With Axe and Rope in the New Zealand Alps

In Short

This book chronicles five seasons of mountaineering, exploration, and photographic journeys across the glaciers, valleys, and forbidding peaks of the New Zealand Alps. George Edward Mannering and his companions negotiate treacherous rivers, navigate massive ice-falls like the Hochstetter Glacier, and attempt challenging ascents on peaks such as Mount Cook and Mount De la Bêche. Blending geographical observation with the raw thrill of alpine adventure, the work preserves a historic record of early exploration while celebrating the majestic, solitary beauty of an untouched mountain world.

The Story

The journey begins with the practical realities of travel into the interior of New Zealand's Mackenzie country, passing through bleak tussock plains and crossing formidable rivers like the Tasman, where travelers face fast-flowing torrents and shifting quicksands. The author details the topography of major glaciers—the Mueller, Hooker, and Tasman—before describing the profound initial impact of seeing Mount Sefton and Aorangi from the Hermitage, an experience that inspires a lifelong devotion to mountaineering and sets the tone for a deeper engagement with a fairy-like, ice-seamed world.

As the narrative progresses through successive climbing seasons, the focus shifts to rigorous exploration and repeated attempts to conquer difficult summits. The climbers face extreme physical hardships, including heavy fifty-pound swags, intense solar glare, bitter cold, and dangerous rockfalls that require constant vigilance. An attempt to scale Mount De la Bêche tests their physical limits, forcing a tactical retreat made more difficult when a companion, Dixon, falls violently ill with severe cramps on the glacier. Undeterred, the party pushes forward in subsequent expeditions, tackling high-altitude saddles and opening up unknown terrain, such as the Liebig Range and its surrounding glacier systems, where they map previously unrecorded geography, build cairns, collect aneroid readings, and experience the raw, uninterrupted solitude of nature.

The culmination of these seasoned efforts leads to rigorous attempts on Aorangi itself, tracing routes pioneered by earlier explorers like Mr. Green alongside new technical paths aided by experienced companions. Navigating the treacherous Linda Glacier and cutting hundreds of steps into steep ice slopes using the points of their axes, the climbers face exhaustion, dwindling daylight, and harrowing descents across shifting snow bridges in the dark. Though technical summits present immense barriers that prompt strategic turnbacks or careful negotiation, the overarching arc moves from initial wonder to deep topographical mastery, scientific curiosity, and enduring camaraderie among the participants.

The narrative eventually descends from the high snows to follow the watercourses, tracking river routes and lake crossings back toward civilization through challenging rapids and long, grueling lake paddles in leaky canoes. Concluding with reflections on the spiritual and physical rewards of the pursuit, the book includes an extensive appendix documenting historical expeditions and geological surveys by figures like Sir Julius von Haast, cementing its place as both a personal memoir and a foundational guide for future alpine travelers in an untamed landscape.

How It Unfolds

The journey inland — The text opens with an account of traveling by rail and buggy from Christchurch through Timaru and Burke’s Pass into the bleak tussock plains of the Mackenzie country. It details the ingenious wire-rope ferry crossings over swift, unfordable rivers like the Tasman and sets the stage by describing the initial, awe-inspiring views of Aorangi and Mount Sefton from the valley.

Entering the ice world — The narrative moves to base camps established near the Mueller, Hooker, and Tasman Glaciers, highlighting the heavy physical toll of carrying fifty-pound swags across rough terminal moraines. Vivid descriptions capture the colossal scale of ice-falls like the Hochstetter Glacier, the thunderous roar of recurring avalanches, the haunting cry of the kea, and the lonely desolation of the high mountain valleys.

Climbing trials and retreats — Successive climbing seasons bring ambitious attempts on formidable heights like Mount De la Bêche and the Hochstetter Dome. The chapters recount harrowing moments on razor-like rock arêtes, unexpected physical crises such as severe cramps among companions, and the vital discipline required to turn back safely when faced with intense cold and failing daylight.

Confronting the upper heights — Expeditions push toward high-altitude saddles and the upper slopes of Aorangi, carefully following routes across the Linda Glacier and navigating difficult bergschrunds. The text details the grueling labor of cutting hundreds of steps into steep ice, crossing shifting snow bridges over deep blue crevasses, and enduring intense solar glare that peels the skin.

