Back to index of "this and that in my life" pages by Donald Sauter.

* plus 3-day extension - for good behavior, I suppose?

Please enjoy these pictures of Harry, plus some of Harry's own wit and wisdom, found in my collection. I hope they spark a bunch of your own memories. (Click photos to ENLARGE.)

You might detect a theme of "close call" running through all of them. (Harry, Harry, Harry - unh, unh, unh . . . )

(Click front and back to ENLARGE.)

Harry's first successful ascent of Mt. Taranaki was in 1994, and I believe that was his second, on or about his 72nd birthday. He knew it as Mt. Egmont when he worked in New Zealand.

That was Harry's climb on his 75th birthday.

(Click to ENLARGE and read.)

A poem in Harry's Christmas card to me; Dec 1992.

 

Harry's last Christmas card to me; Dec 2004.

The following excerpts were all taken from letters dating from the summer of 1989 when I was working in Glacier National Park, Montana.

Harry on how to impress a girl: "Karen - a new "showee" [at the Bowie Scrabble club] - is quite an attractive girl in her twenties. Ron and I played her in a threesome; Ron blew us both away 338/244/166. I then beat her 291 to 259. She hasn't been back since."

Harry in the trenches: "Gypsy moth caterpillars have invaded my yard; I've manually killed over 3000 and the war goes on."

Harry the eternal 8-year-old (or, What did people do before Funniest Home Videos???): "Funny story: A couple of weeks ago I was over at Allen Pond watching a soccer game. Two girls teams were playing - just young kids of about 9 years old but they played with great enthusiasm and displayed a good knowledge of the game. The game was being refereed by a burly chap clad in silky black shirt and shorts. At one point in the game a little girl booted the ball directly toward the ref. who was facing her about ten feet away. He couldn't get out of the way in time and the ball caught him full in the ***s - ha, ha, he colapsed in a heap clutching his groin area. He stayed down for about ten minutes before he recovered sufficiently to get to his feet and resume the game, much to the relief of his wife!"

Harry on appreciativeness: "I was astonished by the large bump in your envelope, - only Don Sauter would pull a stunt like that. I hope it didn't wreck a million dollar sorting machine as it whizzed through! ... The question is, what do you want me to do with your ["Glacier National Park"] golfball? - on second thoughts you don't have to answer that, but if you do please don't be unkind! Send me another then I'll have a spare pair!"

Harry on my classical guitar: "Bergunsa? - did I spell that right? I searched everywhere in my dictionaries but couldn't find it, - with your musical background I'm sure you'll know that it's a super quality violin, superior to even a Stradivarius, according to whats-'is-name ("old timer's" disease at work again!) you remember the comedian who played the violin, died a few years ago, - Ben something or other I think."

I wrote back: "I've played my Bergunsa for a few people, all of whom seemed to enjoy it ... By the way, that Ben guy with his Bergunsa, I think his name was Ben Jacky."

Harry the soft touch: "Regarding my neighbour's cats - I must be mellowing, I once had a contract out on them for excreting on my property, now I've befriended them. At first I took a fancy to just one of them - the skinniest, but the friendliest, and I started feeding her, - a big mistake, - now she appears every few hours outside the door begging to be fed. At first I'd bring her indoors for her meals, then since I discovered fleas and ticks transferring themselves from her to me, I put her food outside the door. Unfortunately the other two eventually saw what was going on and decided to get into the act, and all three of them frequentally muster, and then there's six gleaming eyes pleading with me to break open another can of Puss-N Boots! I'm probably playing right into my neighbours hands by sharing the expense of their upkeep, - I suspect they don't feed 'em enough, two of them are pretty scrawny."

Harry on my Chief Mountain adventure, a thrilling saga in which six of us lost our way and spent a cold, cold night in a swamp: "I always thought you were loopy, - now you've confirmed it. (But I'm jealous as hell!) Having done quite a bit of 'tramping' (in N.Z. they favour this word to hiking) myself out in the N.Z. bush along with some unambitious mountaineering I can identify with your adventures, although I have to confess I never really got myself into the pickle you found yourself in trying to vacate Chief Mountain. Don't do it again - you're too young to die, besides - I need you back here in October to play golf with!" [But a little further on...] "And I really think you should try again while you have the opportunity - you never know, you may never pass that way again... And "why" may I ask do you have to do it - naturally you respond - "Because it's there!!!"

