Beaten by a Bird

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BEATEN BY A BIRD After eight days skiing at Broken River, five perfect and only one. bad, I stood on S.H. 73 hitching the fifteen km to. Klondyke Corer, with threatening clouds everywhere. At last, just as the rain starts, a West-Coaster in his Ute stops and helps me on my way. Carrying all the party gear and most of the food I plod off up the Waimak to Anticrow Hut in heavy rain. No firewood, SO collect some, brew, lunch and wait for Paul. Late afternoon a voice yelling obsenities in the distance. A relief, as the last time I saw Paul was six weeks ago in Sydney, thus arrangements were only half hearted. Next morning it is almost fine, just cloudy, SO we wander up the Crow, taking two hours or So to the hut on the bush edge. After lunch a reccy up the valley to the bottom of the face. 80-90 degree gulley. Back to the hut, get gear out for early start and other idealistic rubbish. Have dinner, and it starts raining = gulp, that ain't going to do our snow much good = wait and see tomorrow. Two o'clock or some ridiculous hour, Paul heads towards the door moaning about that last extra brew. Good news and bad news. Good, its stopped raining, bad, its now snowing. Dawn - brekky. Still snowing heavily. Day spent cutting firewood; a marvellous occupation when the completely useless crosscut saw is supplemented by an axe with half a handle 1 takes two hours to cut three hours wood. Paul goes to have a look at an iced waterfall. I manage a short walk across the valley. Wednesday - overcast I 9 a.m. Lets give it a go. Up the easy slopes, front pointing to the bottom of the first gully. Paul leads off in fine style. My turn, he lowers his hammer as I left mine in the hut - So easy we only need one he said. Three metres up - 'HOLD' - shaking So much my crampons were like a pneumatic drill and shattered the ice. Second go - slowly confidence builds. Paul leads next pitch. Then its easy snow slopes (40-50 degrees). My turn in front, moving together through one metre deep snow, still we,, must. be the. first to swim our wày up: Lastly the top gully T Paul leads on short pitch - good compacted icy snow. Next pitch he climbs up to three or four metres below glacier and strikes vertical 'toilet paper' ice.

I.e., the sort that gives way, when you put any weight on it. After slipping a couple of metres, he tries another route - same stuff. Only option - retreat, while we're still in one piece. Next problem. i how? Paul lowers.me. down onto soft snow, then climbs down with the harmer and we traverse across the face into a small valley. Find route down easy snow gully into main valley. Looking baçk up we were three or four metres from the top of the difficult part. Hence we discovered why it is So little climbed. 4.00 p.m. back at the hut. Still shaking with fear I decide to go home, Paul agrees. So we pack: up and race down to Anticrow in last daylight. Thursday, down to road end, Paul jumps on his bike and heads towards Picton. I toss up between walking to Arthurs Pass and catching the train, or hitching. A ride to Christchurch with a Hokitika policeman, and lunch, then jump on a plane and back in time for club. N. WOODROW P. AUBREY