LUCKY ESCAPE

Southland Times, Issue 25303, 5 June 1935, Page 8

LUCKY ESCAPE

MOUNTAIN CLIMBER SLIDE DOWN SNOWSLOPE HALTED ON LEDGE (Per United Press Association.) Christchurch, June 4. Sliding some hundreds of feet down a frozen snow-slope after making an ascent of the low western summit of Mt. Oates in Arthur’s Pass, National Park on Monday, James Estall, of Christchurch, a member of the Canterbury Mountaineering Club, suffered painful lacerations of both hands and had a lucky escape from more serious injury when his fall was arrested above some bluffs by a. narrow body of rock. With his companion, Hector McDowell, also of Christchurch, he was expected to return to the city by the excursion train on Monday evening, and when news of the party’s safe arrival at Arthur’s Pass township this afternoon was received in the city, preparations had been made for parties from the Canterbury Mountaineering Club to make a search for the overdue climbers. . ' . On Monday the climbers succeeded in gaining the summit of the most westerly of the three peaks of Mt. Oates. The climb was not continued owing to lack of time and it was while the party was returning that Es.tall suffered his mishap. He was cutting steps down the snow slope when he slipped and soon had gained such momentum that his efforts to “brake” by means of his ice-axe were quite unavailing. He slid down the slope with increasing speed until almost 500 feet below his fall was checked by an outcrop of rocks. Below this narrow platform, rocky bluffs fell almost sheer. Estall’s hands were badly skinned in his efforts to arrest his fall, but apart from these injuries and a severe shaking, he was unhurt. McDowell cut steps down to the ledge and after Estall’s hands had been roughly bound up, the climbers were able to continue their descent of the snow slope. They reached their camp after a slow journey.