[This is Harry's page, but since he brought it up, I'll mention that Ronnie, pictured with Harry above and photographer for most of the White Mountain scenes, and I went back and conquered Chief Mountain. On the way down we made a wrong turn and found ourselves in a very scary situation on a steeply sloping, gravelly surface above a huge drop. Ronnie managed to reach my hand, and I grabbed onto a large rock - which came right loose and rolled over the edge, nearly clobbering our third partner at the bottom of the mountain. Still not clear how we got out of that one...]

"32 years have elapsed [1989 - 32 = 1957] since my tramping and mountaineering days "down-under" in New Zealand and I well remember some of the highlights of those moments. I'm tempted to relate a few to you but I fear once I get started it will be difficult to stop." [Drat!]

Harry "quits" the Scrabble club for the first time, certainly not the last: "However, since the first moment I arrived with only ****** sitting there, my spirits had sunk to an all-time low and I decided there and then to give up on these people - I quit, quit, quit!!!!!!! I feel I've given it my best shot for over four years now, and it's time to back off and take a breather for a while."

(But 3 pages later...) The phone just w (I was going to write wrang - where is my head?) rang - a lady enquiring about the Scrabble club, - must have seen my ad. in the current edition of the Pennysaver. So maybe I'll go back one more time next Monday!"

Soccer, revisited: "I haven't seen anymore soccer matches since that last one I was telling you about, guess the season's over. Yeah, Pow - right in the ***s, that was highly amusing."

Chief Mountain, revisited: "Now then, an interesting thought comes to mind (you've been wondering when I was going to ask, I know!) - who were the lucky guys who got to huddle next to ****** and ****** for that sexy body heat? Are they good-lookers or "dogs"? - my curiosity got the best of me, - sorry Don."

Nailing Harry's funny bone: "Ben Jacky - ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,!!! the penny just dropped Don, you're really too much, I love your sense of humour. The first time I read your Bergunsa paragraph I thought you were serious and was planning to tell you - no that wasn't the guy - never heard of him. Ben Jacky - boy that's great, you've made my day with that laugh; I'm not likely to forget his name again after that."

Harry on good sportsmanship: "The table tennis club is still alive and well, and attracting a few new players - all slash-bang hotshots, way out of my class, most of them tournament players. I'm having a tough time even getting close to winning a game these days - one more reason for me to put the flags out upon your return. I remain undaunted however, and still enjoy going into battle. All is not lost, I can still beat up on T.C.'s 11-year old kid when he shows up, - shame on me!!"

Two pages later: "Ben Jacky - yeah that's the guy, - ha ha!!!!!!"

Harry on the true meaning of scrabble: "My last game was a threesome with Rubye and Mary Lou. I was trailing up until play #9 when I finally drew ahead. On play #10 Mary Lou challenged my word PARD (Rubye wisely kept quiet) and was miffed that I failed to mention it was a good word - ha, ha!!"

In all seriousness, Harry was the very best sport about losing there ever was. (What I'd give for that personality trait...) Here's an example: "I recently had a superb game with Lois just recently, she just pipped me by about ten points and our totals were approx. 365 to 355. Every move was delightful, - just plop, plop, plop, everything gelling all the way through."

Excerpts from my letters and emails to various friends:

To: Ronnie
Subject: scrabble
Date: Jan 1990

I can't let a letter go by without a Scrabble anecdote, right? You know what that bum Harry did? He spelled QUININ, just like that, without the E, for a lot of points. When I question him about it, he goes into this confusion routine, so I challenge it. Turns out to be good, so I lose a turn. He knew it all along, the bum.

To: Ronnie
Subject: Harry's first successful ascent of Mt. Egmont/Taranaki
Date: Jul 1994

Anyway, Harry says sure, he'd love to come on up to the White Mountains. You two should get on real well, both being "gettin' around" sort of folks. Harry took a trip earlier this year to New Zealand for the express purpose of climbing Mt. Egmont. He wants to know if you want to climb Kilimanjaro with him. (I'm too poor.)

To: Mary
Subject: climbing in Virginia
Date: Nov 1995
Note: I met Mary during that 1994 trip to New Hampshire.

Harry and I had a little vacation down in Virginia a few weeks ago. Did some hiking and climbing. It went pretty well - at least I refrained from killing him the couple of times he deserved even worse. Really, on the whole, it was a nice trip.

