Chessler Books
Rock Climbing - Mountaineering - Exploration
New - Used - Collectible - Signed
Chessler Books Accepts PAYPAL Chessler Books Accepts VISA Chessler Books Accepts MASTERCARD Chessler Books Accepts DISCOVER CARD Chessler Books Accepts AMERICAN EXPRESS
All Orders Shipped via USPS.   Your Order Will Ship Within 2 Business Days!  Chessler Books Ships Via USPS
Author:
Title:
Keyword:
Item #:
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M Mc N O P Q
R S T U V W X Y Z
Item #: OP422
HARRY AYRES: MOUNTAIN GUIDE. SIGNED by Ed Hillary. Mahoney, 1982, 1st edition
By Mahoney, Michael.
Price: $125.00

Added! Click To View Cart

Add to wish list


Detailed Product Description

NZ, 1982, 1st edition. 160 pp, 16 ills. Ayres was a NZ mountain guide who had initially been selected for the '53 Everest team by Shipton, but was rejected by Hunt. Ed Hillary says Ayres would have been the strongest climber on the team. Hillary also regarded Harry Ayres as his menotr, the man who taught him to be a great climber. Hardcover, DJ, Fine.

 
SIGNED by Ed Hillary who was Ayres protoge. 

Harry Ayres is regarded as the greatest guide and ice climber in New Zealand during the 1940's and 1950's. He taught Ed Hillary to climb and together they made a number of notable first ascents. He was selected for the 1953 British Everest expedition by Eric Shipton but lost his place on the team when leadership changed to John Hunt. Later he joined Hillary on the Trans-Antarctic expedition. This is a nice look at the early days of guiding in New Zealand’s Alps and the personalities involved.  

 
Horace Henry Ayres (Ayers), better known as Harry Herbert Ayres, was born on 31 July 1912 in Christchurch, NZ.
 
Employment on the road between the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers and then farm work at Weheka (Fox Glacier township) led to involvement with glacier trips. In 1931 Frank Alack introduced him to longer mountain trips, and a major expedition up the Mahitahi River in 193435 indicates that he was acquiring the skills of a climber and guide.
 
By 1936 Ayres was an experienced second guide, but bored because he was given little responsibility. Hoping to reach England, he became a stoker on a ship. However, life on board between Westport and Nauru was so grim he signed off when the ship called in at Auckland. After short-term labouring and five months' working in the Waitomo Caves, he became a guide at Tongariro National Park.
 
This confirmed his love for mountaineering, and late in 1937 he returned to the Southern Alps. While working at the Hermitage he made his first ascent of Mt Cook. After moving to the West Coast, Ayres met Catherine May Guise at Weheka. The couple were married in Christchurch on 31 January 1939 and shifted soon after from Weheka to Waiho (Franz Josef Glacier township).
 
Harry seemed set in his guiding career, but the Second World War intruded. He enlisted in May 1942, and apart from a brief return home for ill health in 1943 he was in the Pacific from late 1942 until July 1944. His health was severely affected by recurrent tropical diseases and he did not approach his previous fitness until late 1945.
 
The next 10 years saw Harry Ayres at his prime as a mountaineer and guide, and he was clearly the best climber in New Zealand. His own abilities and the willingness of skilled clients enabled him to achieve a number of new and significant climbs. In this period he made nine ascents each of Mts Cook and Tasman by a variety of routes. With Mick Sullivan he led Edmund Hillary and Ruth Adams up the south ridge of Mt Cook on 30 January 1948.
 
Soon after, he was involved in the rescue of Adams from the slopes of Mt La Perouse. He also made a series of difficult ridge climbs and traverses, especially with Bruce Gillies. As Hillary noted, Harry Ayres's greatness as a climber and guide lay in his 'safe but forceful mountaineering'. He was very careful, but also decisive, quick, and highly skilled on ice. His fast reactions served his clients well in emergencies.
 
He was extremely fit, knew the mountain weather, and seldom turned back on a climb. High on the peaks he was at ease with himself and was great company. Out of the high peaks he could be very sociable, but he was often moody and indecisive. His personal life did not run smoothly as he was always attracted to women and was a lifelong gambler and searcher for gold. His work also required absence from home for long periods. These factors contributed to the end of his first marriage in April 1948.
 
A year later, on 5 April, he married Jeanne Ette Cammock in Christchurch. In Antarctica with the New Zealand party of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition from late 1956 to early 1958, Ayres had a useful and satisfying time. He found routes, laid depots, explored and surveyed, all the time taking responsibility for dog teams.
 
This was a significant overseas experience after previous disappointments: war and lack of money had prevented him from climbing in the Himalayas in 1940 and 1951, and although he was chosen for the 1953 British Everest expedition, he was excluded when John Hunt replaced Eric Shipton as leader. Ayres was not known to Hunt and he had no high altitude experience. He was also a professional guide and Hunt did not want to compromise the amateur status of the expedition.
 
Soon after his return to New Zealand, Ayres became chief ranger, Mount Cook National Park Board. There were many issues to be tackled: administration, guiding, construction and maintenance needed attention, and relationships between the park board, its staff and the Tourist Hotel Corporation of New Zealand had to be worked out.
 
Although significant progress was made, Ayres was no administrator and found the pressures difficult. In August 1961 he resigned and went to run a motor camp at Hanmer. In 1972 the family moved to Christchurch, where Ayres was gardener at the historic Mona Vale estate for 10 years before final retirement. At both places he found the outdoor work enjoyable and fulfilling.
 
