FIRST ASCENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 2, 4 January 1939, Page 10

FIRST ASCENTS

WELLINGTON PARTIES

SOUTHERN ALPS

Almost every valley of the main divide in the South Island, from the Spencer Range between the' West Coast and Canterbury to as far south as the Otago district, formed the headquarters of parties of Wellington trampers and climbers during the holidays. Most of those who chose this strenuous manner of filling in the holidays have returned to Wellington. Some of :the parties have added to mountaineering history by climbing a number of virgin peaks. It is probable that as a result of the activities of these climbers new names of mountain peaks and ranges will make an appearance on maps of the South Island's mountain system. The completion of the new main highway between Canterbury and the West Coast via the Lewis Pass has opened up a vast area of mountain and valley which is expected to become very popular with trampers. This area attracted a party of fourteen members of the Victoria College Tramping Club. Fully equipped with camping and climbing gear, including ropes and ice axes, they travelled across the Lewis Pass by special car and established a base camp at Maruia Springs, on the western side of the divide. The party consisted of eleven men and three women. The camp was maintained from Christmas Eve until January 2. The party divided into groups and made first ascents of many peaks in that magnificent mountain system surrounding the Spencer Range. A notable feat was the completion, for the first time, of a traverse of an unnamed range which is an offshoot of the main divide. This was accomplished in three stages. Starting from Maruia Springs, the party cut a track to the top of the range, traversed the southern section of it, and then returned to camp. A full day was thus occupied. Two days later three members of the party climbed the same track and traversed several miles of the range. During the day they climbed a virgin peak of between 600a,and 7000 feet. They followed the ridge for some distance and then descended to the mouth of the Cannibal Gorge, "named because there a party of Maoris was trapped, killed, and eaten by enemies during the old tribal warfare days. HEAVY DAY'S CLIMBING. On Christmas EveMhe party went up Cannibal Gorge and camped at Ada Pass. Early the following morning they set out with full packs and tents, climbed on to the range, and completed the traverse. Fairly difficult country j was encountered, and two members had to be roped frequently. The gap in the traverse was not completed until 3 p.m., and the climbers descended the mountain side in the dark. It is proposed to make application to the Geographical Board to name this particular range after one of the Maori tribes concerned in the Cannibal Gorge incident and also to name the peaks of which first ascents were made after the chiefs of those tribes. All but three of the party climbed a number of peaks on the main divide, including Trovatore and Lucretia, and they also made an ascent of Mount Technical, a difficult peak south of Lewis Pass. DEER PLENTIFUL. Large numbers of deer were seen and there were indications that they were breeding prolifically. On one flat eighteen deer, including several fawns, were seen. One member said that the bush on the mountains in that district was very open, but he was not able to say definitely that that was due to destruction of the undergrowth by deer. They were surprised to see mountain hares living above the snow line, and one climber said he had never seen hares in similar localities elsewhere in New Zealand. They also saw seagulls that appeared to be nesting on the mountain tarns usually found in "hanging" valleys. One member said that these seagulls were living in pairs right in the centre of the island and he thought it quite likely that many of them had never seen the sea. NATURAL HOT BATHS. Having established their base camp at Maruia Springs, the party was able to enjoy the unusual comfort of returning from their heavy days in the mountains to a bath' in the natural hot springs. Although mountain-climbing occupied a good deal of their time much tramping was done and some of the party hitch-hiked to Greymouth and back. Holiday traffic was reported by members of the party to be very heavy and large numbers of campers had pitched their camps in the valley below Maruia. The party consisted of the following: Mr. R. J. Chorlton (leader), Mr, and Mrs. G. Bagnall, Miss A. Gower-Jon^s, Miss M. Collin, and Messrs. J. Lyon, H. Black, A. Howarth, B Ashe, R. Cumber, G. Button, A. Collin, J. Stackhouse, and T. Chorlton. A party from the Alpine Club visited the Godley Glacier. They camped at the Alpine Club hut and made a number of ascents. Other parties of Wellington climbers visited the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, the Wilkin River district, and the Otago Sounds district. / ALPINE PASS CROSSED. An official Tararua Tramping Club party of 15, under the leadership of D. Vickers, left Wellington on. December 23 and proceeded to Lake Heron, near Methven, Canterbury. They followed the lake stream down to the Rakaia River and climbed over Whitcombe Pass to the Wilkinson River and out to Hokitika, which was reached on January 1. Weather conditions were described by a member of the party as good for a region notorious for its bad weather. Members of the party ascended the Three Sisters in the Jolly Range and Mount Martius on the main divide. From this peak a magnificent view of Mount Evans, Whitcombe, Leupe, Arrowsmith, Red Lion, and Erewhon was obtained. The following day a first ascent was made of Mount Thorndike, a virgin peak.