ALPINE TRAGEDY

Hokitika Guardian, 24 January 1930, Page 3

ALPINE TRAGEDY

THE INQUEST*. THE FURY OF THE STORM. THE HERMITAGE, January 22. “After I left the Malte Brwi Hut the blizzard increased in intensity, vivid flashes of lightning cleaving the heavens. Conditions were so unpleasant that the metal head of my ice-axe sparked and sang when ever the lightning struck it. I was compelled to tie the axe to the end of two crampon straps. I then dragged it behind me. The foregoing was a portion of a statement made by Guide Hilgepdorf (who discovered the bodies of the Blomfield party after the blizzard of Sunday) at ti.e inquqest into the circumstances of the deaths of four young women and the giude, which was held at the Hermitage this afternoon. Those who lost their lives wei»: Doris Herbert Brown, of Rangiora. Dorothy M. Smith, of Auckland. Helena Keane, of Christchurch. Mary' Monteath, of Christchurch. Edward J. Blomfield, of the Hermitage staff. Mr E. MacDonald, J.P., of Fairlie,; acted as Coroner, with a jury of four.* Constable A. Mackintosh, of Fairlie, conducted the proceedings for the Police. Mr L. E. Finch, of Timaru, appeared in the interests of the, Mt Cook Tourist Company, and Mr W. D Campbell, also of Timaru,. represented the relatives of, Guide Blomfield.

The first witness was Alexander Sinclair, solicitor, Dunedin who indentified the body of Blomfield, who was a- son of the late Dr. E. E. Blomfield. Geoffrey Gould Woolley) assistant manager of the Hermitage, identified the bodies of Doris Herbert Brown, Mary Monteath, Dorothy M Smith and Helena Keane, who he said, had been (guests at the Hermitage. On January 18th the four left for the Malte Brun hut in charge of Guide Blomfield. They were all in good health and fit to make the trip.

Charles Digby Elms, licensee of the Hermitage Hotel, and manager for the Mt. Cook Tourist Company,- said thaet Blomfield had been employed .by the Company as a guide for the past two seasons. He was a professional guide, Mnd a very experienced man. Guests bad spoken very highly of him during the several periods he had been at the Hermitage. Prior to thp last two sea.sops he visited the Hermitage, and had done a great deal of climbing. GUTDE HILGENDORF’S STORY.

Charles Hilgendorf, employed as a guide at the Hermitage for the last two seasons,'(said ’that!on January 16th he left the Hermitage with a party for the Malte Brun hut. He was at that hut when Guide. Blomfield..arrived. with a party of four ladies on, January 18th. Cn the following day Guide Blomfield find his party left Malte Brun hut at, 10.30 a .hi. to refurii to tho Herinitagp. j Witness told Blomfield that; he would follow after He had cleaned up the hut. It was raining slightly when Blomfield V party letft'.AC th’at time witness did not think it would be a rough day. When the girls left they all appeared to be well and happy. They were clothed much as were all women who visited the hut. Witness tidied up the but, and followed them about an hour and a half afterwards. It was raining ‘very heavily with lightning and thunder, and as he continued his journey the weather became worse and a yale sprang up. When witness reached the glacier the condition of the ice was very had, and he had had to put on crampons. Even with crampons the going was very dilncult. The blizzard \yas the worst that he had known. Just as he reached De La Bache “corner he saw a woman lying on the ice, and he discovered that she was dead. She

was lying face downwards in a. hollow in the ice, having apparently been shel tering from the wind. He saw no disfigurement of any sort. About 30 yards further on he found another woman. Her face was cut on the cheek, but he did not take particular notice of it. /.bout 10 yards further on there were two more women, one with her face under water. The other was lying on top or beside her companion. They were both dead. He pulled them out of the water, on to the hard ice, and pi-o-ceeded to 'go down to the Ball hut. Very soon after he left the bodies the weather improved and lie made good time. The bodies were about six miles from the Ball hut. Witness reached the Rail but about 3.30 p.m., a little more than three hours and a half after he had left Malte Brun. He found the bodies about 2.30 p.m. He reported the tragedy to the guide in charge of Ball hut. At the time he discovered the bodies of the women he did not see thjijt of the guide Blomfield probably bo. (j:vuse lie was crawling on the ice. When the blizzard was raging witness crawled on bis hands and knees to the I‘corner.” The wind was so severe that lie was unable to stand up. ‘I could do nothing else but crawl,” he lidded. To Mr Finch, witness said that the storm from the nor’-west came down the Rudolph glacier, striking the Tasman at De La Beebe “corner.” The bodies were at the worst part of the glacier for weather, being exposed to in e wind coming down the Rudolph

glacier. To Mr Campbell: I have been followfug up mountaineering since T was very young. I have known Guide Blomfield for two years. I found him a man of sound judgment and always careful for the safety of bis parties. There- was no reason why Blomfield should hot have 'left the Malte Brun hut on Sunday morning I have left the Malte Brun hut under conditions similar to those existing when Guide Blomfield left the hut.

