RESCUER SEES ONE CLIMBER HIGH ON OTIRA FACE

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31094, 24 June 1966, Page 1

RESCUER SEES ONE CLIMBER HIGH ON OTIRA FACE

Attempt To Get Down Today

(From Our Own Reporter)

ARTHUR’S PASS, June 23.

The position of the four young climbers stranded high on the Otira face of Mount Rolleston (7450 ft was fixed today. A rescuer saw one of the men standing on a rock waving his arms.

A high camp has been established at the head of the Crow neve at 7100 ft on the south side of the mountain. Rescuers with face-lowering gear will be ready to go down to the stranded men soon after dawn tomorrow.

The climbers will spend their fifth night, even colder than the last, on the face tonight. The forecast is for southwesterly conditions, cold showers of hail and rain down to 1500 ft and snow on the tops. A member of the Crow neve camp support party, Mr D. Tarrant, of Christchurch, saw one of the stranded climbers about 11.30 a.m. today. The support party was on the Otira slide, and had heard calls from the stranded men from about 11 a.m. The calls were weaker than they were yesterday.

The missing men are: Bruce Ferguson, aged 19, of 105 Southampton street, Christchurch. Cohn Robertson, aged about 20, of 13 Arthur street, Invercargill, a student at Canterbury University.

Michael Harper, aged 19, of 22 Larklands avenue, Ilkstone, Derbyshire. Jeffrey Wilby, aged 19, of 58 Gloucester road, Blackburn, Lancashire. After heavy snow all yesterday, pprt of last night and this morning, the sun broke through and shone on the Otira face from about 11 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. Looking up from the slide, Mr Tarrant saw a man standing on a high rock thrusting out from the 4000 ft almost vertical face. The man was high on the face, about half a mile from Mr Tarrant, looking along the face at an angle of about 45 degrees. “Looked Fit” “The man was moving about and waving his arms. He looked pretty fit. He acknowledged when I waved back. I was on the slide, be-

tween two bluffs on the face about the spot where shouts from the stranded climbers had been heard before,” Mr Tarrant said. “ I could not hear what was being shouted.” Other members of this support group heard shouts but Mr Tarrant was the only one who saw the stranded climber. Three voices had been heard on Tuesday, two yesterday, but only one today up to the time the man was seen at the face. About 7.20 a.m. today the second high-climbing rescue team of eight, led by Mr N. D. Hardie, set out for the Otira slide camp (5500 ft where the first team under Messrs B. Hearfield and L. Crawford spent last night Snow was falling in Arthur’s Pass. The Otira slide camp reported to the base radio station on the pass sum-

mit at 10 a.m. that there was 3ft of snow on the slide. On Wednesday it had been fairly icy on top of Rolleston, with a layer of snow on top. It was very wintry, with gusty winds and working on the face was impossible. Sun Shining After several messages between the base and camp. It was agreed that the first rescue team would wait for the arrival of the secpnd team. The first rescue team had been confined to camp because of weather to 10 a.m. Then the cloud began to lift, the wind, westerly and northly, dropped and the sun broke through. The second high-climbing team reached the Otira slide camp about 11.30 a.m. It was decided that both teams would go up to the col at the head of the slide on to the low peak and across to the Crow neve (the snowfield at the head of the Crow glacier) below the middle peak on the south side of the mountain. Mr Hardie went down the slide to investigate the face to fix the position of the stranded climber seen by Mr Tarrant. The Crow neve support team, led by Mr B. Fineran, arrived at the Otira slide camp. The weather closed in again. The two high-climbing teams and the support team, 24 men in all, including Dr. D. Stuart, then moved the Otira base camp and the second face rescue equipment to the low peak. Down To Neve The equipment left on the low peak by the first highclimbing team yesterday was picked up and the traverse was made along the top. The equipment was packed down to the top of the Crow neve and the high camp from which face rescue operations are planned to start early tomorrow was set up. In the meantime, a second support party of eight was re-establishing a camp on the Otira slide. The high camp support party moved down and out to Arthur’s Pass, arriving at the road after dark. The Otira slide camp support party' had moved out just before. A ferrying party of soldiers from No. 1 Platoon, A Company, Ist Battalion, had moved out two hours earlier. Tonight one high-climbing rescue team was at the high camp and the second at the Otira slide camp—l 6 in all. Altogether, 38 search and rescue men were on the mountain today. Two relay signal links were established on the elbow where the Otira valley twists south-west to Mount Rolleston, away from Mount Philistine (6400 ft The relays at 5000 ft helped communication between the Otira slide camp and the field base station. Communication was lost with the high-climb-ing party as they went up to and over the summit. Equipment Four ambulance sledges, made of fibreglass, and shaped like bananas, from United States Antarctic Support Force Headquarters in Christchurch will be used in the rescue if required. A third high-climbing team with equipment including sledges, was flown to Christchurch from Invercargill to-

day, and is due at Arthur’s Pass early tomorrow. Two light aircraft to help to show the position of the climbers if the weather should clear for long enough are standing by at Greymouth.

An R.N.Z.A.F. aircraft from Wigram will be alerted for an air drop of supplies to the high camp on the Crow neve if the weather permits. An Army four-berth ambulance has been standing by daily at the pass summit. Mr P. Croft, a search controller, said more than 80 men were engaged in the search and rescue operation today. Four men are standing by in Christchurch to help to get the men out. He said the stranded men would be brought out by way of the Otira valley if it was possible. It was a shorter route than that down the heavily crevassed Crow glacier and out to the Waimakariri.

Hopes Lifted

Mr Croft said early today that the men must be growing weaker, eolder and hungrier. However, his spirits were greatly lifted when rescue climbers this evening brought out the news that one of the stranded men had been seen and seemed fit “We will keep on until we get to them and get them out” Mr Croft said. “They must be in a fairly sheltered position behind the jock, and have used their sleeping bag covers to make a bivvy.” I