Six Days in Oblivion

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Six Days in Oblivion Richard Gavey 7.00 a.m. Wellington Airport, 8.00 a.m. It suddenly hit me that the ice I was Christchurch, 9.30 a.m. Mt Cook and at climbing on was only about six inches 10.30 a.m. Malcolm Martyn and I stepped thick and that there was a fast flowing out of the Cessna which had landed us waterfall behind it. Wondered what on the Fox neve a short distance from that gurgling sound was : I carried on Pioneer Hut. climbing in a strange state of mind. The climbing was hairy but I wasn't The pilot told us to watch it as he scared. All concept of time and surtook off and then we were suddenly on roundings were lost as I worked my way our own. The change was too much to upwards. I was completely mind blown, take in at once and in a somewhat it was too cold for flies. When I dazed condition we lugged our large finally reached the top I felt a pile of junk to the hut. tremendous feeling of jubilation. Pioneer Hut is situated at 8400 feet Further up Malcolm dropped a sling on the southwest ridge of Mt Alack containing a couple of my krabs and looking over some of the most impressice-screws but later on I stood on his ive alpine scenery in New Zealand. bare hand with my crampons on so I Many peaks over 10,000 feet can be guess I'll call it quits. seen including Tasman, as well as the Fox Glacier, the West Coast and The summit ice field provided no real Tasman Sea. problems and by 12.30 p.m. we were on the top. I got out my water bottle We spent the rest of the day skiing, for a much needed drink only to see or rather Malcolm did. I generally it, for the second time this winter, abused my new skis and provided the disappear out of sight down a steep afternoon's entertainment. Fortunfrozen slope. Some people never learn. ately I had improved quite a lot by After a half hour admiring the boomer the end of the day which was a good view of Tasman, Cook etc, taking a few thing as a repeat: performance probpickies and stuffing our faces we ably would have given Malcolm a hernia. started a rapid descent by an easier route because an unpleasant cold wind A tea of lasagne and paska, life in had started. the mountains is pretty rugged, and we collapsed into the pit. Once we had dropped down a bit we came across a sheltered spot so we Arising at 6.00 a.m. on a bright and had a couple of brews and a doze frosty morning, we finally left the before the long wade through knee hut at 7.30 for the South Face of deep snow back to the hut. Douglas. The next morning started the same as The schrund at the bottom of the face the previous one and we left the hut caused a bit of a hassle because of at 8.00 for the West Face of Haidinger soft steep snow, but the eggs we had but by the time the foot of the rock for breakfast did their stuff and we was reached the cold wind had started started to progress in the upward again. Malcolm led the first three direction. The ice was in pretty good pitches in fast time but by the time condition so none of the initial I reached him at his last belay stance pitches were particularly hard, and we were both freezing and had numb as I was doing most of the leading I fingers and toes. Hogsbacks were bemissed most of the large hunks of ginning to form and even though we sastrugi knocked off en route. would probably have sneaked the climb in it wouldn't have been any joy under As height was slowly gained the exposure those conditions, so we gave it a miss. made the climbing all the more exhil- Three abseils and a plod later we were arating. Three quarters of the way back at the hut. up the face we came to aoreal gripper about 90 ft of 80 to 90 water ice liberally coated with sastrugi. Malcolm After lunch we mucked about on some said he felt stuffed so I volunteered ice cliffs below the hut trying out to lead it. The real reason behind various aid climbing and front pointthe heroics was because I was too ing techniques. We also climbed some chicken to venture onto the verglassed rock on the TV slab, a mighty rock rock out to the right. Five feet up wall only a short distance from the hut. I began to regret my decision but once I got into it I was lost in con- For the next two days it rained, blew, centration. Two thirds of the way sleeted and snowed in true West Coast up the pitch I placed an ice-screw tradition. Time was spent pit bashing, for protection and was surprised to eating various concoctions, reading find water gurgling from the core. and playing chess or cards.

Trips to the grot were real epics. Up before dawn the next morning, we Full storm gear and boots were necessary packed, put skins on our skis and took to negotiate the icy arete, complete off for Newton Pass and the Franz with hairy drop, between the hut and Josef. Skiing sure is the way to move. the outhouse. The raging blizzard You can glide above what you would did nothing to help mat tters. Needless normally have to painfully wade through. to say trips were kept down to the bare minimum. We crossed the Franz Josef neve, skinned up to Graham Saddle on the Towards the end of the second day the Main Divide and crossed into Canterwind died, even though it was still bury. A fairly rapid descent of the misty. To combat lethargy we made the Rudolf Glacier took us to the Tasman effort to go skiing. It was really Glacier and the three hour grovel mighty in the new powder. out to Ball Hut and the road. That evening the crud lifted partially Five hours later, by courtesy of Mt and the sun shone through as a huge Cook Airlines and NAC, I was lying crimson fireball radiating fantastic in a bath at home, buggared, but hues on the western faces of Tasman completely content. and the sea turned a brilliant gold. 30 July - 4 August 1977 I thought how it would be pretty easy to get hooked on the place.