To: Mary
Subject: Potomac Blackout
Date: Jun 1997
Note: Harry introduced many of his friends to this simple, infectious card game. He got it from friends in England. They said they got it from friends in the U.S. We eventually identified it as Oh Hell, also called Blackout, in a slightly simplified form.

Hi Mary,

I got your phone message the other night. It seems you always call when I'm over Harry's playing cards. That about sums up my social life.

To: several personal computer discussion groups on Usenet
Subject: XEROX 820-II PERSONAL COMPUTER - FREE
Date: Jul 1997

My buddy Harry (72, Welsh, not exactly a computer geek) has a Xerox 820-II personal computer that a former boss gave him. He can't quite grasp how unattractive such a machine is nowadays. Still, it'd be better to find some kind of home for it rather than toss it out with the chicken bones.

Any takers? There was no interest in the comp.sys.xerox group, but Harry doesn't think I made it clear it was free.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear: it's free.

Any computer museum curators out there? As far as I know, it's in perfect condition. There are a couple of boxes of manuals and software. There's a real cool game called "Bouncing Barney".

To: David
Subject: tempting fate at 75
Date: Mar 2000
Note: With my friend David, I need to distinguish my two Harry friends - "Beatle" Harry, and "Welsh" or "Scrabble" Harry.

Had a marathon phone chat with Scrabble Harry Saturday night. He recently got back from 2 weeks in New Zealand where he climbed his big mountain, Mt. Egmont, again. He got himself into a real jam on the way down, but managed to get out of it without starting a rescue effort.

To: David
Subject: britishisms, mildly vulgar, in this case
Date: Apr 2000
Note: British expressions and British vs. American English was always a fun topic of conversation. I'd make a list when I was reading anything by a British writer. For example, I have scribbled notes for a never-sent email of March 2005, planning to ask Harry if he knows the distinction between burn, brook, and beck, which had come up in "Lassie Come-home", and if he's familiar with the expression "least said soonest mended", which I had read in "The Young Visitors" by Daisy Ashford.

The other day on the phone, Welsh Harry gave me quite a surprise by describing someone with "eyes like p-ssholes in the snow." That was a line used in [the play] "John, Paul, George, Ringo... & Bert" [by Willy Russell], but I had always figured it was written just for the play, not a common expression.

To: Sue
Subject: 1940, and the nasties were still booming us
Date: Oct 2001

Actually, both of Harry's parents were English, even though he was born and raised in Swansea. Lucky Swansea, when the Nazis returned from their air raids on Liverpool, they would dump their leftover bombs on Swansea. So one can deduce that, while John Lennon was being born, 15-year-old Harold Vernon and his family were hunkered down in their Anderson shelter.

To: Sue
Subject: the string of sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C. area in Sep-Oct 2002.
Date: Oct 3 2002

Last Monday morning, my buddy Harry was playing tennis [at Foxhill Park] in Bowie about 200 yards, maybe less, through the woods from [Benjamin Tasker Middle School] where the boy was shot. The shooting was about 8:10 and Harry's tennis group showed up about 8:30. Believe it or not, they played until almost 9:45 before they were told about what happened. I would have thought the area would have been swarming with agents. Harry's kind of a nutty old guy. There were some helicopters flying around, but Harry, not associating helicopters with law enforcement, was jumping around, smiling and waving his arms at the pilot - who of course swooped in for a closer look.

To: David
Subject: disco harry
Date: Dec 2004

Visited Welsh Harry today. Comical anecdote is that there was a brief excerpt from a Boney M song called "Brown Girl In The Ring" in a mountain climbing documentary called "Touching The Void" which he played for me. He really liked this euro-disco song from 1978 and we went as far as searching copies on ebay and listening to a snip on amazon. Boney M mean anything to you?

Miscellaneous memory: Harry worked at National Airport before retiring in January, 1982. One of his jobs was deicing airplanes. He retired a week before the Air Florida tragedy. Kind of makes you wonder, what if . . . ?

These pictures were taken by Harry in March, 1994. The captions are in Harry's own words, taken from the backs of his photographs. (Click photos to ENLARGE.)

ATTENTION: There are more photos below the news articles. Don't miss them.

Here are the first couple of news items from March 2005 in the order they appeared on the web. It was very weird reading them on Wednesday afternoon, March 8 - in tomorrow's news!

