CORRESPONDENCE

Taranaki Daily News, 10 April 1928, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE

MOUNT AIN E ER ING FE ATS. (Ta tho Editor.) Sir, —“The recent report that I left Dawson Falls, climbed to the summit (trig) of Egmont and back, within the space of 2% hours ia correct, but, ar 1 did not carry a watch, I am unable to give the times of ascent and descent respectively.” This confirmation by Mr. Murray, of the report to the same effect and which was quoted in my previous letter surely entitles him to bo classed amongst the swiftest climbers to whom old Egmont has been forced to surrender. But I would respectfully draw your correspondent’s attention to the fact he has not quoted any authorative evidence in support of the the above or any ff the other mountaineering achievements mentioned by him. In this case they stand as vague, unproven statements, and mean nothing. Whilst not doubting .in the least Mr. Murray’s sincerety, and, by reports, also his ability as a climber, I, along with a large number of old climbers, do„ubt very much the accuracy of the reported times for his achievements. It is quite possible that an inaccurate timepiece was used. I would also respectfully point out to Mr. Murray that my time (3 hours 50 minutes) was not claimed to be a record but was quoted merely to show the vast difference between my best effort and his own apparently “every day” performance, It is very obvious from the records recently published that the sight of a poor old climber like myself attempting to break such records, would be pathetic in the extreme, yet Mr. Murray, before accepting, wishes to be “assured that ‘Old Climber’ was ‘all out’ when he took 3 hours 50 minutes on the trip, and that he is not actuated by hostile motives.” I would suggest then that as the same kind of doubt appears to be in Mr. Murray's mind, as regards my time, os exists in my mind as regards his time, Mr. Murray should make a trip from Dawson Falls to the summit and back with independent timekeepers at the trig and the hostel. This would prove, I think, that a good deal of imagination has crept into the minds of mountaineers on the southern slopes of Egmont during the last few years, as ■ regards their mountaineering skill. — I am, etc., OLD CLIMBER. Hawera, April 7.