THE HERITAGE OF EGMONT

Taranaki Daily News, 12 August 1930, Page 11

THE HERITAGE OF EGMONT

A GIFT TO BE CHERISHED ... I • ! I.; . : ■ i . • 1

MOUNTAIN' TOIL’S AND THRILLS.

TRAINING GROUND FOR YOUTH.

(By

“Optimist.”)

Recent events on Alount Egmont have evoked much comment from the senior members of the community to the effect that Alount Egmont is too dangerous a recreation ground for the youth of Taranaki. These critics have forgotten the adage that “The older we get the easier it is to sit still and the harder it is to climb trees.” Because the limitations of their own middle age make them well content to remain on mundane levels, they consider their own disinclinations legitimate reason for counselling virile, conquest-loving youth to “sit still” also, or at least to content itself by walking in the easy and level paths of life. Crabbed age delights to counsel youth. It. is i some consolation for being no longer .able to set a .bad example. But fortunately for the fibre and backbone of the race there is a saving something in youth which refuses to sit still and refuses to avoid the steep and dangerous’ in life. Mountains, whether they be literal pijes of rock and granite rearing their heads 8000 odd feet into the air, or whether they be Herculean difficulties in private, life, offer a challenge to the spirit of youth, which, thank God, the young people of to-day are just as willing to tackle as were their fathers before them

It is!a long call from the sun-basked plains of Italy, where Browning wrote the philosophy of Rabbi Ben Ezra, to the blue-white ice ■ slopes of Egmont, bpt tho Rabbi’s creed might, well be (Considered when assessing the dangers and blessing of Mount Egmont to the youth of Taranaki. Far from counselling cau- ; tion, the sage Rabbi rejoices because there is a spark of the Divine in'youth, which impels them to welcome the rebuffs which “turn earth’s smoothness rough,” and' td find in stings and difficulties an urge, to increased activities. To the Rabbi’s mind no joys are worth having, unless purchased at the cost of much striving and straining, no wisdom is worth owning unless bought by endless toil, and no accomplishments are valued unless gained by risks overcome and throes endured. This is what Browning calls the Heritage of Youth, and he holds that only as youth pits itself against these obstacles can it develop into the ‘approved; man,” as opposed to the spineless, ambitionless animal, whose character is marred by being presented with a ready-to-wear, smooth path through life. “APPROVED MEN.” If Browning were writing the epic of recent events on Alount Egmont he would style the members of the relief parties “approved men.” Could he have seen the members of either the south; east or north relief parties turn promptly back after an. arduous day’s mountaineering to face the rigours of a blizzard night on Egmont; could he have seen them setting out armed with torches, ice axes, ropes' and comforts for the injured comrade, albeit many of them were ill-equipped themselves for a gruelling night’s exposure, and could ho have seen them stagger back in the dawn, conquerors .over both nature’s elements and individual self-interests he would verily have styled them “gods in the making.” Yet because in the last forty years there is a record of twelve fatalities on Egmont, timorous souls would forbid their offspring the joys and discipline of mountain exercise, and a few dyspeptic critics sura up last week’s tragedy by saying, “Only fools risk their lives on the slopes: of. Egmont!” The Taranaki Daily News recently devoted four columns to detailing the .12 tragedies which have to date occurred on Egmont. I . crave oho column to dwell upon the physical and moral good that Egmont has done to hundreds and thousands of youth and maidens, who; in their days have braced heart and nerve and sinew or. its slopes. There is no sport or recreation entirely without risks. Lives have been lost at ■ football matches, tennis matches and the toll of the river and surl Is each year heavier than the toll of the mountains, yet no.one says these health-! ful recreations must bo abandoned in consequence. Sedentary critics who take their exercise in sedan limousines should remember that the toll of the motor is infinitely more deadly than the toll of Egmont, and has less salutary benefits to offer. History shows that the hill and mountain tribes have always been the brave and virile people, either the terror of, or the hired defenders of, their lowland neighbours; and whether the devout Taranaki septuagenarian “lifts, her heart” unto this lofty pinnacle, or her athletic grandson directs his week-end steps thereto, the fact remains that the Spirit of Egmont inspires the former while it. disciplines and ; moulds the latter.'

ROSE TO EMERGENCY. ’ Events on Mount Egmont both on June 3 and August 3 show that the youth of to-day eari'rise to emergencies and heights bf self-sacrifieo equal to the best traditions bfthe British race, and far from. counselling our boys and girls to avoid the mountain, they should be encouraged to emulate the example of these “approved'’nien,” and fit and train themselves to do similar service in the future should the course of duty demand it of them. ‘ ... While Mount Cook and Mount Ruapehu by their geogaphical situation only offer scope for people on regular mountaineering holidays, Mount Egmont offers handy access to hundreds of one day trippers from a large area of closely settled population. The result is that a far greater proportion of unescorted parties and novitiate mountaineers try their skill on Egmont than on the other mountains, and the wonder is that accidents, locally . have not been more numerous.' Moreover, with the increasing popularity, of: winter sports in this Dominion, and with the developmental work • now proceeding. <?n the eastern slopes of Mount Egmont, .in? eluding th'o'-formation'of- a motor rbad right up to the .eastern plateau, the ituthoril ies must anticipate a rapid increase' in the number of people taking winter and summer recreation on cither the lower er vtlm/uppbr slopes of Egmont. 'A 'proportioniito increase of major .pud minqy supst -reasonably- be p^pinipqtqd,. and. - Mr., sr-ppUb,

chairman of Mount Egmont Park Board, is to be commended for his .action in calling a conference of all mountain bodies to discuss co-ordinate methods of dealing with these mountaineering mishaps. ' ;?■ - Our experienced mountaineers have already proved themselves men of great resource and courage. With more coordination/ however, between the. different clubs, and possibly the erection of one or two more first aid huts on the mountain, much could be done to render future accidents fraught with less danger both to the injured party and to the rescuers. The suggestion of the possible formation of an . ambulance squad amongst the alpinists themselves has much to commend it, and if, as a result of the recent tragedy, a well-or-ganised Red Cross Corps is developed, it will be fitting tribute to Air. Gibson’s heroism, and prove by its future activities that he did not sacrifice' his life in vain.

Even should all these projects materialise much responsibility will always rest with the individual mountain? eer. Without exception'accidents on Eg?mont involve risk to the • searching or carrying parties as well as - the chief sufferer, and though the spirit of cam]araderie displayed'at these times is not without its spiritual lessons, it behoves every mountain devotee to make a point of honour that he be properly equipped - for tho mountaineering he essays. If individuals will but temper zeal with discretion and strike a wise balance between caution and reckless bravery, then' every sane person will commend them to the, toils and thrills of. the mountain with the following words:-? 1 “Here’s to the long white road that ■ beckons, t . L “The climb that baffles, the risk that . nerves, '. . - - • “And here’s to the merry heart that reckons ’ 1- ■ “Tho rough with tho smooth, and never swerves.”