THE FIRST SEARCH. Michael Robert Bowie, a, guide, employed by the Mount Cook ,Tourist Company, said that on Sunday, January 10th, he was at the Ball hut in the afternoon. Guide Hilgendorf arrived about 3.30 p.jn. He said lie had seen four women dead on the De La Beebe “comer,” but that he had not found Blomfield. Witness obtained six men from the Ball hut and spread out * bout two miles below the scene of

the tragedy to search for the party. They took lanterns, stores,, and food The bodies eventually were found. The position of the bodies-was slightly different when the search party arrived, from that described by Hilgendorf. The wind had probably moved them. Three of the women were together, two being frozen under water. “I think their deaths were caused by the severe gale,” added witness. The deceased Blomfield was about 150 yeards away from the women. He was stretched out on the ice. He had probably been crawling towards Malte Brun. He was in his shirt-sleeves, and had thrown away his rucksack. He had lost his .hat, and his ice-axe was some yards away from him in the ice. The search party tried to revive Blomfield. He was wrapped in blankets and rubbed. The others looked hopless. They were stiff and two of them were in water. Blomifield’s hands were badly, torn by the ice. All the skin was off the hack nf his hands. The bodies were wrapped in blankets.

When Hilgendorf reported the tragedy at the Ball hut, it was still raining, but the weather was clearing. In trie morning it was raining very heavily at the Ball hut, and the weather looked very thick towards Malte Brun. The witness, Hilgendorf, recalled said that he did not think that anyone could live under the same conditions, wearing the same equipment, and in the same party. “I do not know that 1 can say that if I had been with tho party my end would have been the same,” he added. “T was equipped Very differently. In my opinion, the blizzard was at its worst a quarter of an hour before I came to the bodies.”

‘ DOCTOR’S EVIDENCE. Dr Charles Stanley Fraser, Timaru, said that he had examined the bodies of the five victims. The clothes 011 all the deceased were wet, but did not di'nlay any great amount of damage. Miss Brown was wearing light drill trousers, with silk-wool combi-

nations. She was well protected around the chest with three light woollen vests, and blouse. The body was that of a well-nourished woman about thirty years of age. She had a slight abrasion below the right eye. and across the lower part : of the nose. There was also a small abrasion on the chin. The face was congested. There were no marks or scans on'the bbdy. She had superficial skin off the back of the fingers and thumb of the left hand. He was not prepared to say whether these abrasions of the hands occurred before or after death. He could find no evidence that she had crawled. Miss Monteath V clothing was not torn about. There was inadequate .protection around the chept from the cold. There was an old scar on the left side of the forehead. The body was that of a well-nourished girl in the twenties. She had a. small abrasion on the nose and tho upper lip, the skin was pallid except for pinkish ecchymosis on the face, chest, and arms.

Miss Smith had riding, trousers and a jersey, with inadequate underclothing. The skin, was pallid with red ecehymosis ,on the ,elbows, arms and front of legs. There were no abrasions. Miss Keane was clothed in a suede lumber jacket and khaki riding trousers, which had a rent in the left knee. She had inadequate under-, clothing.'.The body was that of a wellnourished girl. Blomfield’s chest was bare of clothing. and he was wearing a pair of light grey socks and aertex underpants. There were small cuts round the knees of the trousers. The body was that of a well-developed and well-nourished young man. Ho had slight abrasions on the knees, also abrasions on the backs of thq fingers and thumbs of both hands. The skin was pallid in parts, with red ecclivr mods, and the face was mottled. Witness could find no evidence of injury to bones or joints on any of the deceased. His opinion of the cause of death was that they died of cold and exposure, after being caught in a blizzard. There was no evidence of anything else whatsoever.

