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ALONE ON MOUNT COOK

q « ; PEAK CONQUERED BY ONE MAN A FINE ACHIEVEMENT MR. SAMUEL TURNER INTERVIEWED, : Kecent Press Association messages from . the south clxi'oiiicled, not very ' clearly, the fact that Jjr.-Samuel Turner, tlio well-known Alpine climber, had J succeeded in climbing Mount Cook alone,, nfoat not hitherto accomplished, and one which puts the .alpine laurel.wreath on Mr. Turner's many achievements iii the world of unfrequented peaks and untrodden' paths. For years past Mr. Turner, who has a passion lor mountain climbing, has essayed to dp this feat- He first attempted it seven years ago, and has attempted it .fourteen times without success, always '-having "boen baffled by adverse-meteorological conditions or "bad ice"—tile terror of the mountaineor. With others, how-' ever, lie has readied tho highest summit of Mount Cook four times, and what is known as. the third summit three : times. He was also the mountaineer who, as the guest of the Government, organised the first party to traverse .Mount Cook, from the Tasman face "over' the top," down . the. .Hooker Glacier;' some,. thirteen , years -ago. Ho was made a member of the Royal Im : perial .Geographical-Society for discovering a new. .range of . mountains in Siberia. Hi?, has made between 70 and. SO ascents in New Zealand. and deep down in his heart.he cherishes tlie hope' of one. day climbing Mount Everest (in tho Himalayas), a teat never : yet ■ accomplished bv man. "With Mr. Turner mountain climbing is a passion which has to be satisfied. ''There arc those, I know." who" think v;e are mad,'-' said Mr., .Turner,., "but, (liev, do.not realise that .there is a wonderful world within a world that ihey know nothing of. Nor can the.v. even faintly rr-nlisc what fascination. lies in knocking about on the dizzy' battlements of Hie world. I know what it is, and am fully aware of the risks the. most skilfnl clitaber runs. Why, before. I married; 'I told my wife that I wns p- confirmed mountain climber, and. likely to run risks, but she agreed to f aso me 'with that defect thrown in!" y' Tho -Testimony. ' As to Mr. Turner's' latest feat, here is tho-testimony:— ' •"Mr. Samuel Tumor, F.R.G.S.i I. of lower Hutt, Wellington, NIZ., and I arrived at the Hermitage oh Saturday, March 1, 1919, and journeyed to the Bail Hutt the next afternoon on horseback.' On - Monday morning we .went to the Haast Ridge .Hut' vrith heavy swags. In the afternoon Mr.-- Turner- went to the Glacier three-quarters' of tho way to the Silberhoi-n corner kicking steps. Jlr. Turner left' the llanst- Htit to climb.Mount Cook by himself if conditions, proved favourable at 2 a.m. on" Tuesday morning,: ..and got back at 10 p.m. .same day .alter twenty hours: I saw him half-way up tire summit rocks at.3.4.) !».m. .He turned back at' 4 p.m';; on account of'the strong. N.'ff.' wind. AVeduesday, March'fl, .Mr. Turner rested during the day. Guide Cowling,' official witness, arrived at .the. luit' Thursday. Mar-.'h G. Mr. Turner left the hut at 12 midnight for the climb of Mount Cook by himself—very foggy. Cowling'and I first sighted Mount OViok through- the fog at 10 a.m. We first sighted 'Mr. Turner above Summit Rocks'ac 12.10 p.m. We sa.v Mr. . Tni-ner: cutting steps up. tho ridge for several hours. Wo saw him o'n the top plant his Hag at 4 p.m. lie ' left to. descend .at-J.15 p.m., and wejit out of .sight on 'Summit-Ilock* jit's p.m. ', We met him oir the Grand Plateau at 1 11.30 p.m., and all .arrived .at tile. Haast 1 Hut at 2.10 a.m. o'n March 7, 101!). This 1 is the first-amateur' ascent ot Mo.unt 1 Cook, and the first time Unit Mount, took- 1 has beeii climbed', by one man ; alone, to' 1 the top. '■ " '; : ' - , .' . ' : : 1 . "(Signed) EDGAR; li. WILLIAMS." j "Witness: Certified to by Alfred .Cowl- I ing,.' Government guide'ili'ul official wit- < ness, appointed by chief guide."; 1 .' v -The -Climber Interviewed, "| .Wheii. seen by a. Dominion ' reporter " yesterday,' _\lr. I.'urnev'. .stiul'that'.he, had 1 for years -cherished the." ambition ,of 11 climbing Mount''Cook alone', and'he dt>- . ckled Jo tackle it this'season.' Hc'.-a'r-. riC-'d'a" the .Hermitage, an Saturday, J. Ma'v;h 1; with that avowed object in j, view. . He left for. the' Ball Hut- -the. ! next day, and on .Monday nindo ...the, ! Ha.ist liitlge Hut ; .nnd tlie . same day' 1 kicked steps , in the. Glacier Home and half-way", across the plateau. By kick- 1 ing steps, is meant making steps by kick-1 p iiig the snow. .into step. form;., so that it. fi will freeze hard. His object was >to ap- ■' great peak from the- Linda Glacier, the most'. dangerous, if not f the moat difficult, of .all route? 1 to. the top. At 2 o'clock (lie next-morn- 1 ing (Tuesday, -March 4) he left tho Haast £ Hut, ili' tlie dark, guided only by -an (! alpine, lantern, (a candle hiitern with mica windows), and carrying the essential swag, consisting of a- little food, bottle of tea and one of limejuice, change ! of clothes, storm-cap, mittens, gloves, a J Burberry wind-proof .coat, sleeping-socks, ' spare goggles, ice-axe, and last, but- by 1 no means least, a .New. Zealand Ensign, attached to about five feet of stout; wire. -It should be stated here that the' Linda s . Glacier has an, unenviable, record,'and ' its abandonment as 'a route was recom- __ x ; ;J