From: tvnz (tv New Zealand), One News
Date: Mar 9, 2005

Search for solo climber stepped up

The search for an 80-year-old man who failed to return from a solo climbing trip on Mt Taranaki in New Plymouth is being scaled up.

The alarm was raised on Tuesday night after other climbers reported hearing calls for help from near the mountain summit.

Eleven search and rescue teams looked for the man before nightfall and some teams have spent the night on the mountain.

Conditions are reported to be cold, blustery and wet and the search will be scaled up on Wednesday morning.

Search resumes for 80-year-old climber on Mt Taranaki

Rescue teams were today returning to the summit of Mt Taranaki searching for an 80-year-old man missing overnight in poor weather.

A New Plymouth spokeswoman told NZPA today they were increasing the search for the man, who has not been named, from the 11 teams that spent a cold, wet night on the mountain.

Police were told of calls for help coming from the top of the mountain at around 6pm yesterday.

These pictures were taken in April 2005. A member of the two-man search team who found Harry's body very graciously went back to take some photographs for all of us. The captions are in the photographer's own words. I will introduce you to him below the pictures. (Click photos to ENLARGE.)

So who was it who found Harry's body and went to the trouble to take these photos for us? Strangely enough, we have a picture of him. Strangely enough, Harry himself took it. Have a guess? Scroll down for the answer.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Below: The man who found Harry.

Yes, John Jordan, Harry's guide on his first successful climb back in 1994. John Jordan and Mike Johns formed one of the 11 search and rescue teams that went out under "atrocious" weather conditions to find Harry.

This is how John and I made contact. I was curious about the situation Harry was in when he fell - what the terrain was like, and just where on the mountain he was. I wrote to the New Zealand Alpine Club, to ask if anyone would be kind enough to take a few photos that would help make this clear. Richard Wesley, the Executive Officer, kindly passed my request on. I heard back from John Jordan:

From: John Jordan
Date: 24 Mar 2005

Hi Donald

Myself and Mike Johns, another rescue team member were the ones who located Harry Vernon's body on Mt Egmont/Taranaki during the search operation.

I have just received details of your email from NZAC Headquarters so am responding to that. Harry's body was found in a reasonably inaccessible area of the mountain called Blondies Traverse which incidentally I named during the mid 60's. If required I can take some photos of the area next time I am near there. However you can not see the summit area from the site as it is in a bluffed area.

Advise me what photos you want and I will endeavour to get them.

Regards
John Jordan

I replied that an experienced Taranaki climber would surely have a better idea what shots might best represent Harry's final scene. Was there anything particularly dangerous about the path at that point - narrow, sloping, rugged? - and would a photo catch that? I also had a few questions about the information presented in the news articles.

From: John Jordan
Date: Apr 2, 2005

I can answer a few queries for you. First of all, my credentials very briefly so that you are aware of my experience to make comments. 43 years very active mountain experience, 42 years frontline search and rescue on Egmont/Taranaki, over 1200 ascents of the mountain.

It appears that the weather deteriorated quickly while Harry was in the crater or maybe on the summit and he became disorientated in the crater and left the crater by the wrong route. He then descended approximately 100 metres below the crater on a wide rocky ledge before he apparently fell over a 6-7 metre bluff onto the rocks below where we found his body. He was way off the normal summit route.

The calls for help which may have come from Harry were heard by a Canadian couple who were also disorientated and left the crater by the same route as Harry, but earlier. They did manage to descend eventually but well off route of course. The calls they heard were very much higher than where they were but of course they didnt have the experience to assist. I interviewed the Canadian couple when the search began.

The weather was atrocious for the search that night, gale force winds and horizontal rain with less than 5 metres visibility with torchlight. The search was called off at 2am and recommenced again at 7am still in bad weather.

What triggered his fall will probably never be known. We put his body in a large bag and moved it to a spot where the helicopter could winch it off when the weather broke. The area was unstable, large loose boulders everywhere and that was one of the reasons for not using ground teams to stretcher Harry off. Also the the weather was still very unsettled.

Upon the body recovery the Police found Harry's camera in his pocket. Damaged but apparently the film was recovered and processed. I have not seen the photos he took so am unable to comment whether he actually reached the summit but he would have definitely reached the crater to have descended where he did.

Hope this is some help to you. I should be able to get one or two photos for you in the near future.

