WHAT A BLIZZARD MEANS

Hokitika Guardian, 22 January 1930, Page 3

WHAT A BLIZZARD MEANS

PARALYSING COLD. C. HILGENDORF’S TERRIBLE JOURNEY. CHRISTCHURCH, Jan. 21. A glowing tribute to the work of Student-Guide C. Hilgendorf is paid by Mr R'-oy Twyneham, solicitor dl this city, who returned from Mount Cook last evening. Mr Twyneham lias had extensive climbing experience, and was at the Hermitage when the news of the tragedy was brought in. “When I saw Hilgendorf at the Hermitage on his return, he was all in,’’, said Mr Twyneham. “ After the awful day he had put in, he was in the last stages of exhaustion. “It was a wonderful performance,” Twyneham continued, “ Hilgendoifi had to crawl for five miles on his hands and knees. It was only bis superb fitness and -strength that- enabled him to get through at nil. 1 climbed with him a few days before, and know what he was like.”

That there was nothing that could have been done to prevent the tragedy is the opinion of Mir Tw veil ham,. Tf(. says that everything possible was done; liv ovo-rybody concerned, a.r'fl that the tragedy was due to the severity of the weather. Mr Hilgendorf who had stayed behind at the Malte Brim hut to clean up. left for the Ball Hut as soon as his work was finished. His first intimation of the tragedy was when he stumbled over the rue-sen which was carried by Student-Guide Blomfield. Then lie found the bodies of the four women, and he pushed on to the Ball Hut with the news, the journey being most o-mdling and including five miles of crawling over the ice. From the Ball Hut to the Hermit a,go. the news was taken by Dr J. C Bradshaw, and immediately a party of Eruides,' student guides, and packers was sent out under Chief Guide Vic Williams to recover the bodies.

In spite of the terrible journey he had just made, Mr Hilgendorf accompanied this party from the Ball Hut to the place where the bodies lay. At that time lie knew no more than that Blomfield was missing, as he had not seen him, but when the body was discovered, it was only 150 yards away from where the women lay. Blomfield was practically naked, all his clothing having been given to the women. He was apparently on his way back to the hut to get blankets for the rest of the party, but was able to get only 150 yards. “Blomfield was a most skilful giude” said Mr Twyneham. ‘“and no one a.t the Hermitage, guides included, knew the Glacier better than he did. The weather was moderately good whenj they set out, hut a blizzard comes ouj with wonderful suddenness. They l must have been dead within an hour and a half of leaving the hut, as they.j wer<» only four miles away when found.”'

Mr Twyneham describes the part of the .glacier where the tragedy occurred as almost flat. The party was on the regular route from the Ball Hut down the glacier. There is no track, as it is all solid ice, but the route down the glacier and across the median moriane between the Ball and Tasman Glaciers is the one always used. No mountaineering knowledge is needed to traver.se this, route. It is possible for anyone who can walk to do it. “None of the girls was experienced in climbing” said AH - Twyneham. “But

all of them were fit. One of the girls j was found to have a blackened face, and this gave rise to the suggestion that she had been struck by lightning, it was prooably due to frostbite, however, as her clothing was not burned.” 31 r Twyneluun, who was experienced blizzards in the Mount. Cook region .ays that the one on Sunday musrave been as bad as any that has ever utppened on the glacier. It was unisiial in that it combined a blizzard of extraordinary ferocity with a. most j .evere'electrical storm. | “It is only by practically running and jumping crevasses, tha| you ea.ii hope to maintain circulation,” said Mr L'wyneliaiu. “The intense cold is, paralysing, and if you stop, you freeze. A blizzard is a. wind of high velocity carrying luiil and sleet, and to cope v ill it one needs to Ire dressed for the Arctic regions. I have come down Lhe glacier in moderate blizzards, although never in one a.s bad as Sunday’s. By running, you have a chance if you manage by luck to miss the crevasses. To get through a blizzard per-' feet physical fitness is necessary.”

DISASTERS OF THE PAST,

THREE MEN OVERWHELMED

The present Alpine disaster is the worst in the history of Mount Cook district. The previous worst occurred about February 21, 1914, when a party oif throe men disappeared. On Friday afternoon, February 20, '9ll Mr S. L. King, an English climber, left, to ascend Mount Cook from tho Tasman side. He was accompanied by Guides Darby Thomson and Jock Richmond. As no news came to hand, a. search party .set out on February 24. Tlv party had been .seen at the summit by Messrs Turner and Dennistoun who were at the Haast bivouac. Their steps down were traced by MiFriend and Guides Conrad Kane aind Brass. This party followed the track until it was obliterated by a huge avalanche which came off the overhanging icewall on the Linda Glacier, between tho Silberhorn and Teiehelmann peaks. The search party spread over across the actual avalanche that was thought to have buried the party. Just as the bottom of the a valance was reached and about three-quarters of a mile from the cessation of footsteps the feet of one man were observed by Guide Peter Graham. Graham and Mr Turner approached and found Gide Richmond. The late Mr Turner, who knew the region well, gave it as his opinion that the avalanche ice dropped 100 feet, hut did not all fall on to the lx>dy of Guide Richmond. It would fall into the snow causing a small avalanche, sufficient to drive 3Jr King’s party to destruction. The smaller blocks of ice would hound over the snow and render them unconscious or kill them instanttly while they were on the ava lance snow. After a very hard and dangerous journey, Guide Richmond’s b'ody ' was brought back to the Hermitage, but neither of the other two men was recovered. About a year ago, a leg, presumably from the body of one of the men, was found at the foot of an avalanche.

CAUGHT IN A BUZZARD. The last tragedy associated with -the Alps occurred when Airs Condon, the wife of Air John Condon, of Maintain, South Westland, accompanied by her husband and a party, was caught in one of the worst blizzards that had '■oen experienced in the Hooker Valley between Waiho and the Hermitage. 'Hie party set out from Waiho to cross the Copland Pass to the Mount Cook Hermitage. All went well until they mar-bed within about a mile of the Hooker Flat, when a terrible blizzard came up. Affected by the intense cold and the blinding snow,-Mrs Condon became exhausted and was unable to proceed on foot. Air and Mrs Condon took shelter under a large rock while two- others of the party went for blankets and assistance. Airs Condon, who was 53 years of age, was made a comfortable as possible, lmt was. then wet through and had no heavy clothing. When the other members of the party returned from the Copland Hut, which was only about a mile away, Mrs Condon was still alive but very weak, having suffered terribly as the result of exposure. For nearly two hours efforts were made to restore warmth and animation but without success and she died in belli usband’s arms. The guide who was with the party made a journey to the Hermitage about seven miles from the scene of the tragedy and returned with a relief.