MT. RICHMOND CLIMB

Marlborough Express, Volume LXXVI, Issue 243, 15 October 1942, Page 2

MT. RICHMOND CLIMB

NIGHT ON MOUNTAIN. TWO BLANKETLESS BLENHEIM MEN. Two Blenheim residents, Messrs P. Ching and C. Newman, climbed the slopes of Mt. Richmond to the seene Oi the Locbiheed airliner crash at the week-end, spending a night on the mountain. Possibly the most hardened Commando units might call it a restful week-end, but anyone less toughened would have some hard things to say about it. The piair left Blenheim on Saturday by motor, taking two days' rations, but otLerwise only what they stood up in. It was proposed to spend a night in the bush, but owing to the rough nature of the travelling it was decided to dispense with blankets and other encumbrances.

The car was left at Top Valley, and the travellers were shown roughly the spurs to use to give the shortest route to the scene of the plane crash in May. It was rough going. Mr Ching, who is an experieneedi deer-stalker, describes the country as the worst he had been over. The Top Valley stream was followed for some distance and from it rose sheer cliff faces with bush clinging precariously to them. It w*as quite easy to miss the track and do a lot of unnecessary climbing. At the top of the track there was a stiff bluff and the - two, working round this, congratulated themselves that they were travelling light. Above the bluff they came out on a snowgrass slope and the knob where the plane had crashed was in sight two miles away across comparatively easy country. The pair came up to the wreckage of the plane, a forlorn sight, about 5 p.m, It was badly smashed, and though there were bits and pieces of souvenirs — a name plate from an engne, for instance — the smash and subsequent fire had made a thorough job of wrecking the machine. In the last of the daylight, snowgrass and tussock was gathered for bedding and carried down into the bush on the further side. There, with a big log fire, the blankets were not missed too much. The explorers were up at daylight and imagined they were still pretty tired — till they started on the return journey. They spent some three hours near the summit and set out at 9 a.m. on Sunday on the return. Pefore thev got out to the car at

five o'clock that evening, they had a very fair idea, of v/hat the New G-i.inea natives had to do packing supples up and down the Owen Stanleys. It was all downhill. but the paeks were

real steadiers. When the car was reached, they had quite new ideas on the subject of tiredness and, putting it mildly, were very much the worse for wear. No deer were seen on the expedition, but wild pigs and goats were not uncornmon. Some of them seemed to look askance at the laden travellers as the French do when they say — "These English take their pleasures sadly."