Cheers
John Jordan

To: John Jordan
From: Donald Sauter
Date: Apr 3 2005

Thanks so much for taking the effort to put down all that information about Harry for me. I've got a pretty good picture now: to get to the summit, you have to go into the crater, and Harry fell shortly after reemerging from the crater. And, of course, I extend an infinitely greater thanks for all the risks you took and all the effort you and the other rescue workers went to to save him.

I had also invited John to this web page, and he noticed the mention of Harry's first successful ascent of Egmont in 1994 in my letter to Ronnie above.

From: John Jordan
Date: Apr 4 2005

Out of interest. Do you have any details of Harry's climb of Egmont/Taranaki in 1994? Who did he climb with? Did he go with a Guide?

Cheers
John

To: John Jordan
From: Donald Sauter
Date: Apr 4 2005

Uh oh, is there an amazing coincidence brewing here? What I can say for sure is that on at least one climb, Harry hired a guide. I can't say for certain, but I can't imagine it being otherwise, that he hired a guide for that first successful ascent. I remember he showed pictures to me from that climb. I can't say for sure whether there was a picture of the guide, but I almost feel like there was. I remember Harry was thoroughly pleased with the guide's services - told me he gave him a nice tip, maybe something like $50 or $100. Harry mentioned that he felt like he was somewhat slow for the guide. I think Harry mentioned an incredible number of ascents of Egmont that the guide had under his belt. I also think Harry mentioned the guide was a farmer of some sort, and that his wife handles the chores when he has a guide job.

Keep in mind, there is the potential for so many mixed- and phony memories in there because of the (at least) four separate trips to climb the mountain since 1994. I'll see if I can get someone to root through Harry's photo collection.

From: John Jordan
Date: Apr 4 2005

Re Harry's guide in 1994. Yes there may be a coincidence here. Harry's name seems very familiar. I haven't kept my guiding files back to 1994 so am not sure about this. Yes, I am a farmer as well as a guide (from Inglewood) and my wife Margaret has looked after the farm when I am on the mountain. Maybe the photos you have access to can tell a story.

Cheers
John

From: John Jordan
Date: Apr 5 2005

Have just been going through a "historical" storage box and have found 6 photos sent to me by Harry. I was Harry's guide on his ascent of Egmont on 23rd March, 1994.

Some details of the climb he wrote on the back of the photos: Started climb 8am. Arrived on summit 1.50pm. Left summit 2.30pm. Arrived back at carpark 6pm. A long day for him. Weather fine with some low level cloud. Obviously the climb followed a severe storm, all the upper part of the mountain iced up. Photos showed us roped up and there is 1 photo of Harry on top and another of myself by the summit plus 4 more.

There would probably be the same photos and more in Harry's collection.

Quite a coincidence. Unfortunately a very sad ending.

I will be up Egmont twice in the next in the next few days so will be able to get the photos you want.

Cheers
John

John had said that Harry's name seemed "very familiar" and I asked if there was an interesting story behind how he started to put two and two together.

From: John Jordan
Date: Apr 6 2005

The answer is very complex. I'll endeavour to explain as briefly as possible. When we started searching we didn't have any names but were told that an 80 year old man was missing. Also missing at the same time were 5 other people, obviously disorientated with the weather also. As the hours ticked away we received radio messages from the police to say that the 5 people (in 2 different parties) had turned up. That left the 80 year old man. The name we were then given was nothing like Harry Vernon. Towards midnight we were given another message that the missing man had climbed Egmont 10 years previously with an Inglewood farmer who had guided him to the summit. That message started me thinking. With a different name of course my mind drew a blank. At 2am the next morning when we arrived back at the base hut (Tahurangi Lodge where I would have given Harry a cup of tea or coffee in 1994) on the mountain we were given Harry's correct name. That's when I picked up on the name. When we found Harry's body I didn't recognise him as he had all his clothing on, well wrapped up and also with his injuries. It was after receiving your email from New Zealand Alpine Club Headquarters in Christchurch and then emailing with you that I started to investigate and now you know the full story. It has been an amazing coincidence.

Cheers
John

I apologize for the redundancy found in the following news articles, but each presents at least some little tidbit that the others don't. Also, keep in mind that John Jordan's commentary above is certainly more trustworthy in cases where you note minor discrepancies.

From: AFP worldwide news agency
Date: 09 March 2005 1622 hrs (GMT + 8 hrs)
Comment: Coincidentally, there was another mountain climbing accident in New Zealand shortly after Harry's. Harry is a footnote to this story.

