Alpine Climb.

Hokitika Guardian, 1 March 1923, Page 2

Alpine Climb.

MINARETS NEGOTIATED

fill- TKI.EOItAPJI—PF.II PItUSS ASSOCIATION]

CHRISTCHURCH. Feb 28. The first climb of tbe Minaret Peaks in the Southern Alps, from the Westland side, lias Ixien made by Mr C. J. Thornton and Air C. Bm-hanan, in company with Peter Graham, the wellknown guide. The party traversed the immense glacial snowfield in their climb, and in | tlie final stages had to light their way j through a blizzard. The guide suffered ‘ from snow blindness for a day after the trip, and Buchanan and Thornton experienced minor frost-bites. Buchanan is an aid *nt Alpine climbtr. and iof the opinion that the possibilities of climbing the peaks in the glacial re- 1 giou from the west are not very well j known, most of the climbs being made from Canterbury side. He hopes that new climbs will be indulged in from the other side, on which climbers have the glaciers running up from a few hundred feet at the snowfield which feeds them. Thus on the west side, only a few hundred, or a thousand foot ( of rock climbing has to he done to scale : the peaks, while on the Canterbury j side the approach is very steep in i places. |