and the recent fatal accident on the Dore Pass is another. "Those who feel attracted to the mountains have no need to hesitate about having no head for heights or any such nonsense. A head for heights is merely a readjustment of balance soon acquired; but they must be genuinely keen and willing to icarn. To these the New Zealand Alpine Club gladly offers assistance. Full membership of the club requires a qualification, and is prized as an honour, but the newcomer may be elected immediately as an associate member, provided he is really in earnest. If he is not in earnest, then he should leave the mountains alone."