Briton and Japanese killed with NZ guide in alpine cliff fall

WELLINGTON : A Briton and a Japanese man were killed with their female New Zealand guide when they fell off a cliff near New Zealand's highest mountain, police said.

[. . . deleted material. Read the full story in the Scotsman below.]

The three deaths brings to 214 the number of people who have been killed in the Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park since 1914.

Aoraki-Mt Cook Park in New Zealand's South Island has 19 peaks over 3,000m, including the 3,754m Mt Cook.

Meanwhile, a Briton who had been living in Maryland in the United States died on North Island volcano Mt Taranaki after attempting the 2,518 metre climb to celebrate his 80th birthday, Taranaki climber and search adviser Kevin Cousins said.

The man, who was yet to be named, had turned up at the mountain four days running since his birthday Saturday but he had to turn back three times because of bad weather. Cries for help were heard coming from near the summit in poor weather conditions Tuesday but he was dead when found on Wednesday afternoon.

Body of elderly tourist found

New Plymouth police have confirmed a body found on Mt Taranaki is that of a missing elderly tourist.

Search teams were called in to find the 80-year-old man on Tuesday night after climbers reported hearing calls for help.

His body was found on Wednesday about 200 metres from the summit.

Sergeant Matt Prendergast says it appears the man may have become disorientated in low cloud on the mountain, and fallen over a cliff.

He says bad weather hampered attempts to retrieve the body.

Police say further attempts to retrieve the body will depend on Thursday's weather. It's understood the dead man is a British citizen living in the United States.

Two Britons - One Aged 80 - Die on New Zealand Mountains

A Briton and a Japanese climber and their local guide fell to their deaths today from close to the summit of Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain.

And an Welshman's attempt to celebrate his 80th birthday by conquering another New Zealand mountain ended in his death.

On Mount Cook, John Lowndes, a 59-year-old salesman from Stoke-on-Trent and Kazuhiro Kotani, a 29-year-old, died while crossing Ball Pass, Christchurch police spokeswoman Maggie Leask said.

The pair were roped together along with Erica Jane Beuzenberg, an acclaimed 41-year-old New Zealand climber and guide, Leask said.

One of the climbers slipped and all three of them fell 650 feet.

Bad weather in the mountains of New Zealand's South Island forced police to call off attempts to recover the bodies on today

"The bodies will remain where they are until the weather clears enough to remove them," Leask said. "This could be several days."

An unknown number of other climbers survived.

New Zealand's highest mountain, at 12,316 feet, Mount Cook was first climbed in 1894 and attracts hundreds of climbers each year. However, the mountain can be treacherous - 214 people have died on Mount Cook since it was first conquered.

The Ball Pass is not considered one of the most difficult parts of the mountain.

"It is an unspeakable tragedy that such an experienced guide died on the job on what is perceived to be easy terrain," said Gottlieb Braun-Elwert, founder of the guide company that employed Beuzenberg.

Braun-Elwert said the climbers were descending a slope covered in snow and ice when one of them slipped and as he tried to brace himself against a fall he unbalanced the guide and another climber.

They slid down the slope and off an ice cliff.

"The party then slid some further 650 feet down an icy slope before coming to a rest," he said. "All three were confirmed dead at the arrival of the search and rescue party."

Braun-Elwert said Beuzenberg was one of New Zealand's most experienced female climbers, who had worked as a guide for the company for 16 years.

In a separate climbing accident on North Island a Welshman's attempt to celebrate his 80th birthday on top of Mount Taranaki ended in tragedy when he fell to his death.

The man, missing since Tuesday night and still to be formally identified, was found near the summit today, said police sergeant Matt Prendergast.

The climber, who had been living in the US but was born in Wales, was reportedly ill-prepared for the ascent despite more than 50 years of climbing experience in New Zealand.

3 Die On Mt. Cook In New Zealand

[. . . deleted materal . . .]

In a separate climbing accident on North Island, also in New Zealand, a veteran climber's attempt to celebrate his 80th birthday on top of Mount Taranaki ended in tragedy when he fell to his death.

Police say the man, missing since Tuesday night and still to be formally identified, was found near the summit Wednesday.

The climber, who had been living in the United States but was born in Wales, is said to have had over 50 years of climbing experience in New Zealand.

Dead climber wanted to celebrate 80th birthday at summit

For four days a Welshman from the United States tried to get to the summit of Mt Taranaki and realise a dream - to celebrate his 80th birthday there.

