"Mount Cook Summit" Mrduss's photos around Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand (linda glacier photos)
Preview of Mrduss's blog at TravelPod. Read the full blog here: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mrduss/2/1261869443/tpod.html This blog preview was made by TravelPod using the TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow creator. Entry from: Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand Entry Title: "Mount Cook Summit" Entry: "Toutes les photos en ligne All pictures Online http://picasaweb.google.fr/mr.duss/MtCo ok2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCNj1u6-29sPQ2QE# « Climb if you will, but remember, courage and strength are naught without prudence, and one moment of negligence can destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste, and look well into each step and think of what maybe the end." Edward Whymper This saying was posted in the common room of Plateau Hut, the base to climb up to Aoraki/Mt Cook, Mt Tasman, Dixon and other delicacies of NZ alpinism. Whymper, one of the pioneers of mountaineering, could only but right and I decided to learn this saying by heart, so at the minimum I will have my mind busy for the 2 or 3 hours climbing at night thru the Linda Glacier. Vaughn was my new partner for this climb. A young fellow from Christchurch who called me up a few days earlier and showed up at Mt Cook Village the very next evening. With just the right personality, good mountaineering skills and a great cook, he was the perfect fit. Before we went up to Plateau Hut, we stayed at the Canterbury Mountain Club where I tasted the Xmas cake, Xmas pudding and black pudding (boudin noir or blood sausage for breakfast) with Vaughn's homemade bread (so good I now have to learn how to bake it). Since we were flying to Plateau Hut, food would not be scarce up there, a success for summit...among a few other things. We were fortunate to have at least 2 days of good weather and good conditions, maybe even a bit too warm for good snow on the Zurbriggen Ridge, an alternate route more technical but safer than the traditional Linda Glacier, where giant crevasses and seracs are a continuous threat, especially under the "Gun Barrel", named for a good reason. By 1.30 am we were ready for Big Jim (Jim Cook was one of the discoverers of NZ) catching slowly on the 4 other teams who left earlier. The snow was questionable for the Zurbriggen Ridge and we decided to follow the Linda Glacier route, zigzagging thru giant crevasses, going in and out for some, and 2 hours later, we were heading first to the Linda Shelf, a very steep slope of mixed snow and ice that we decided to free climb (no rope, just our 2 axes and good cramponing -- only one falls instead of 2 if you are roped). Dave and Alejandro (the other non guided team, respectively American and Chilean) decided to take a break, so we were on our own...sounds promising for a summit...at least for 5 minutes. Vaughn is stopping for a little while, he has cramps in both legs. He wants to rest to get better and tells me to continue up the ridge. I wait at the ridge for a while, call him up. I don't hear an answer nor can I see him. I backtrack to find him walking up the Linda Shelf slowly and in pain. He wants to go to the ridge and will assess the situation from there. I can only see the ridge as our turning point to get him down safe. After some water, food and a good massage to his legs he feels better and is ready to continue to my big surprise. The little massage I gave him up on the ridge will become a joke as another team coming up saw the scene from far away, which obviously appeared a little bit too cosi for climbing partners! Instead of going up the traditional gully, we go up the ridge to catch up with the 2 other teams who did not turn around at that point (Dave and Alejandro, Mal -- a local guide -- and Cesar from Venezuela). This is 3 teams to pitch the ridge, too many to move fast as it appears to be a challenging mix of ice and slabby rocks. It takes the 3 teams a long time to get to the final ridge and I still think that it is too late and we would have to turn around shortly to play it safe. Apparently I am wrong and everyone is very eager to summit that day. My barometer is off by 100 m, so I evaluate another 300 m when it is only a short 200 m of a beautiful final narrow snow ridge ahead of us. While the 2 other teams pitch their way up, Vaughn and I decide to free climb to ..." Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mrduss/2/1261869443/tpod.html Photos from this trip: 1. "Mt Cook from Lake Pukaki" 2. "Chopper Drop at Plateau Hut" 3. "Cook Final Ridge" 4. "Vaughn Almost at the summit" 5. "Teams coming up the summit" 6. "Vaughn at Summit of Mt Cook 3,754 m" 7. "Vaughn on final Ridge" 8. "Linda Glacier on the way down" 9. "Giant Crevasses on Linda" 10. "Mt Tasman and the Glacier" See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00bb-6da6-a8d8?ytv4=1
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Added: 175 days ago by
tewhere1
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