EGMONT STILL UNDER SNOW

Taranaki Daily News, 20 July 1934, Page 3

EGMONT STILL UNDER SNOW

PLATEAU ROAD BLOCKED TO CARS FOUR FEET DEEP IN CUTTINGS.

Mount Egmont continues to present a magnificent spectacle under its thick mantle of snow. “Though the lawn in front of the hostel faces the sun, it is still covered with snow that was there at the beginning of the month,” said the hostel manager to a reporter last night. A hard frost on Wednesday night and another last .night had kept the snow crisp and maintained its depth at an average of eight or nine inches. “Like treading on biscuits,” was the term used to describe the conditions for walking. “This is a freezing chamber,” said the manager of the Stratford mountain house. There was snow all down the track, he explained, but it was possible for cars to make the trip, nine from various parts of the North Island having done so yesterday. Even with chains it was impossible, however, for cars to reach the plateau—itself bare of snow, probably because the morning sun warmed it. . This is the first winter for many years that cars have been unable to negotiate the road extending two miles beyond the house. The average depth of snow along the route is seven or eight inches, but in some of the cuttings it is four, feet deep. .Ski-ers are taking advantage ofthe splendid conditions for the sport.

Similar conditions exist at Dawson Falls, the track to which is under about .three inches of snow. Ski-ing has been popular there, too.