Page:Du Faur - The Conquest of Mount Cook.djvu/24

18 For some years the offer was not accepted, but in 1882 the Rev. Spotswood Green, of Dublin, an English A.C., had his attention drawn to the Southern Alps, and came out to New Zealand accompanied by two Swiss guides, to lay siege to Mount Cook. As the pioneer of mountaineering in the Southern Alps he faced many dangers and difficulties. An interesting record of these may be found in his book, "The High Alps of New Zealand." After two unsuccessful attempts he succeeded on the third in reaching a point he considered within 50 feet of the summit. Here the party were overtaken by bad weather; they had only an hour before the fall of darkness, so considered it would be foolhardy to attempt to finish the ascent. They beat a hasty retreat and reached the last rocks just as darkness closed down upon them. Here they were forced to spend the night balanced upon a three-foot ledge, shivering, wet, and food-less. They survived the night and succeeded next morning in safely descending to their bivouac. The expedition occupied sixty-two hours and was a fine piece of work. Readers of Mr. Green's book will always regret that so fine a performance was not crowned with the complete success it deserved. He was under the impression when he retreated that he was within a few feet of the summit. Careful consideration of his records and the knowledge of Mount Cook gained in later years have led authorities on the subject to believe he was only within about 200 feet of the summit.

In 1883 Dr. von Lindenfeld surveyed the Tasman Glacier and made the first ascent of the Hochstetter Dome, a fine snow mountain of 9,258 feet at its head.

During the years 1886 to 1890 Messrs. G. E. Mannering and M. Dixon made four attempts to climb Mount Cook by the Rev. Green's route, and on the fourth attempt succeeded in reaching a point within 140 feet of the summit. Want of time and bad weather forced them,