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 #: OP532
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

Added! Click To View Cart

Add to wish list


Detailed Product Description

London, 1883, 1st edition. 350 pp, 1 ill, 2 maps. Account of the Rev. Green's expedition to the Southern Alps. He attempted to climb Mount Cook but was forced to turn back before setting foot on the actual summit. Rev. William Green together with Swiss companion Emil Boss and Oberland guide Ulrich Kaufmann failed (by only fifty metres) to reach the summit of Mount Cook in 1882.

A momentous achievement, opening the way for future exploration and the first ascent in 1894. 'Green's uncompleted ascent of Mount Cook, by a route that was not finished until many years later, marks the start of high alpine climbing in New Zealand.' Spine faded, almost no foxing, Very Good.
 
First attempt

New Zealand mountaineering in the European alpine tradition began in 1882. A visiting Irishman, Reverend William Green, and two Swiss, Emil Boss and Ulrich Kaufmann, discovered the Linda Glacier route on Aoraki/Mt Cook but turned back less than 60 metres from the summit. It was a remarkable achievement.

Irishman William Green and his friends spent their first night out in the mountains high on Aoraki/Mt Cook. During the long, rain-soaked night his mates, whose tobacco was stowed far below, sucked at their pipes and ‘by sheer force of imagination, enjoyed several good smokes’. Green, and Edward FitzGerald after him, were representative of many European climbers who, from the late 1860s, attempted unclimbed peaks in ranges all over the world.

The first accommodation house near Aoraki/Mt Cook, known as the Hermitage, was built in 1884. This made attempting the high peaks easier, and New Zealanders began to take on the challenge. Guy Mannering was the first to take up climbing as recreation, and made his first attempt on the mountain in 1886. In 1890, with Marmaduke Dixon, he repeated William Green’s near success.

Also making early attempts on the peak were the Dunedin brothers Malcolm and Kenneth Ross, and A. P. Harper, who returned to New Zealand in 1889 after two seasons of climbing in the European Alps. Three young men who worked at the Hermitage, Tom Fyfe, George Graham and Jack Clarke, began climbing on their days off.

From 1884 to 1894, this small group of men brought New Zealand climbing into existence. The tradition of self-taught climbers, carrying in swags to set up alpine camps, and finding routes without the help of guides or guidebooks, is the main strand in the country’s climbing history.

The first ascent

At the end of 1894 the New Zealanders trying to climb Aoraki/Mt Cook learned that an English climber, Edward FitzGerald, was coming to claim the prize. The local group were determined the summit would be first reached by a New Zealand party, without the help of a guide.

In late 1894 Fyfe, Graham, Kenneth Ross and Dixon climbed onto the ice cap up the Linda Glacier, but failed to complete the ascent. Fyfe, Graham and Jack Clarke then turned their attention to the Hooker side of the mountain. On 20 December they climbed the Middle Peak, but the High Peak eluded them.

Finally, on Christmas Day, the trio of New Zealand climbers reached the summit, up the North Ridge. The route was not repeated until the 100th ascent of the mountain in 1955.

Christmas triumph

Tom Fyfe recorded the moment the summit of Aoraki/Mt Cook was reached for the first time: ‘[T]he reckless way inwhich we romped over those last rocks was very fool-hardy, but one would indeed need to be phlegmatic not to get a little excited on such an occasion. The slope of the final ice-cap was easy and only required about 100 steps … at 1.30 on Christmas Day we exultantly stepped onto the highest pinnacle of the monarch of the Southern Alps.’

FitzGerald, piqued, refused to attempt Aoraki/Mt Cook, but he and his Italian guide, Matthias Zurbriggen, climbed Mts Tasman, Silberhorn, Sefton, Haidinger and Sealy. In March 1895, Zurbriggen made the first solo ascent of Aoraki/Mt Cook.

Other early climbs in the central Southern Alps

Significant ascents in the central Alps had already been made. In 1883, Robert and Anna von Lendenfeld climbed Hochstetter Dome, the first ascent of a major peak in the central Alps. Fyfe and Graham climbed The Footstool and Mt De La Beche, and Fyfe and Clarke climbed Mt Darwin. Most impressively of all, Fyfe made a solo ascent of the north face of Malte Brun.

Early equipment

From the start, New Zealand climbers had the use of ice-axes, nailed boots, ropes and goggles, some secured from Europe with the help of William Green, but some improvised locally. When Mannering was preparing for an attempt on Aoraki/Mt Cook in 1886, he reported that ‘ice-axes of excellent design and finish had been turned out by a Rangiora smith which were found to answer admirably on the mountain.’

