Post by nomad on Jul 24, 2013 13:01:15 GMT -8
During his 1912/13 expedition to the Snow Mountains of New Guinea, Sandy Wollaston wrote in his diary on January 27 1913 the following
" To-day we started by wading through very cold streams, then went steeply uphill where the character of the country changed rapidly. River widened, trees, became smaller and less dense. Casuarinas and coniferous-looking trees. Flowers much more numerous: orchids, a sort of meadowsweet, a rose-like bush and many others. No track, but natives have evidently been here before and we saw signs of former fires. Camped beside a boulder in the middle of the river bed; not a safe place if it rained heavily but fortunately it did not. [ This is camp No 11, 8000 feet }"
The Wollaston expedition camp mentioned above at the head of the Utakwa River.
A few days later on February 1 Wollaston wrote about his attempt to climb the Castensz.
"This morning there were clouds and fog and occasional rain, but we got to the foot of the snow and worked along one of the terraces of rock to the west for half a mile or so, and then upwards over rocks to another ice overflow. We climbed rocks on the side of this for 300 or 400 feet and then found ourselves faced by the choice of a steep rock climb or an even steeper ice climb [ i.e. up to the bergschrund of the ice-cap]. There is apparently no easy snow way up to the ridge from here. If we had been three men accustomed to ice we could have gone up, but it was not to be thought of for two, of whom one [ Kloss ] had never been on snow in his life and knows nothing of climbing. Nothing for it but to turn back. Boiled hypsometer - 14,866 feet. Horribly disappointing, but the weather was very thick, and if we had got to the top of the ridge we should have seen nothing. The lowest point in the ridge between East and West Carstensz could not have been more than 500 feet above the point where we stood. We left our Alpine rope to assist the next party that comes here, and arrived back at our camp wet through."
" Nobody knows how terribly disappointing it was to have to turn our backs on all these questions, which were what originally brought me to this country three years ago and which still remain to be solved by the happy person who first reaches the watershed and looks over the other side. By getting to the snow we have accomplished nothing of any value whatever, whereas if we had gone a few hundred feet higher and had seen beyond, what might we had seen? Further and further ridges? This prize was withheld- and nobody knows. We were compelled to go back, our food was at a end, and men all wretched with the cold. Fires won't burn properly because of the low boiling-point of water. Stomachs are out of order as well as spirits."
In spite of his failure to climb the Carstenz, Wollaston and kloss collected butterflies at high altitude during Feb/March 1913 discovering their new Delias Wollastoni, klossi, inexpectata, and carstensziana all probably around the camp shown above and down to around 6000 feet. Also captured high up was the new Delias leucobalia distincta of which 12 males were taken. From 6000 to 4000 feet Delias mesoblema, leucias, alepha were captured for the second time only, A.S. Meek having discovered these three species on Mount Goliath in 1911. Delias isocharis and Delias kummeri were also taken by Wollaston and Kloss.
" To-day we started by wading through very cold streams, then went steeply uphill where the character of the country changed rapidly. River widened, trees, became smaller and less dense. Casuarinas and coniferous-looking trees. Flowers much more numerous: orchids, a sort of meadowsweet, a rose-like bush and many others. No track, but natives have evidently been here before and we saw signs of former fires. Camped beside a boulder in the middle of the river bed; not a safe place if it rained heavily but fortunately it did not. [ This is camp No 11, 8000 feet }"
The Wollaston expedition camp mentioned above at the head of the Utakwa River.
A few days later on February 1 Wollaston wrote about his attempt to climb the Castensz.
"This morning there were clouds and fog and occasional rain, but we got to the foot of the snow and worked along one of the terraces of rock to the west for half a mile or so, and then upwards over rocks to another ice overflow. We climbed rocks on the side of this for 300 or 400 feet and then found ourselves faced by the choice of a steep rock climb or an even steeper ice climb [ i.e. up to the bergschrund of the ice-cap]. There is apparently no easy snow way up to the ridge from here. If we had been three men accustomed to ice we could have gone up, but it was not to be thought of for two, of whom one [ Kloss ] had never been on snow in his life and knows nothing of climbing. Nothing for it but to turn back. Boiled hypsometer - 14,866 feet. Horribly disappointing, but the weather was very thick, and if we had got to the top of the ridge we should have seen nothing. The lowest point in the ridge between East and West Carstensz could not have been more than 500 feet above the point where we stood. We left our Alpine rope to assist the next party that comes here, and arrived back at our camp wet through."
" Nobody knows how terribly disappointing it was to have to turn our backs on all these questions, which were what originally brought me to this country three years ago and which still remain to be solved by the happy person who first reaches the watershed and looks over the other side. By getting to the snow we have accomplished nothing of any value whatever, whereas if we had gone a few hundred feet higher and had seen beyond, what might we had seen? Further and further ridges? This prize was withheld- and nobody knows. We were compelled to go back, our food was at a end, and men all wretched with the cold. Fires won't burn properly because of the low boiling-point of water. Stomachs are out of order as well as spirits."
In spite of his failure to climb the Carstenz, Wollaston and kloss collected butterflies at high altitude during Feb/March 1913 discovering their new Delias Wollastoni, klossi, inexpectata, and carstensziana all probably around the camp shown above and down to around 6000 feet. Also captured high up was the new Delias leucobalia distincta of which 12 males were taken. From 6000 to 4000 feet Delias mesoblema, leucias, alepha were captured for the second time only, A.S. Meek having discovered these three species on Mount Goliath in 1911. Delias isocharis and Delias kummeri were also taken by Wollaston and Kloss.