Around-the-Mountain Trip

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AROUND-THE-MOUNT.IN-TRIP. By Botty.Drowstor. "Some people," seid the Club Captain, "would wonder what a round- themountain trip could be!" "Is it possible?" thought I. Iwas on Mto Egmont with the Taraneki alpine Club fecing the prospect of the above trip, an experionce I hed hoerda lot about and now had no dosire to semple. Howover, ten Club members and I set out at 6.40s.m. to the accompaniment of jeors from one who had done it before. ie crossed above Tahurangi Hut to a rocky spur E. valley away, and to the right of the Hut. I nearly lost my ski-cep and had to chase it RS it bowled merrily down towerds Humphries Castle below. From now on the route was completely new to mo - in fact there was no path, the leader taking us from fenture to landmark on the mountrinside while the tourist track wound furthor and furthor below us. I never quite got over the broathless feeling inspired by the steep slopes we had to cross. 1 pass in a. saw-ridge introduced us to a fierce end biting wind (it TLS March) and also to a snow tongue. The leader organised a rope, we crossing on it in stops cut in the ico while an experienced member belayed. It was the first experience of its kind for my two girl-friends and mysolf and we felt then thnt there was en element of denger in the tripo Indoed Round-the Mountain trips were reported by a vary experionced climber to be never free of accident: A herd of twenty goats distracted our attention from a tricky rock clembor during which one girl had her ice-axe knocked from her hand by a falling boulder. The way wound strenuously on and in time even the mist Chat threatened the trip dispersed. Scoria and rock gavo way to tussock - we were going downe Okahu Gorge is one of the roughest parts of the mountain and WG now found out why. Crossing the mass of boulders, we began the stesp pull upwards. We were following the base of 2 most terrific ledge of rock, overpowering enough in its own majesty without the thront of felling rocks. I began to lose enthusiasm again and not even the stop for lunch helped me mount the next series of precipitous rises with Ga.se. The gorge vanquished any breath I had left, so that I was convincod there could be no more awful fate as I trailed up, ever up, in the wake of the party. I soon found that falling on my knees and lookbeseechingly at the leader at every slight pause had no effect on him as he was apparently blind. Finally, we stopped, at the top of the gruesome ledge with the abrupt gorges on its either sides. There is a hut at tho foot of the Okahu Gorge but mist obscured it. The next gymastic feat was the crossing of a broad snow ri iver. We were split into parties and the girls stepped willynilly into ropo nooses. The crossing, in another party's rough ice steps, was breathlessly done, the use of the rope and ice-axe being a lesson I leornt then and am not likely to forget. The summit of Egmont was so close it seemed that one could run up to it in a couple of minutes. A crossing of frozen scoria, still roped, and our mountain isolation we.s over. The ski-hut (Syme) now ceme into view and vetching for us we could see a group of T.A C. boys who had boen to tho Summit. Also a sumnit party from one of the other clubs wore desconding which meant that our crossing of the typical glacier on Fenthem's Peak was imperilled by falling rocks. The mid-day heat had now gone and not only was it getting cold but thore was a dangor of the evening freoze catching uso le stumbled and slid down a narrow ribbon of grevol and rock - this was tho most terrifying part as the slopes on cithor side wore precipitous - to the right boing a drop down to the ugliest of gorge-che.sms. The snow was now iced unplensantly but the rope protected us and we were quito soon crossing tho proviously threatening ico-slope in safoty. It was curious that at this stage of the trip we saw the Brocken Spectre - that is, we saw half of a double rainbow thrown by the last rays of the sun coming over the summit. A canyon-plug of cloud wa.s the back-drop and the Club Captain declared it to be a "Good one." We girls had not seen it before and now we missed the silhouette of the watcher within the rainbow which is the type of Spectre usually seene We were still cutting around the higher slopes without regard for tracks thus avoiding tho Meunganui Gorge and other pitfalls. It was now getting dark and the last ice was crossed. Not evon a visit to our Stratford friends was now permissible, instoad we worked across scoria and ridge unroped and half-ran down the grass slope that lod us onto a tourist track. Tahurangi Hut came none too soon - and the end of 2 12 hour Round-The-nountain trip. I was bundled into bed and had a long night doing it all again.