CLOTHING INADEQUATE. To the foreman: Witness said that one was forced to the conclusion that the clothing had been inadequate in such a. blizzard, but. he understood that Blomfield’s shirt had been removed when resuscitation was attempted. 'Hie constable asked what was the length of time in which it was usual for a person to perish of exposure. Witness said that he was unable to, give a definite answer to that question owing to the rarity of the fatalities, and the general medical literature was necessarily unable to give much inf lunation. A man might die overnight in a moderate frost if, sav, he was suffering from intoxication, or some bodily disease, hut the severity of this storm could not he gauged except by those who had experienced it. THE VERDICT. After a: retirement lasting a quarter of an hour the jury returned with the following verdict: “That the five persons died on the Tasman glacier

on Sunday, January 19th, 1930, their deaths being due to exposure as tin. result of being caught in a blizzard. The jury expresses its deepest sympathy with the relations and friend • of the deceased in this terrible tragedy, and also expresses its admiration of tire effo'fts. of- the guides and relief party in their ordeal iii recovering the bodies; also of the Public tfarrks Department dild its employees.”

At t|ie conclusion of tlif? proceedings the Coroner briefly thanked Mr fi. j<3. jia'nheiiilig ,f tr his assistance in rhenfering the bodies, and in trans-editing the police from Fairlu to the Hermitage.

RECOVERING THE BODIES, SEARCH PARTY'S TASK. DIFFICULTIES 1 AND DANGERS. THE HERMITAGE, Jan. 22. The bodies of the four young women and their guide, who lost their lives on Tasman glacier in Sunday’s blizzard, were brought back to-day to the Hermitage where they arrived at noon. Tiro recovery of the bodies and their conveyance to the Ball hut > and thence to the Hermitage proved to he a task of great difficulty. The sea-eh party was under Chief-Guide’’ Vic. Williams, .Mr Guy E. Mannering. the well-known alnine climber, and Constable A. Mackintosh, of Fairlie. The terrific storm which swept over the main divide, and down the Rudolph glacier, had its centre in the glacier area. The storm blew with terrific force over the Tasman icefield, and the surface, of the glacier was also difficult to negotiate owing to the new, soft snow. The members of the search party encountered terrible conditions, and again and again they sank through thin ice while they fought their ivay, against hail and sleet.

CARRYING THE BODIES. The weather improved yesterday morning, and Guide Williams set oft from Ball hut with a party of 23 for De La Beche “corner.” The bodies were sledged for two miles, and then carried for a mile to Pine Apple rock a point four miles from the Ball hut. Here Guide Williams’s men

were met by another party of 14 Public Works Department men, led by Mr C. Elms, manager of the Hermitage, and Guide A. Dewar. Tile journey was continued to within two miles of the Ball hut, when darkness set in. The bodies were left under the shelter of a ridge, and with the aid of lanterns the two parties returned -tp the Ball hut, where they arrived at 10.30 ,p.m. The final stages of the journey were made in total darkness. , At five o’clock, this morning rain was falling, but conditions appeared favourable for rt fihe recovery... of. , the, bodies. The .bodies were carried over the Hochstetteh ice, and the Ball l moraine, and along the hut track by means of pack-horses to-./the terminus of the road,., at present, under....con-; struction by the Public, -.Works ; DSpartmqnt. This .point . is,, about two miles from the ; Ball hut. . Here the party was met by a Mount Cook Tourist Company’s car, and the bodies were conveyed to the Hermitage. THE LAST .STAGES. ?, ■;

Heavy rain was falling at the Hermitage on Tuesday morning," with wind and snow on the Tasman, but conditions improved during the, afternoon, and at six o’clock the sky was quite clear- A keen wind continued, but both parties made good progress in suite of the slippery nature, of the glacier, which was full of deep crevasses. Water was also rising steadily in the gullies. When Guide Williams and his men left the Ball hut at 1 on Tuesday and reached De La Beehe at 3.30, the hard journey had its effect, and several members of the original party were almost exhausted when they . arrived at Pine Apple rock. The carrying of the bodies was. done in short ( ,laps v with three men to. .a, stretcher.; > The first party was sighted about a. mile from Pine Apple rock,- proceeding in. single file down . the “Husky Trail,” used recently by. Byrd’s dogs. Considerable difficulty waS .experienced on the huge moraine at the foot of the Tasman glacier.. .r.-.Tli® steep rock' faces were almost unsurmountable, and at one stage the route was so precipitous that the .Party were compelled to take two of the bodies off the stretchers. They were then carried up one of the highest ridges by two roadmen from the Public Works Department.