ABOVE FROM: http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/BushAndMountainRecreation/Mountaineering/3/en
 
Other Items You Might Like

  • Similar Items Available
  • Items From This Author
  • Items From This Category
AMONG THE SELKIRK GLACIERS Green 1999 2nd edition New
By: Green, William Spotswood.
Price $50.00 - Item # BK548
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
MOUNT COOK AORAKI GUIDEBOOK: A GUIDE FOR MOUNTAINEERS Palman, Alex 2001 Latest edition
By: Palman, Alex
Price $38.95 ~ Regular $39.95, You Save $1.00 (3%) - Item # GB328
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
THE CONQUEST OF MOUNT COOK AND OTHER CLIMBS DuFaur 1915 1st UK edition Near Fine
By: Du Faur, Freda.
Price $450.00 - Item # OP711A
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
THE CONQUEST OF MOUNT COOK AND OTHER CLIMBS DuFaur 1915 1st UK edition Very Good
By: Du Faur, Freda.
Price $300.00 - Item # OP711B
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
MOUNT COOK / AORAKI AT SUNRISE POSTER
Price $19.95 - Item # PS7
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
CLIMBS IN THE NEW ZEALAND ALPS: BEING AN ACCOUNT OF TRAVEL AND DISCOVERY. Fitzgerald 1896 1st USA edition
By: Fitzgerald, Edward A.
Price $375.00 - Item # OP231
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
CLIMBS IN THE NEW ZEALAND ALPS: BEING AN ACCOUNT OF TRAVEL AND DISCOVERY. Edward A. Fitzgerald 1896 1st UK edition VG
By: Fitzgerald, Edward A.
Price $250.00 - Item # OP231A
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
THE ALPINE WORLD OF MOUNT COOK NATIONAL PARK Dennis & Potten
By: Dennis, Andy and Potton, Craig
Price $45.00 - Item # OP1421
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
MICK BOWIE: THE HERMITAGE YEARS. Bowie 1969 1st edition
By: Bowie, Nan.
Price $20.00 ~ Regular $35.00, You Save $15.00 (43%) - Item # OP931
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
BEYOND THE SNOWLINE. [CLIMBING NEW ZEALAND] 1981 1st ed Aat Vervoorn
By: Vervoorn, Aat.
Price $25.00 - Item # OP654
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
AMONG THE SELKIRK GLACIERS Green 1999 2nd edition New
By: Green, William Spotswood.
Price $50.00 - Item # BK548
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
THE CRUEL WAY Ella K. Maillart 1987 Paperback
By: Maillart, Ella K.
Price $5.00
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
THE BREACH: KILIMANJARO AND THE CONQUEST OF SELF. Taylor 1981 1st edition Hardcover
By: Taylor, Rob.
Price $15.00 ~ Regular $35.00, You Save $20.00 (57%) - Item # BK1522
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
ASCENT OF K2: SECOND HIGHEST PEAK IN THE WORLD. Desio 1955 1st UK edition
By: Desio, Ardito.
Price $225.00 - Item # OP86
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
FIRST OVER EVEREST: THE HOUSTON MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION 1933. Fellowes 1934 5th UK Ptg No DJ
By: Fellowes, P.F.M.
Price $40.00 - Item # OP305
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
HIGH PROFILE: A HOW TO BOOK FOR BUILDING, BELAYING AND USE OF INDOOR CLIMBING WALLS AND SELECTED ROPES COURSE ELEMENTS Rohnke 1981
By: Ruhne, Karl
Price $25.00 - Item # OP1830
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
WHERE FOUR WORLDS MEET. Maraini 1964 1st USA edition DJ
By: Maraini, Fosco.
Price $25.00 ~ Regular $35.00, You Save $10.00 (29%) - Item # OP594
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
LIFE IS MEETING. John Hunt 1978 1st UK edition
By: Hunt, John.
Price $35.00 - Item # OP331A
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
UNDERSTANDING AVALANCHES: A HANDBOOK FOR TRAVELERS IN THE SIERRA AND CASCADES: HOW TO FOIL THE "WHITE DEATH" Diltz-Siler 1977
By: Diltz-Siler, Barbara
Price $35.00 - Item # OP1863
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
ANNAPURNA FIRST CONQUEST OF AN 8000 METER PEAK. 1st USA edition. SIGNED BY MAURICE HERZOG
By: Herzog, Maurice
Price $400.00 - Item # OP106
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart
GUIDE ASPIRING. INSCRIBED by Franck Alack 1963 1st ed DJ
By: Alack, Frank.
Price $100.00 - Item # OP1180
View Details
Add To Cart
Added! Click To View Cart