UP MOUNT EGMONT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 100, 30 December 1913, Page 7

UP MOUNT EGMONT.

BOXINC DAY ADVENTURE. The ascent of Mount Egffl.bilt from 6 the eastern side of the mountain was "accomplished on Boxing Day for the first time this season, according to Mr H. S. Williams, ot tiie Stratford Mountain House, by a party comprising nine young men. Seven of these —Messrs D. Everiss, L. Lee, i. Nelson, A. Olsson, C. Russ (Stratford), C. Xel\son and J. Nelson (Feilding)—cycled out from Stratford the previous evening,.staying over night at the Mouni tain House, so as to he ready for an j early start on Friday morning. As j the climbers were preparing to sally i forth on their journey, they received 1 an accession to their ranks in the ;• persons of two other young men who had arrived late the previous night, and desired to he associated with the enterprise, viz., Messrs Carey and Hellestrand, who wore formerly resident in the Pitcairn Islands and New South Wales, respectively.

Glorious Weather at the Ou^s:t augured well for the success of the expedition, and it was with light hearts and- sanguine spirits that the mountaineers sot out on. their adventure, equipped with alpenstocks Improvised from branches of trees. Could they have foreseen the difficulty of the undertaking—and it must be admitted that only two of the company had had any previous experience of Mount Egmont—they would scarcely have been so optimistic, or at least they would have taken care to provide themselves with a more adequate equipment for their task, in the shape of ice-axes, ropes, smoked glasses (a necessary protection against snow-blindness}, drinking vessels, etc. As it was, their slender equipment comprised sharpened sticks, 1 grubber (stop-cutter), one paii- of goggles and two tiny utensils for holding drinking water, with, of course, some sandwiches.

Up to the Point of Arrival at the Snow-line,

the ascent, though somewhat strenuous, by reason of the shifting, slipping scoria, was unattended by any serious risk. The real difficulty, and, at some points, danger of the climb began' with the passing of the snowline. The snow, encrusted at differ- 1 est stages of the journey with a hard layer of icy particles, necessitated much careful and arduous step-cutting, and cautious treading on the part of the climbers, for a slide on the treacherous surface.'of the snow might lraVe involved disaster to life or limb ill some gully hundreds of feet below. .Sometimes a traveller's, foot slipped in*one of the steps, awl for a moment his heart was in his mouth, as he thought of the possible dire consequences of failure to recover a secure footing. A scorching sun (with Us attendant discomforts of intolerable thirst and smarting hands and faces), together with symptoms in some of the party'oT frost-bittoji liinbs and snow-blindness—the latter* of which, besides confusing the sense of color, causes excruciating pain in the victim's eyes—were among the factors which intensified the strcnuriusness and peril of the ascent, to say nothing of the sight and sound of small aValanches at various stages of the journey through the snow. -

The Most Exciting Moment of the Climb was when tlio fatigued and perspiring cragsmen, having arrived at the very apex of the cone, discovered that the only way of getting down to the crater the flat surface of which sees the ascent practically accomplished—was by retracing their steps for a ■distance of 10 or 50 feet, round a shoulder of rock to the, left-hand, and along a narrow ridge, on which a swerve either to the right or the left mrtst have involved a perilous fall. By dint of more careful step-cutting, and discreet going, however, the riuge was negotiated in safety, and the mountaineers were inexpressibly rejoiced to gain a firm footing'on the crater, so much so that they reverently sang the Doxology as an expression of their gratitude to the beneficent Power which had led them to a safe issue from the difficulties and dangers of the way.

After Restoring the Circulation of some of the Company who 'complained of numbed feet—by the usual method of a vigorous rubbing of the frost-bitten members with snow—food was partaken of, washed down with draughts of' crystal clear, delicious, ice-water obtained from the dripping rock. While admiring the grandeur of the snow-capped peaks, it was noticed that from the apex of the cone into the crater was a sheer drop of about 40 feet, so that under the circumstances it would have been impossible from that point to accomplish the descent on to the flat ground. The clouds which had gradually crept up the east side of the mountain prevented a view of the bush country lielow, but the wonderful structure of the clouds themselves was matter enough for admiration.

The Descent by way of Fantham's Peak

v'lch admitted the possibility of glissading down the face of the mountain lor a considerable distune \ with all the thrilling sensations of that pastime, was safer and much more easy than the ascent, though even that hail its moments of excitement, such as that paused by a sudden swerve to right or left in the course of glissading. It was between seven and eight o'clock in the evening when the exploring band arrived—hungry, thirsty, and utterly weary with their exertions—at tile starting point of their adventure. They had been away from the Stratford Mountain House

since about G a.m., tlm summit ol' Hit mountain being readied about om

o'clock. The inexperience of some of the climbers, together with the slendernoss, of their* equipment, are the only excuses that can be offered for what may appear the slowness of the ascent.

Two or Three Parties made the Ascent of the mountain the same day from the Fnntham's Peak side, these including. Miss Staveley and Mr K. Ivivell, Stratford. The lady's pluck is deserving of admiration. The party whose adventures are here chronicled were well entertained by Mr and Mrs Williams during their stay at the East Egmont Mountain House. Complexions scarred by the sunburning, eyes suffering from the glare of the glistening snow, . and aching limbs, are the worst effects of the climb felt by the mountaineers, and though some of them fee] that they had enough of mountain climbing to satisfy them for the rest of their lives, others are prepared to repeal the adventure, given an adequate >quipmont and favorable conditions.