THE ASCENT OF MOUNT COOK ACCOMPLISHED.

Kumara Times, Issue 1705, 17 March 1882, Page 2

THE ASCENT OF MOUNT COOK ACCOMPLISHED.

[Abridged from the Christchurch Press.] The party who have won the honor of being the first to set foot on the top of Mount Cook consists of the Rev. W. P. Green, a clergyman of the Church of England, whose living is in the south of Ireland, a member of the English Alpine Club, and two Swiss mountaineers, Mr Uliich Kaufman, one of the most skilful guides in the Bernese Oberland, and Mr Emil Boss, an enthusiastic mountaineer, noted for his success as a chamois hunter. These two men were specially engaged by Mr Green to assist him in his expedition, aud to their skill, industry, and bravery he attributes its success. They threw themselves heart and soul into the work, with a full determination to achieve the object of their voyage, if it lay in the power of man to compass it. On two occasions Mr Green was inclined to turn back from the route they were pursuing in order to avoid exposing his men to great dangers, but they cheerfully, even anxiously, faced the risk, and by so doing saved the expedition from failure in the main point. Mr Barclay, a young settler of Taranaki, accompanied Mr Green to the Tasman Glacier, and returned after the first day's reconnoitring, as has already been published. The following account of the ascent , is compiled from information kindly furnished by Mr Green on his return. An account has been already published . of the upward journey until the party camped at the foot of the Tasman glacier. On the lnt day of March the party moved up the glacier, taking the four days' provisions, a waterproof sheet, blankets, &c, and camped that night at the foot of Mount Tasman, at an altitude of 7000 feet above the sea. At 6 a.m. on the morning of the 2nd, in beautiful"weather, a start was made for the northern ridge, taking some provisions for the day, and'the camera being carried with them. The journey was slow, even over the easier first portion of the glacier, as it was thickly crevassed. As the peak was approached, to the dinger from crevasses was added that of continual avalanches. Hanging glaciers presented themselves in nearly every hollow in the peak at greater or less elevations, from one or other of which masses of ice were almost continually falling, and the smaller pieces were rushing down the steep mountain sides with a whiz like a bullet, and the larger ones with a roar like thunder. To avoid these avalanche lines was the greatest difficulty of the ascent, and on one point this danger seemed so great that the party were almost compelled to relinquish the undertaking, but they were fortunate enough to get safely over, and continued the ascent. About four in the. afternoon they were still a considerable distance from the summit and it was plain that if they went any further up the mountain they would be unable to regain their bivouac that night. The question was debated whether they should proceed, with a certain prospect of having to spend the night on the mountain without shelter and without food (for the provisions they carried at starting had been left lower down, and climbing being difficult), or, whether they should return without having accomplished the object of their journey. It was decided to proceed. Men, the guides p inted out, had been benighted in Alpine regions before and survived, and they would do the same. Upwards they slowly made their way, Kaufman cutting steps in the ice until his hands were black with blisters. To add to the difficulty of the latter part of the ascent, the weather, which in the morning had been bright and clear, became dull and moist, and a thaw set in. The ice above them disintegrating on the surface with the warmth, began to roll down the sharp slope in pallets like hail, which struck full in the faces and battered the hands of the party as they made their slow way up the peak. Though slow their progress was steady i and sure, and at 6.20 p.m. they stood upon the summit of the main peak, only a small hump a short distance away standing higher than the spot they occupied. Tbe air was now full

of clouds, and as nothing could be seen the descent was commenced, not ten minuted liciiijj spent on the top. After descending about 2066 ft. the darkness of night w&s coming on, anci it was deemed prudent to accept the first shelter that offered itself. A rdck projecting through the ice cap waa near, and steps were *cut from their upward track to this. The snow 'col:, lected at the foot of the rock was scraped away, and here, on a ledge only a few inches wide, too narrow to sit upon-, with the ice-she'et stretching thousands of feet sheer beneath them, the party passed the night, stamping. their feet and beating their hands to keep them warm, each watching thai his fellowsdid not go to sleep, for all were tied together, and to feleep or slip meant destruction to the whole party, there being nothing to obtain a good grip of. The night was a dreary one. The mobh was at the full, but heavy cloud* ob« sen red it. Rain fell almost constantly through the night, but from this th'ey were sheltered by the rock, except when the wind, as it frequently did, swirled round their insufficient shelter. The* hours passed slowly. The party were wet, and weary, and hungry, but they patiently counted the hours till midnight, and then congratulated themselves that half the term of their imprisonment was over. Wet and weary they must remain until they reached a dridt climate, and a space large enougti tb rest upon, and their hunger they appeased, or fancied they did so, by suck* ing each three of Brand's meat lozenges, which are about the size of a fourpenny piece and a quarter of an inch thick; The descent was resumed at sunrise} and in three hours the bivouac on Mount Tasman was safely reached. The attention of the mart in charge of the horses being obtained by lighting a fire, arrangements were soon made" for packing the camp equipage to Burnett's Station, and thence the party drove to Lake Tekapo on Friday ing, reaching Timaru on Saturday even* ing last.