CROSSING OF TARARUAS

Chronicle (Levin), 7 August 1947, Page 4

CROSSING OF TARARUAS

SIQ-ING UNDER DIFFICULT CONDITIONS At least three parties of winter sports enthusiasts spent the last weekend in the Southern Tararuas, travelling up to the snow-line, intent on snow sports generally. Seventeen Tararua Club members journeyed in to Otaki Forks on Friday, and tramped up to Field's Hut. It was a brilliant moonlight evening, with a total absence of wind, which made travelling pleasant and more or less easy to the bush-line.-Most of the party carried skis, and continued on to the Kime Hut skiing grounds early on Saturday morning. They had perfeet views of most of the Tararua peaks, and the Northern Tararuas, but a nor'-wester brought a heavy mist across the ranges before mid-day. ; Skiing was held under difficult conditions, for before mid-day -ay landmarks were obscured, and a thaw setting made the surface slow and heavy along the usual ski slopes. A few trampers from the Outdoor Club crossed the range to Alpha Hut late on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday 19 members of the recently-formed Cathdu Tramping Club completed their winter crossing, via Dobson and Alpha to Kime Hut, one of the party making the fcrail on snowshoes. By the close of 4the weekend many distinct tracks" were defined In the snow. Someone had even crossed wearing crampons, which showed an imprint of spiked ice claws, and another trarnper had been trying "bear pads," a smallsize snowshoe of Canadian origin. Added to these two quaint methods of snow-travelling were to be seen unlimited ski traeks, which crisscrossed in all directions.