Labour Weekend, 1963

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LABOUR WEEKEND, 1963 It was 7.30 a.m. and hot. What was it ping someone in the ribs. This finished, going to be like going up the glacier I went visiting to the other caves which later on. We soon found out. By the time were all far superior to ours in size, but Margaret and I reached the Alpine Club not as cozy. There was quite a crowd Hut we were already dying of thirst and, up. snow caving. The Hutt Valley, Wangahelped by Peter, Bill, and Arthur, we did nui, and Tararua, was well as ourselves. our best to drain the water tank. Poor During the day Bruce and Allen went Arthur had just gone for a beautiful out skiing, which wasn't very salubrious skate down the hard snow and had as it was a bit difficult to see where you grazed his lower left cheek rather badly. were going, but they came back and It was a horrible bright red colour and managed to talk Bill D. into going out the size of a saucer and promised to stick and having a bash. to whatever he had on, which it did. Next morning we were up at 4.30 in We decided that the quickest way un time to see a beautiful sunrise. A few of is to take it straight, which we did and us smashed Pare before breakfast, annoyarrived at the top in about four hours, ing the Tararua's in the process by sendwell, some of us did. If only the Abom- ing showers of snow down their ventilanable Snow-cat had left earlier than it tion hole. did we could of had our packs taken to Instead of going down and the top for a small charge, but that the mountain to Ohakune, our cavites sidling and spoils the fun, so I was told. the Poms went along the ridge to the Over the last bump and there was the High Peak and then down Glyding crater. It was much bigger than I had Gladys. The heat was just terrible. The imagined it to be. This was my first trip brew we had at Blythe was really the to the top, and there were others just best I have ever had and well worth disappearing around the ridge towards waiting for. the cave sites. At Ohakune we changed into our nice By 6p.m. most of the caves had been clean clothes and waited for the bus finished-except ours. We had struck to arrive. When it did we still had to two bands of ice very close together wait for another half hour while all the which didn't help matters any, but we skiers who had been guzzling all weekhad managed to make it big enough for end went and guzzled some more. Still, the four of us to squeeze in. The sides we did get back to eventually two Wellington of of the lilos were half-way up the and uneventfully, looking forward to havwalls, and the end of one was sticking out ing a restful four days at work. over space. Still, the night passed com- Those on the trip were: Bruce Jeffries fortably enough, and we awoke to a (Trip Leader), Gary Lund, Peter Daniels, gently shrieking gale-like wind. with a Margaret Webb, Geoff Aitken, Allen sky of a beautiful cotton woolly white Higgens, Kate Brady, Bill Cronin, colour. and June Cole, Max ?, Bill Drake, Roger Brian Putting all the gear in one corner we Cropp, Bill Lockey, and yours truly, extended the cave to a reasonable size. Shona Baker. We could now stretch out without dig- SHONA BAKER. *