Egmont

by Nigel Fitzpatrick

Friday we arrived at Dawson Falls and went up to Hookers Shelter. The track up had frost and ice on it, even below the bush line. Finding the shelter uninhabitable we turned back.

Konini Lodge was unlocked, so in we crept, feeling very guilty as we hadn't paid. About 8 pm, in burst car loads of Methodists on a camp. Kids scream, radios blare, and we move to a smaller room. The noise continues unabated. Peter moves to the colder but quieter public shelter down the road. Ice forms on the window.

Next day we're off before 8 am. The steps up to Fanthams Peak, a cold breeze picks up. The mountain is now clouded over, and brown cloud stretches for miles. We decide to head for Lake Dive hut. The track sidles through tussock and was usually little more than poles jutting through the hard snow. One gully was so steep that we had to front point six to eight feet to get round it. Then down thousands of icy steps. By this time the sun was shining, and the mountain was clear, but it was 11 o'clock - too late to turn back and climb it.

Walking down the steps was a depressing experience. The weather was fine and I felt that with better organisation (e.g. if I had got the key to Syme Hut) we could have climbed Egmont. That afternoon we slept.

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Next day we were up by six, and left by seven-thirty. The night had been cloudless, and the conditions looked perfect, except for the snow being a bit too icy. We started climbing Fantham's Peak before nine. The snow was hard with occassional patches of rock and ice. The slope was steep. The going was slow and tiring - we were all being very careful that each step was firm, quite conscious of the danger of a fall - a successful self-arrest was not certain, at times I felt that it was unlikely.

We reached Fanthan Peak just before twelve, and had lunch. The view was superb. Egmont looked very close and steep. During lunch we were joined by two climbers - who looked very much at home in the conditions. They were locals but friendly and we started talking. I asked them what kind of people were most at risk on Egmont. They replied people like us; semi-experienced, from Wellington, keen, and new to Egmont's icy conditions. We decided we would only climb Fanthan Peak!

We went down after lunch and I found myself becoming more confident. We got to the car-park at about three and drove home.

Looking back we all agreed the experience had been a good one, none of us had worn crampons for so long a period before (seven hours). We had experienced conditions new to us. The views had been superb. Now, I remember sitting on Fantham's Peak looking across at the three Tongariro peaks jutting above the clouds on the horizon. It was from the side of Ruapehu that I had seen Egmont jutting above a sea of cloud; red in the sunset, and had resolved to climb it. Now I've been half way up it.

Nigel Fitzpatrick

Peter Morrison

Chris Hardiman