He managed a few climbs in these years and was made an OBE in 1981. However, on 16 July 1987 he went missing; after an extensive search, his body was found on 11 August in Lyttelton Harbour. The coroner's conclusion was suicide through drowning. He was survived by his wife and their three children. Harry Ayres was the greatest climbing guide of his period, and one of New Zealand's finest mountaineers.

Other Items You Might Like

  • Similar Items Available
  • Items From This Author
  • Items From This Category
HARRY AYRES: MOUNTAIN GUIDE. Michael Mahoney, 1982, 1st edition DJ
By: Mahoney, Michael.
Price $25.00 - Item # OP422A
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
TETON TRAILS A GUIDE TO THE TRAILS OF GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK Bryan Harry 1982
By: Harry, Bryan
Price $5.00 - Item # GB1030
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
HIGH TIME by Louise Hillary SIGNED by Ed Hillary and Peter Hillary 1973 1st UK ed DJ
By: Hillary, Louise
Price $175.00 - Item # OP1872C
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
HIGH TIME by Louise Hillary SIGNED by Ed Hillary and Peter Hillary 1974 1st USA ed DJ
By: Hillary, Louise
Price $150.00 - Item # OP1872D
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
SIR EDMUND HILLARY AND THE PEOPLE OF EVEREST SIGNED by E.P. Hillary on the title page Keiser 2002 1st ed DJ
By: Keiser, Anne and Cynthia Ramsay. With an afterword by Edmund Hillary.
Price $150.00 - Item # BK1828
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
A YAK FOR CHRISTMAS; THE STORY OF A HIMALAYAN HOLIDAY by Louise Hillary SIGNED by Ed Hillary and Peter Hillary 1968 1st UK ed DJ
By: Hillary, Louise
Price $175.00 - Item # OP1511A
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
SIR EDMUND HILLARY: A PICTORIAL CELEBRATION. SIGNED by Ed Hillary
By: Hillary, Edmund.
Price $75.00 - Item # BK652
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
NEW ZEALAND $5 BILL SIGNED BY SIR EDMUND HILLARY
By: Hillary, Edmund
Price $300.00 - Item # H1
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
HIGH TIME by Louise Hillary SIGNED by Ed Hillary 1973 1st UK ed DJ
By: Hillary, Louise
Price $125.00 - Item # OP1872A
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
HIGH TIME by Louise Hillary SIGNED by Ed Hillary 1974 1st USA ed DJ
By: Hillary, Louise
Price $95.00 - Item # OP1872B
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
HARRY AYRES: MOUNTAIN GUIDE. Michael Mahoney, 1982, 1st edition DJ
By: Mahoney, Michael.
Price $25.00 - Item # OP422A
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
THE VOLCANO OF MATAVANU IN SAVAII [SAMOA] Signed by Tempest Anderson & Presented to AL Mumm 1910
By: Anderson, Tempest
Price $10.00 - Item # JR2
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
HALL AND BALL FROM MOUNT COOK TO MOUNT EVEREST Colin Monteath 1997 1st edition DJ
By: Monteath, Colin.
Price $40.00 - Item # BK1060
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
SIR EDMUND HILLARY AND THE PEOPLE OF EVEREST SIGNED by E.P. Hillary on the title page Keiser 2002 1st ed DJ
By: Keiser, Anne and Cynthia Ramsay. With an afterword by Edmund Hillary.
Price $150.00 - Item # BK1828
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
HARRY'S ABSENCE: LOOKING FOR MY FATHER ON THE MOUNTAIN [MOUNT COOK] Scott 2000 1st edition
By: Scott, Jonathan
Price $24.00 - Item # BK1399
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
NO MEAN FEAT Inglis 2002 1st edition
By: Inglis, Mark
Price $35.00 - Item # BK2210
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
NAWOK! THE NEW ZEALAND EXPEDITION TO NEW GUINEA'S HIGHEST MOUNTAINS Temple 1962 1st ed DJ Ex Lib
By: Temple, Philip.
Price $10.00 - Item # OP242D
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
FIFTY CLASSIC CLIMBS OF NORTH AMERICA. SIGNED by 21: Beckey, Bridwell, Carter, Culp, Denny, Frost, Harding, Hill, Gill, Lowe, Middendorf, Robbins, Robinson, Roper, Sherman, Steck, Twight, Webster, Wellman
By: Roper, Steve and Allen Steck
Price $1500.00 - Item # OP191E
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
UNDER A SHELTERING SKY: JOURNEYS TO MOUNTAIN HEARTLANDS. SIGNED by Colin Monteath
By: Monteath, Colin, Foreword by Sir Wally Herbert
Price $65.00 - Item # BK2001
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
THE HIGH ALPS OF NEW ZEALAND: OR A TRIP TO THE GLACIERS OF THE ANTIPODES WITH AN ASCENT OF MOUNT COOK. Green 1883 1st edition
By: Green, William Spotswood.
Price $275.00 - Item # OP532
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
NAWOK! THE NEW ZEALAND EXPEDITION TO NEW GUINEA'S HIGHEST MOUNTAINS. SIGNED by Ed Hillary 1962 1st ed DJ Near Fine
By: Temple, Philip.
Price $75.00 - Item # OP242A
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart