The Tramping Report

Ed Hillary on Everest

The Christchurch Press printed this photo of Ed Hillary on its front page on 12 Jan. It was taken by Alfred Greg high on Everest, when Ed and Tenzing were going for the summit. I like it because it features Ed in dynamic mode. (click it to see a larger version) I hadn't come across this image before. I hope it gets made available in a better medium than newsprint sometime.

I was thinking today when it was that I first learned about Ed Hillary and Everest. For my tweIth birthday, a few months after my father died, I was given The Ascent of Everest. This was the book written by expedition leader Colonel John Hunt. I read it through and I can remember studying the photos intently trying to understand what it was like being there. I can't remember the text giving what I needed.

Here's another link to a particularly good obit article from Time: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/siredmundhillarytopoftheworld;_ylt=AuqDxlx0q4O8wnnf6R9QuTd34T0D

Ed's funeral was today. The country will be back to its routine again tomorrow.

Ed's gone

 

'Big Ed' Hillary, the man that raised the bar for heroes, is gone.

The mainstream newsmedia obituary that appealed most to me was on Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,321906,00.html

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark also says it well:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0801/S00074.htm

Tribute to Sir Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand icon Friday, 11 January 2008, 11:43 am Press Release: New Zealand Government

Rt Hon Helen Clark
Prime Minister of New Zealand

Prime Minister Helen Clark said today that the passing of Sir Edmund Hillary is a profound loss to New Zealand.

“My thoughts are with Lady Hillary, Sir Edmund’s children, wider family, and close friends at this sad time,” Helen Clark said.

“Sir Ed described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities. In reality, he was a colossus. He was an heroic figure who not only ‘knocked off’ Everest but lived a life of determination, humility, and generosity.

“The legendary mountaineer, adventurer, and philanthropist is the best-known New Zealander ever to have lived. But most of all he was a quintessential Kiwi. He was ours - from his craggy appearance and laconic style to his directness and honesty. All New Zealanders will deeply mourn his passing.

“Sir Ed’s 1953 ascent of Mt Everest brought him world-wide fame. Thereafter he set out to support development for the Sherpa people of the Himalayas. His lifetime’s humanitarian work there is of huge significance and lasting benefit.

“Sir Ed was not one to bask idly in celebrity. He drew on his international prestige to highlight issues and values which he held dear. His enduring commitment to and respect for the Sherpa people reflects the best of what we as New Zealanders can contribute, from our small developed nation helping another less privileged one.

“Sir Edmund established the Himalayan Trust in the early 1960s and worked tirelessly until his death to raise funds and build schools and hospitals in the mountains.

“The legacy of Sir Edmund Hillary will live on. His exploits continue to inspire new generations of New Zealanders, as they have for more than half a century already,” Helen Clark said.

Hawdon hut replaced

The new Hawdon hut has been complete for a few months now. DoC hadn't formally announced it before now as they were waiting for their office people to complete the paperwork.

However it's now been announced. See this article in the Christchurch Press : http://www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4336534a6047.html

Do take care of this one folks. Remember the previous one was burned down by a fool dumping hot ash from the wood burner under the side of the hut.

See this map for the new hut's location.

The Ben More Range - a big hill

There are some good things to be said about a walk on the Big Ben Range.

One is that there's an 800 metre climb to get onto it, and once up there the ridges are long so you need to walk briskly to complete any circuit.  You're guaranteed to get some exercise.

Also there are good views from the top of the range. The views are all of things a long way off and you'll need a telephoto lens and probably a tripod to impress people back home. But when you're up there, there's a sense of wide openness that's hard to fit in a camera.

Another is that when the higher mountains are stormy with nor'westerlies, the Ben More Range is usually clear. It might be windy, even windy enough to fling stones at you but probably not rain on you too.

But none of these were part of our decision to go there.

Honora wanted to do a day trip with the Peninsula Tramping Club. And as it is with clubs, their calendar said they would run a trip to the Ben More Range today. So that's where we went.

Three carloads of us headed off, over Porters Pass, and turned off onto a gravel road to the south. We travelled past Lake Lyndon and parked by a dis-used airstrip, marked on the map.

This was a handy place for our circuit. Our route was up onto the end of one spur, along to the main range, over the Ben More formal summit, then back along another spur and down to the cars again.

It was a congenial group. People could wander along in their own thoughts, without intrusion. And that suited me today. Previously I'd only done trips on this side of the range with the CTC. I remembered the style of those trips, and I enjoyed being with a group without the unpleasant competitiveness and point-scoring that the Christchurch Tramping Club is notorious for.

 

A Night on Mt Aicken

It was my fourth year tramping before I climbed Mt Aicken at Arthurs Pass. I hadn't climbed it before then because I couldn't see anything special about it to interest me (of the Arthurs Pass peaks only Mt O'Malley seemed to have less going for it).

To make it special, I climbed it on the shortest day of the winter in 1975. It did make it special, and it now stands out more clearly to me than my first time on any of the other easy Arthurs Pass summits.

I also discovered Mt Aicken really was a worthwhile place to go to.

In mid winter 1995 I suggested to Simon Hassall we go up and sleep out in the open, right on the summit. That fitted his style and he couldn't say no. Sitting up in our sleeping bags on the summit we could see the lights of the Bealey. They were watching "the game". We were living real life.

Honora and I talked about how we were going to best use the guaranteed anticyclone after weeks of dodgy weather. I wanted to sleep out under the stars, Honora had never been up Mt Aicken, It was mid winter...

Lake Pearson on the road to Arthurs Pass. Always picturesque, often stunning.

The advantage of an afternoon ascent for a night out was that we could drive to Arthurs Pass during the daytime and see the countryside at its best. There were high snow banks alongside the road over Porters Pass and many family groups were out tobogganing.

At Arthurs Pass we stopped in at the Lassche's cafe for lunch before our climb.

The snow was deep and frozen around the village. At this time of year the frost lasts all day where the sun doesn't reach in the deep valley. The footbridge and the first part of the 'Great Walk' style track to the Punchbowl Falls were slippery with ice.

We turned uphill on the Mt Aicken track. For a while we were following the footprints of others in the snow. But eventually they had turned back. The snow was knee deep on the ground and hung heavily on branches.

The snow had fallen onto bare rocks or frozen old snow. This made the footing slippery underneath and we took our time.

Honora selecting her mattress of snow on Mt Aicken

Above the bushline we came to a shoulder on the spur that had enough of a flat area for us to camp on. The sun had already gone down behind Mt Rolleston.

We used snow shovels to create a level platform to sleep on and a wall to give some shelter from the light breeze.

We cooked tea sitting up in our sleeping bags, and warm mugs of soup did double duty warming our fingers too.

Soon we were snuggled down and and looking at the sky crowded with bright stars. It wasn't long before I saw a meteorite streak across. Then another, and another, from every part of the sky. I saw the Southern Cross and Pointers, so I measured 4 1/2 times and down from the long axis, just to make sure the South Pole was in its proper place. One bright star to the south twinkled red and blue like a galactic police car. The Milky Way turned as I watched...

In the morning the peaks across the valley brightened with a pink tint. Then the first sun touched Rolleston and rapidly spread downwards.

Dressing for the day after breakfast in bed on Mt Aicken

We lay there watching the sun slowly bringing life back to the world. Only when the day was fully unfolded did we start into our leisurely breakfast.

The sun came over the ridge behind us and brought us warmth, but it was also a reminder we had work to do and got us packing.

The snow on the slopes above our camp was still deep and soft.  It was warm work climbing.

I only went as far as the first bump on the main ridgeline, but Honora went on to claim the summit of Mt Aicken.

Far below Mt Aicken is the broad valley of the Waimakariri.

A young man from Greymouth was up for the day. He was looking all around, asking questions and talking about his plans for future climbs. Everywhere I looked I already had memories of being there. The mysteries slip away one by one.  It's a sad thing to lose the excitement of the unknown.

I started down and eventually Honora caught up, returning from her summit. The valley below darkened again. The frost was intense when we emerged at the riverside.

After changing, we stopped in at Oscars Haus (the "wobbly kea") for a delicious roast dinner. A group from the tramping club had called in there to settle up their costs after a session on ice axe practice at Temple Basin. There were some good friends among them but when they'd gone it was good to quietly finish off our great weekend together in the snow.

A new Mt Somers Hut

Mt Somers is a favourite tramping area for Honora and me. It's not usually our first choice though. We usually save it for when the Nor'wester brings heavy rain in the main ranges.

And because the Nor'wester is a fairly regular occurrence in Canterbury, it's just as well the Mt Somers area can take a lot of exploring.

To give us more time we prefer to drive down from Christchurch on the Friday night and walk straight in to the hut. It only takes us an hour to walk in there in the dark.

The anticipation of lighting the open fire and bunking down in the old musterer's hut was always a big part of the attraction.

Sadly we won't have this to look forward to now. DoC have just completed construction of a large new building to replace the lovely historic old hut.

I've got to admit I was surprised to see the scale of the new building when we last went in there. It's sure going to take a bit of getting used to.

And new trampers won't have any idea of the historic experience they've missed when the old one's gone.

You can read this article in the Ashburton Guardian if you want a more positive rah-rah-rah PR report on the benefits of tourist quality infrastructure.