Mountaineering consists of travelling and climbing in mountain country and encountering the scenes of grandeur and beauty, with the discipline and adventure which all this involves. And New Zealand is a country which offers great opportunities for such a sport which, during the last 30 years especially, has been widely and increasingly followed. The bush, forest, and tussock-clad hills of the North Island – the Waitakere, Ruahine, Kaimanawa, and Tararua Ranges, for example – are mainly fields for tramping, and many clubs actively use them. The four volcanic mountains of Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu, and Egmont provide some scope for rock and snow climbing, while Ruapehu in particular is a large and growing centre for skiing. But it is the central chain of the Southern Alps, with its innumerable sub-ranges stretching from Arthur's Pass in the north to Mount Tutuko in the south, which gives to this country its reputation among mountaineers. Further north are the Kaikoura and Spenser Ranges and further south the rugged terrain of Fiordland. The greater peaks and glaciers, however, lie between.
The Southern Alps are highly glaciated. This means that the problems of snow, ice, glacier, and icefall are significant, and that many of the major climbs require sustained icecraft of a high standard. Moreover, since the rock faces in many regions tend to be somewhat unsound, New Zealand climbers are inclined to prefer snow routes. Particularly outside the Mount Cook district, climbing trips tend to retain their expeditionary character, for the climber in many areas still has to contend with long days of pack carrying, river crossings, and high camps before he can get to his peaks. Indeed, in the early days these factors played a very considerable part in the climbing programme. But the approach to the mountains has its own charm. There are the wide river flats of Canterbury, the lovely grass and beech-covered valleys of Otago, and the steep-sided gorges of the West Coast.
The history of mountaineering in New Zealand, as distinct from exploration, had its beginning in 1882. In that year the English climber W. S. Green, with Boss and Kaufmann, of Grindelwald, climbed to within 200 ft of the summit of Mount Cook by an approach from the Tasman Glacier. The main result of Green's achievement, however, was to arouse the interest of New Zealanders themselves in mountain climbing, and provided the stimulus for its further growth. This interest then led to the first complete ascent of Mount Cook in 1894 by three New Zealanders, Fyfe, Clarke, and Graham. They made their climb from the Hooker Glacier, but on account of its difficulty their route was not repeated until 1955 when it was used again, appropriately, for the hundredth ascent of that mountain.
Not unnaturally the first epoch in New Zealand's alpine history, roughly 1882–1904, was chiefly concerned with the central part of the Alps among the Tasman, Hooker, Murchison, and Godley Glaciers, and with quests for the highest peaks. In the nineties there was a steady but small band of overseas and indigenous climbers struggling against big difficulties and making important climbs. Names such as Mannering, Dixon, Fitzgerald, Zurbriggen, and Ross stand out. Douglas and Harper were exploring the valleys of the West Coast and Grave and his companions the Milford regions. During this period there took place the founding of the New Zealand Alpine Club in 1891, the building in 1884 of a valuable base for expeditions into the Mount Cook area, the Hermitage, and the ascent of seven of the 17 peaks over 10,000 ft.
Then, after a lull around the turn of the century, the second period of major achievements, 1905–14 began. Our two most famous guides, Peter and Alex Graham, made their appearance. Peter Graham led the first traverse of Mount Cook in 1906 and followed it with many outstanding climbs. Newton, Teichelmann, and Alex Graham specialised in the heavily glaciated region at the head of the Fox and made first ascents of a further six peaks – La Perouse, Hicks, Lendenfeld, Haast, Douglas, and Torres, all 10,000 footers. A band of fine guides was gathered at the Hermitage, where Peter Graham, as chief guide from 1906 to 1922, established a tradition and an attitude towards the mountains of which the influence continues still. Within this period, too, some climbers were active in the Otago Alps, where in 1909 the beautiful peak of Aspiring was climbed. Some early climbs were made from the Rangitata, with the first ascent of D'Archiac in 1910.
After the First World War, guideless climbing steadily grew, especially under the inspiration of the Englishman, Porter. Then in the early 1930s it experienced an upsurge of interest which in the course of a few years swept the Alps from end to end with bands of enthusiastic climbers. The valleys and mountains of Otago, Westland, and South and North Canterbury were thoroughly explored, and a succession of new climbs and new crossings has continued down to the present day. These expeditions, which were often of first-class importance, are recorded in the journals of the New Zealand Alpine Club and the Canterbury Mountaineering Club, but are too numerous to be mentioned here. The climbing of the last three decades, however, has been marked by the presence of great numbers of student climbers, a steady progress in the development of mountaineering skills, a growth in the number and influence of mountain clubs, and a parallel increase in the popularity of tramping. Finally, as a natural outcome of this mountaineering flood-tide, several expeditions have been made overseas. The first expedition to the Himalayas took place in 1951. At its conclusion Hillary and Riddiford joined Shipton's reconnaissance of Everest and kindled the spark which resulted in Hillary and Lowe's part in the 1953 ascent. Since then there have been expeditions to the Himalayas, Peru, Antarctic, and New Guinea.
Throughout the country there are many mountain clubs which have played an important role in the encouragement of tramping and mountaineering, the senior being the New Zealand Alpine Club. This was formed in 1891 largely on the model of the Alpine Club, London, and has branches in each of the principal cities, as well as one in Sydney to represent Australia. The other major climbing club is the Canterbury Mountaineering Club in Christchurch, and both have built a considerable number of huts in the Southern Alps. In the North Island there are over 26 tramping clubs and in the South Island over nine. Total membership today amounts to about 4,500. The Tararua Tramping Club, which was founded in 1919, is the largest. With the Tararua Ranges so readily accessible from Wellington, it was in fact the first home of tramping. Although clubs are mainly concerned with tramping and have built huts and tracks throughout most of the tramping areas, many of them encourage some mountaineering among their members. Because of the nature of New Zealand bush and hill country, tramping is a craft of some standing in itself and makes a smooth transition into mountaineering proper. To coordinate and represent the joint interests of all the mountain clubs, the Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand was founded as a national body in 1931. This has representatives on most of the National Park Boards and on a number of other national and regional bodies. Ski-ing clubs and deer-stalking associations are affiliated to it. It plays a major part in the national Search and Rescue Organisation, in the fostering of safety in the mountains, and, more recently, in the organisation of mountain-craft instruction.
by John Henry Leonard, M.SC., Secretary, Auckland Section, New Zealand Alpine Club, Auckland.