White Dream

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G White Dream by Greg Ord This is a report of a climb of the South Face the three packets of chocolate biscuits he'd of Mt Cook by some Tongue 'n' Meats currently eaten for breakfast that morning. residing in Christchurch. We belayed all the way up the face dropping About 10 days before varsity started (1 March) off all sort of bits and pieces (sunglasses, Peter Hodge and I, and two friends, Vaughan ice-screw plus karabiner, waterbottles, Smith and Stephen Gunn, thought we'd check etc) en route. Eventually we topped out out a bit of climbing down at Mt Cook. The and plodded up a long snowslope to the low trip started with the usual hiccups namely peak of Mt Cook. By now it was around working on my clapped-out old Humber 7 pm and the sun was starting to set. We 80 in Vaughan's driveway for half a day, started to descend and reached the Upper in order to get there. Empress Shelf soon after dark. Here we had route finding difficulties and thus decided Upon arrival we headed up the Hooker Valley, to bivvy for the night. through the Hooker icefall and up Pudding Rock, whereupon it started to snow. The Not much can be said for bivvying out at next day it stopped snowing just long enough 3000m with no sleeping bags, other than for us to recce our intended route. it was cold. Somebody was on our side though, as it dawned clear. At this stage no-one In the interests of all, someone got up at could eat as we were all suffering the effects 3 am next morning to check on the weather. of dehydration. Some difficult travel saw Outside they looked up to see a starry sky. us arrive at Empress Hut several hours later. Breaking the good news, the hut erupted Here a festive atmosphere ensued as we into a pandemonium of eating, drinking ate and drank to excess. and packing. The next day saw us abandon plans for other Three hours of steady climbing saw us arrive climbs and head off back to Gardiner Hut at the bottom of the face around dawn. Here to retrieve our gear. Then it was off back Vaughan was a little ill. He blamed a bout down the Hooker Valley to the car and back of flu he'd had that week, but we blamed to the sweet luxuries of home in Christchurch that night. Empress Hut - Greg Ord

Looking towards Mt Walter Kirsty Woods from Climbers Col