CONTENTS

Chapter I
INTRODUCTORY
PAGE
The New Zealand Alps and their glaciers[1]
Chapter II
THE ROUTE TO THE MOUNT COOK DISTRICT
A short description of the route to the Mount Cook district, and of the topographical features of the Mueller, Hooker, and Tasman Valleys[5]
Chapter III
FIRST ATTEMPT TO CLIMB AORANGI
First impressions—Swagging—The Hochstetter Glacier—Defeat—The perils of river crossing[14]
Chapter IV
SECOND ATTEMPT TO CLIMB AORANGI
A flooded camp in the Tasman Valley—Hard struggles—We reach Green’s bivouac[32]
Chapter V
THIRD ATTEMPT TO CLIMB AORANGI
Photography on the Tasman Glacier—Attempt to scale Mount De la Bêche [42]
Chapter VI
ASCENT OF THE HOCHSTETTER DOME
Camp under De la Bêche—Twelve hours on snow and ice—The pangs of hunger [58]
Chapter VII
FOURTH ATTEMPT TO CLIMB AORANGI
We reach the Great Plateau at last—Defeat again—The crossing of the Ball Pass[65]
Chapter VIII
FIRST EXPLORATION OF THE MURCHISON GLACIER
Hard swagging—Erroneous maps—The struggle for Starvation Saddle—Exhaustion and hunger—Return[76]
Chapter IX
FIFTH ATTEMPT TO CLIMB AORANGI
Avalanches—The bivouac again—First attempt repulsed—Second attempt—The Great Plateau—The Linda Glacier—Hard work step-cutting—The terrible couloirs—Victory at last—Descent by lantern-light—Back to civilisation[90]
Chapter X
ON SOME OF THE PHENOMENA OF GLACIERS
The cause of glaciers—Formation and structure—Motion—Moraines: Lateral, medial, and terminal—‘Surface’ moraines—Crevasses—Moulins—Glacier tables—Glacier cones—Surface torrents—Avalanches—Cornices[109]
Chapter XI
CANOEING ON THE NEW ZEALAND RIVERS
The Waimakariri—The enormous rainfall—Descent of the Waitaki River—The Tasman branch—Lake Pukaki—Leaky canoes—The Pukaki Rapids—The Waitaki Gorge—Out on the plains again—Sixty miles paddle to catch the train—Home once more[119]

L’Envoi

[131]

Appendix

[133]

A Short Glossary of Technical Alpine Terms

[139]