Return by water and historical survey — The final sections trace an alternative journey back toward civilization via lake crossings and river navigation through challenging rapids using canoes. An extensive appendix closes the work by documenting historical explorations and geological surveys conducted by earlier pioneers like Sir Julius von Haast across the Canterbury and Westland provinces.

The People

The book centers on a small community of dedicated mountaineers and explorers who share a profound passion for the wild alpine landscape. George Edward Mannering, the author and lead climber, seeks to explore uncharted glacier systems, conquer formidable summits, and document the topography of the New Zealand Alps. Standing in his way are severe weather, impassable flooded rivers, treacherous crevasses, and the immense physical exhaustion of high-altitude climbing. Through these trials, he evolves from an awestruck novice into a seasoned mountaineer possessing deep practical knowledge of alpine survival.

Dixon, Mannering’s frequent climbing companion and schoolmate from Christ’s College, shares the ambition to conquer peaks like De la Bêche and Aorangi, driven by a fierce pride in their shared school colours. Obstacles such as intense cold, steep rock arêtes, and sudden debilitating physical illness—like severe cramps on the glacier—test his endurance, leaving him tempered by shared hardships and near-misses.

Other figures like Johnson, Harper, and Annan join the expeditions to push across high saddles and navigate dangerous snow couloirs. They contend with falling rock avalanches, blinding glare, and perilous snow bridges. Though they frequently face defeat and are forced to turn back by hostile conditions, they emerge with an expanded scientific understanding of the region, mapping unknown terrain and gaining a resilient camaraderie born of shared isolation in the wilderness.

In Its Own Voice

Describing the emotional impact of first encountering the mountains, the author captures a timeless sentiment:

No words of mine can describe the ecstasy which seemed to pervade my whole being as on the early, cloudless morning the wonderful picture of Mount Sefton reared itself in indescribable sunlit grandeur above the old bush-clad moraine close by the Hermitage.

Reflecting on the sensory experience of the high wilderness, the author notes the profound quiet:

The awful and solemn silence of the mountains, broken only now and again by the crash and thunder of an ice avalanche or the screech of a solitary kea, the complete desolation, the loneliness and remoteness from the haunts of men, all tend to inspire one with deep thoughts and feelings.

Expressing the resilient spirit of the climbers after a challenging day, the author observes:

It is astonishing how one’s spirits revive when a fresh set of muscles is brought into action, aided by the force of gravitation, and though we had been defeated in our attempt to reach the Tasman, what did that matter?

What It's Really About

The book explores the transformative power of nature and the psychological pull of the high mountains, framing mountaineering not merely as a sport, but as a rigorous discipline that strengthens physical and mental faculties. Mannering argues that the New Zealand Alps rival the great ranges of Europe, yet remain lamentably neglected by local residents who prefer conventional routines. Beneath the detailed accounts of cutting ice steps and hauling heavy swags lies a deeper inquiry into humanity's relationship with untamed wilderness: the humbling insignificance of man against vast glacial expanses, the vital balance between adventurous enthusiasm and prudent restraint, and the profound spiritual awakening found in remote solitudes far from civilization.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers who love classic adventure narratives, alpine exploration, and unvarnished nature writing will find much to admire in this work. Reading it feels like stepping directly into the late nineteenth century alongside determined explorers, experiencing the raw chill of the ice-falls, the blinding glare of high-altitude snowfields, and the quiet camaraderie of campfire bivouacs.

At the same time, contemporary readers must navigate the book's period specificities. The prose reflects nineteenth-century Victorian sensibilities and colonial idioms, and its detailed topographical explanations can occasionally demand patience. Furthermore, the text lacks modern safety equipment discussions and reflects the era's uncritical colonial gaze toward the landscape. Yet, these very elements preserve an authentic historical window into a time when exploring these majestic peaks meant facing total isolation with little more than an axe, a rope, and sheer resilience. Those willing to engage with its deliberate pacing will be rewarded with a timeless tribute to the enduring allure of the wild.