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Article in the SMH 7-Jan-2009 At 9:22:09 AM jrc

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I did not like K Kelly's suggestion that the Linda Glacier route up Cook is the safest way to climb the mountain. I wrote the letter below to the SMH the day I read Kelly's article & emailed it to them 26/12. They have not published it.

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Keiran Kelly (SMH 24 Dec) wonders why the Vinar brothers chose the mixed rock and ice Zurbriggen’s Ridge route up Mt Cook rather than the Linda Glacier route. Maybe the prospect of 1000 metres of ridge largely free from avalanche danger compared sensibly with the three kilometre snow slog along the avalanche funnel that is the Linda Glacier route.

With two New Zealanders, I’ve tried the route that guide Matthias Zurbriggen pioneered alone in 1896 to make the second ascent of Aorangi. In our case we were hit by an unexpected blizzard something like 800 metres up the route. We all got down but it took us nine hours. I climbed the mountain with another friend the next year via the East Ridge and down the Linda. On the way down the Linda a few bits fell off from above, but missed us. The next year (1982) we climbed the North West (Sheila) Face and went down the Linda again (gulp).

There is no argument against the scale of danger the Vinars would have faced, they were just unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mountaineering is like that. On our Zurbriggen’s climb we were too high when the blizzard hit. That we got down unhurt was in part because of good luck on the day.

When we were married in 1983 I told my wife I would not go alpine climbing. I doubt if it’s a cure for middle age but I still yearn desperately to get back up there.

I still haven’t climbed Zurbriggen’s Ridge.

We are still married.