Ascent into Aoraki Mt Cook history
17 Nov 2010
Re-enacting one of New Zealand’s historic mountaineering missions will pit old against new when two intrepid Kiwis set off next week to tackle Aoraki Mount Cook in the Southern Alps.
One of the adventurers will use the latest gear available to modern mountaineers while the other will make the climb with historic equipment and clothing that dates back 120 years.
The ‘Ascent into history’ expedition has been organised by Kiwi Coast-to-Coast champion Steve Gurney who, with climbing companion Steve Moffatt, will re-enact one of the early attempts to conquer New Zealand’s highest mountain.
Pioneer style
Moffat, a 60-year-old commercial flower grower, grandfather and adventure-racing competitor from Christchurch, will make the ascent using the gear considered top-rate by New Zealand’s pioneering adventurers 120 years ago.
He’ll wear a tweed woollen jacket and pants, oilskin (oiled cotton) jacket and over trousers, and will sleep in a woollen blanket sewn into a sleeping bag and covered by an oilskin bag.
In contrast, Gurney will be equipped with satellite phone and GPS, and will wear the latest merino wool clothing, a down or synthetic fleece jacket, and synthetic waterproof/breathable parka and pants.
Gurney will climb with crampons attached to his rubber-soled boots, while Moffatt copes with the old-style hobnails and tricounis on his leather-soled boots.
Mountaineering adventurers
The two adventurers will be joined on the expedition by guides and a film crew, as well as New Zealand’s veteran mountaineer and alpine historian, Hugh Logan.
The idea is to re-enact the 1890 attempt on Aoraki Mount Cook by Canterbury mountaineers Marmaduke Dixon, a farmer, and George Mannering, a banker.
Dixon and Mannering came within 40m of the summit four years before the first complete ascent by Tom Fyfe on Christmas Day in 1894.
Unlike modern expeditions where most climbing parties take a ski-plane to the Grand Plateau at the foot of the Linda Glacier, the early pioneers faced a difficult journey before they even embarked on their mountain climb - and the modern adventurers will do the same.
Carts and canoes
Gurney and Moffatt will re-enact Mannering and Dixon’s pre- and post-climb journeys when they carried heavy wooden canoes to cross the Tasman River at the foot of the mountain. After their ascent the pioneers paddled down river to a railway bridge where they caught the train back to Christchurch.
In the modern-day mission, Gurney and Moffatt will travel by Clydesdale horse and cart to the Tasman River from where they will float across to the start of their walk at the mountain’s base. Moffatt will use a 40kg wooden replica canoe and Gurney a 19kg inflatable sea kayak.
After the climb, they will paddle and sail down the rivers, hydro lakes and canals to a bridge across the lower Waitaki River.
Alpine training
Although they are not mountaineers, the two have climbed a few peaks and completed an alpine training course.
Moffatt says his biggest challenge will be using nailed boots for grip instead of attaching crampons on steep sections of hard snow and ice. He will have to cut steps with a 1940s straight-pick ice-axe.
In a concession to safety, Moffatt will use a modern harness rather than tying a loop of rope around his waist.
Moffatt and Gurney say they want to tell some of the little known tales of New Zealand exploration and adventure - by re-enacting them.
"There's some lovely stories about amazing things that people have done and that's what I would like to tell," says Moffatt.
First historic journey
The pair has already completed one epic historic journey - in 2008 they walked and paddled old wooden canoes for 13 days to re-enact a journey Moffatt’s great-great uncles made from Hokitika, on the South Island’s west coast, to Lyttelton in the east.
Moffatt will use one of those canoes for the Aoraki attempt, and the two are already planning a further adventure - a Cook Strait crossing where Gurney will paddle the kevlar sea kayak while Moffatt manoeuvres the heavy old wooden canoe.
Background: Aoraki Mount Cook
Aoraki Mount Cook (3754m) is New Zealand’s highest mountain.
At the time Mannering and Dixon made their ascent in 1890, Aoraki Mt Cook was 3764m high but more than 10 million cubic metres of rock and ice fell off in 1991 reducing the height by 10m.
The mountain was home base for New Zealand’s world famous explorer Sir Edmund Hillary - who began his mountaineering days on Aoraki’s slopes.
Visitors can share Hillary’s story and learn more about the region’s history at the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre which adjoins the Hermitage Hotel at the base of the mountain.
More information
Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre
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