WORK IN THE SNOWS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1010, 28 June 1930, Page 16

WORK IN THE SNOWS

BUILDING MALTE BRUN HUT ON MT. COOK TASK BEGUN BY HUSKIES Huskies" belonging to the Byrd Antarctic Expedition in hauling materials •’or building th*- new Malte Brun hut :n the Tasman Valley, on the Southern

Alps, now being carried on by six great bearded men. the tallest standing six feet three. Clad in a variety of garb ranging from full Polar kit, worn by a man who served under both Amundsen and Byrd, to the familiar tramway conductor's coat, they form a picturesque group, even in these regions where curious dress is common. The huskies actually had hauled a

rew ioaas right to tiie site or the hut I The bulk of the timber ana roofing iron, however, had been dumped .■ t ! Pineapple Rock, a landmark between { the Rudolf and Tasman Glaciers, six i miles from the final destination, and I now human shoulders are carrying on the task. I Each morning, weather permitting | these men leave the present Malte I Brun hut at eight o’clock. By ten they : have reached Pineapple Rock, where the day’s work begins. The sledge is piled up with about 6001 b of material and then, harnessed up in single file and travelling on ski. they, start on their long haul up the Tasman Glacier. Five hours* toiling up the valley brings them to the moraine, where *he

load is dumped, 500 feet below the site. F rom here materials will be hauled up by winch. To these men it is just a day’s work - —an exhilarating ski run in the morning—healthy work in the gloriouh mountain air and close companionship engendered by the Alpine solitudes. To visitors what a world of romance it suggests. Across a 12,000-acre field

' ot ice surrounaea oy magnificent snowcapped rauges with glistening peaks stretching heavenward in the brilliant sunshine, is seen a thin black line threading its way up the glacier. The men are dwarfed by the immensity of the alps. The very sledge brings its tribute of romance. It was used by Sir | Ernest Shackieton on his last attempt -to reach the South Pole. The men—- | big fellows with stout hearts, some from the far corners of the earth, one ' who has bee Din the Antarctic, another who knows the thrill of placing foot on the top of Mount Cook, giant of New Zealand's mountains, another from the city, also typify romance. The work is proceeding well and by i tiie spring should be nearing completion. The weather is good and snow conditions right, so that, although it . is the middle of winter, the work has : not been interrupted. It is probable that the winner of The Sun’s prize tour will visit the site of • the hut and will himself view this pic- ; turesque scene set in the cold heart of j the eternal snows.^