ALPINE TRAGEDY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 75, Issue 13, 16 January 1932, Page 8

ALPINE TRAGEDY

THE FATAL NIGHT OVERWHELMED BY STORM I SEPARATION AT DAWN CHBISTCHUBCH, Jan. 15. From what can be learned it appears that the Alps tragedy was one of misfortune and not of negligence. Each of the three trampers was an experienced mountaineer anl a sensible man. Each had on him dry waterproof matches, spare food, and spare cloth ing. It has been possible to reconstruct their movements fairly accurately, and there is no doubt that they died through exposure after missing theii track in a thick fog and being over whelmed in a storm. The men left Hokitika a week age last Wednesday. On Saturday thert was a heavy fog in the region through which they were travelling, and prob ably on that day they missed an important track from Harman’s Pass ; which would have led them in safety to the Carrington Hut, and wandered moi'e and more hopelessly up the mountain side. On Sunday afternoon when they were almost exhausted by their continuous climb they were overwhelmed in a severe storm. That night, after shedding some of their clothes and throwing away part of their baggage, they apparently bivouacked under e sheltering rock about 10,00 feet above Harman’s Pass and about eight miles from Carrington Hut. Mr. Loney, Mr. J. P. Wilson (to whom Mr. Loney brought the news), and Mr. Evan Wilson have reconstructed the events of the following morning. Fall Down Waterfall Mr. Smith obviously died in his sleep that night. Mr. Robbins apparently was first to wake. He found Mr Smith dead by his side, and believed that Mr. Loney was also dead —as apparently he almost was. kl,r. Robbins therefore set off by himself to walk to Carrington Hut. He was on the right track looking for a safe descent from the precipice upon which they found themselves, when in his weakened condition he must have lost his foothold and fallen fully 100 feet down a waterfall. Here he was found by Mr. F. W. Cochrane’s search party. Mr. Loney, waking up later, found one of his companions dead and tho other missing. He determined to retrace their track to tho Park-Morpeth Hut. He was almost completely exhausted, and crawled several miles on his hands and knees before, by a lucky chance, he happened upon a camp in which Messrs. J. P. Wilson and M. Sweeney wer& resting for the night. Leaving Mr. Sweeney to take care of Mr. Loney, who was by now delirious, Mr. Wilson set out on the long and treacherous journey to the Beale.* Hotel, making it in the magnificent time of 10 hours. This trip is usually reckoned as a two days’ march.

”Tho three men made a genuine effort to get down the cliff, and it was pure misfortune that they failed,’’said Mr. Evan Wilson, who led the Canterbury Mountaineering Club’s search party. “They missed the track and went up and up in the fog until ultimately they were overcome by the weather. They were fully they tried to weather the storm on* under shelter, but it was too severe.”