Page:Du Faur - The Conquest of Mount Cook.djvu/27

 however, made the second ascent of the highest peak by a new route from the Tasman Glacier.

Mr. Fitzgerald and Zurbriggen devoted most of their time to conquering Mount Sefton. After several attempts they succeeded in making the ascent by the eastern face. Mr. Fitzgerald had a narrow escape of losing his life during the climb, and left Mount Sefton with the reputation of being the most difficult and dangerous mountain in the Southern Alps.

They also made the first ascents of the Silberhorn and Mount Tasman. The latter is the greatest snow climb in the Southern Alps, as well as being the second highest peak (11,475 feet). They made first ascents of Mount Hardinger (10,107 feet), a fine square-topped peak to the north of Mount Tasman, and of Mount Sealy (8,631 feet). They also discovered an easy pass to the west coast.

Between 1895 and 1903 little or no climbing seems to have been accomplished; by the latter year the Government had taken over the Hermitage and installed a competent manager. Tracks were made and two huts erected—the Ball hut on the scene of Mr. Green's fourth camp, and the Malte Brun hut twelve miles farther up the Tasman Glacier. They also secured Jack Clark, one of the three New Zealanders who first climbed Mount Cook, as guide, with one or two porters to assist him. A coach service ran from Fairlie to the Hermitage, a distance of 96 miles, three times a week. With these improvements to encourage them, tourists and climbers from all over the world began to discover the charm of the Mount Cook district.

During 1903 and 1904 the only climbs recorded in the Government reports were two unsuccessful attempts to climb Mount Cook by Mr. Claud McDonald of New South Wales, and the ascents of Mount Darwin, Mount Sealy, and Rotten Tommy by Messrs. Tennant and Bambridge.

In 1905 Dr. Teichelmann, the Rev. Newton, both of the West Coast, and Mr. Lowe of Scotland, with guides