mended 1 by tho Alpine Club after tin ' tragedy of February 22, 1914, when Mr Sidney L. King, of England, and Guides Darby, Thomson, and J. Richmond wen overwhelmed by an avalanche, on whicl occasion Mr. Turner was one of a rescui paTty of six who went up and securci tho body of Richmond. The climber, after ho had negotiate! his kicked stops, had immediately tc start ice-chipping to gain a foothold, ant diverging in tho. dark from tho -ronti found himself among "a world of bi{ seracs (great boulders of ice), which wit'! big holes and cracks roads'tho going very . doubtful, and belied tho reports he hue 1 received that , the ice was good. As r matter of fact it.was very badly broker and not by any means easily negotiated By . 5 a.m. it was li?ht enough to pill : out tho candle, and Mr. Turner tacklcd tho. Linda. Glacier in good heart. He arrived at the head of the glacier by I a.m., when there were still 20GOft, of preciplous ico cliffs and snow faces between the adventurer .'and- the summit, •From theneo he made the lower part of the. rocky ridge leading to tho summit, Ho Was delayed on that ledgo for twe hours and a half by an exceptionally bad stone-fall down tho gully across which he must pass to gain the higher summit ridge. Owing to the pressure of snow ' ami tho general thaw, tho stones were hurtling down at a great'rate, making it really dangerous for anyone to attempt the crossing. As Mr. Turner crouched on tho narrow ledgo gazing at the -sight of a mountain-top in . the slow ' process of .ornnibliiig. a stone as big as his two'fists shot from above within nine inclios of his head and disappeared in the depths'below'. A touch from such a missile and lie would probably hftyc been 'hurled to eternity—over - a 2000 ft, drop. At last the river of stones leased to flow, and tho climber scuttled across the ravine as fast as he could. He reach, ed a point halfway to the summit rocks, when a strong north-westerly wind was encountered. As it was then 4.30 p.m. and Mr. Turner did not favour the idea of an all-night freeze on the ledge (where he left his extra. clothing), he'decided to mako back for the Ilaast Ilut, and after a speedy descent of si. hours lie reached the hut at .10 p.m., pretty tired, but as determined as ever; to make the goal. He rested all tho next day (Wednesday), and, thoroughly refreshed, ho set out once more at. midnight, having decided that an. earlier start was necessary in order to make the most of the daylight on tho mountain-top.. It was foggy when ho started, but lie found his steps without difficulty, and reached the glacier dome in .53 minutes. There • lie rested ,for seven minutes, and ill another hour lie had passed the Silberhorn corner, and, thanks to the previous day's industry in step-cutting, lie was able to reach ths top of, the'glacier by daylight, and was on the ridge leading-to the summit at- G..30 a.m. The. weather conditions were perfect, and the stones were behaving themselves Three or four hours'-hard cutting enabled him to reach the summit rocks "by 10.49 a.m. Thero he - rested awhile, and placed a photograph -of his daughter in a tin under a boulder. He had no time to-look for other records, of which there are several among, the rooks, deposited bv other parties of climbers. The -final pinch was-a steep face, some 800 ft. in height, and as he'cut- in pieces of ieo from the size of a walput to that of a clenched fist flew out. This was "beady ice," and a bad sign for climbers, as it means standing on - wet and loose- ice ' instead of that which is clean, and solid.''Mr. Turner said'that all 'round' 1 him (lie place was s.eetinb; and simmering in the process, of' a serious thaw.-, I-'nu.r hours' cutting too 1 .-: him to the top ridge, and an hour's slanting cut across the snow pile (snow .blown hard against the peak), saw the intrepid climber roach the •summit at -t p.m. There lie planted his flag, three or four inches, from the edge of the Tasinan face (tho summit area is only .(iff. by 4ft.), I stamping-, tlie snow -hard round the wire . pole.' '•. ' j- "By that act." said Mir. Turner. "I ! knew that I had conquered Mount Cook, for had I been exhausted or frightened the mountain would have conquered me." As there was no time to waste, lie made n rapid'.descent over his tracks, made the passage to tlie bottom of the summit 1-ocks. in an hour and. a- half, gathered- u.p his clothes •on the ledge; and, having exceptional luck in finding his steps on (he Linda ■ Glacier in the dark, ho was met .on the.-plateau ..of 11.3f1-p.ni; 1 --by the two .11(011 from the hut, who came out with a. .lantern and.sopie liiebig's extract of. meat, but O.lr. Turner was. feeling quite fit, and eventually the party reached tho.'Hnast' Hut at 2 a.m. ... ; . • / The foot constitutes a vironl, not only iii endurance. but- in skilfill"-climbing., daring,' and cool -jndgi'neiit. For a-man to k?ep going in a freezing' temperatiire for twenty-six hour', half oi' the time being spent iii situations of extreme peril, i.-i a performance Hint will be noted among mountain climbers the world over. Mr. Turner says he has no words to describe the glory of the scene from the summit of Mount Cook. The splendour <i( the. panorama that extends from coast to coast, is, awe-inspiring, , J ind curiously exhilarating. On the top of su/.-h a peok" it was easy to imagine the stimulation which the airmen experience when "asjiivin'g tlie clouds" under favourable conditions. .

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19190314.2.81

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, 14 March 1919, Page 7

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,859

ALONE ON MOUNT COOK Dominion, 14 March 1919, Page 7

ALONE ON MOUNT COOK Dominion, 14 March 1919, Page 7

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