The man, who has yet to be officially named, died in the attempt.

Taranaki climber and search adviser Kevin Cousins said that for four days he turned up at the base of the mountain and set out for the summit.

Each time the man would get well up the mountain to celebrate his March 5 birthday only to be beaten back by the weather and have to return to his Stratford motel.

Rescuers found the man's body yesterday but bad weather prevented them from retrieving it. Rescuers will try again today.

A New Plymouth police spokesman said last night it was known the man was from Maryland in the US, and was originally from Wales.

Several people met him on the mountain, he spoke to them and carried on.

It was when his cries for help were heard coming from near the summit yesterday that police and rescuers were alerted.

The rescuers were unable to find the man on Tuesday night and stayed on the mountain overnight before resuming the search yesterday.

Alpine legend dragged to her death

One of New Zealand's top mountain guides has been dragged to her death by two clients on a Mt Cook slope. Erica Beuzenberg . . .

[. . . deleted material . . .]

* The body of an 80-year-old American tourist who fell to his death in bad weather near the summit of Mt Taranaki was found yesterday.

The Welshman from the United States had wanted to realise a dream - to celebrate his 80th birthday on March 5 on the summit.

The man has yet to be officially named.

Taranaki climber and search adviser Kevin Cousins said that for four days the man turned up at the base of the mountain and set out for the summit. Each time he had got well up the mountain only to be beaten back by the weather.

Welshman celebrating 80th birthday dies on Mt Taranaki

A Welshman's attempt to celebrate his 80th birthday on top of Mt Taranaki has ended in tragedy.

The body of the tourist, missing since Tuesday night, was found near the summit of the mountain yesterday. He had fallen onto rocks.

Sergeant Matt Prendergast, of New Plymouth, said the body, which had yet to be formally identified, was found shortly after 1.30pm by Search and Rescue members.

Deteriorating weather stopped rescuers removing the body from an area known as Blondie's Point.

Mr Prendergast said a recovery team hoped to retrieve the body before the end of the week.

An autopsy would be carried out.

It is understood the climber, who had been living in the United States but was born in Wales, was ill-prepared for the ascent, despite a long history of climbing in New Zealand.

Mr Prendergast said the man had been climbing Mt Taranaki for more than 50 years.

Tuesday's attempt was the fourth time in as many days that the man had tried to reach the summit.

"Talking to a companion of his, it appears he was determined to reach the top on his 80th birthday," Mr Prendergast said.

"Several people met him on the mountain. He spoke to them and carried on."

Police and rescuers were alerted when the man's cries for help were heard coming from near the summit on Tuesday.

Rescuers spent until 3am yesterday searching for the man in testing conditions.

Mountain Death Fall Pensioner Named

By PA Reporter

Police have named a Welshman who died in an attempt to celebrate his 80th birthday on top of Mount Taranaki in New Zealand.

Harold Henry Vernon, 80, who was born in Swansea, Wales, fell while climbing to the summit of the mountain in New Zealand's North Island.

The man, missing since Tuesday night, was found near the summit at about 1.30pm local time yesterday (12.30am GMT), Senior Sergeant Alan Whaley of New Plymouth Police told PA.

Mr Whaley said a search and rescue team was waiting for the weather to clear before removing the body from just below the summit.

A post mortem would be carried out to find out how exactly he died.

Mr Vernon had lived in the US for 20 to 30 years and had visited New Zealand many times, Mr Whaley said.

He was reportedly ill-prepared for the ascent despite more than 50 years of climbing experience in New Zealand.

Sergeant Matt Prendergast told the Taranaki Daily News: "He was a regular visitor here but it appears this time he may not have been equipped for the conditions."

Tuesday's attempted summit climb was the fourth attempt in as many days that the man had made to reach the top.

"Talking to a companion of his, it appears he was determined to reach the top on his 80th birthday," Mr Prendergast said.

Birthday death plummet

A WELSH climber's attempt to celebrate his 80th birthday on the summit of one of New Zealand's deadliest mountains ended in tragedy after he fell to his death. He had begun climbing Mount Taranaki, pictured, on Tuesday - his birthday. But his body was discovered at the bottom of a cliff yesterday.

Mountain rescue teams were unable to retrieve his body yesterday from where it lay on rocks 200 metres from the summit.

High winds prevented a police helicopter recovery of the body yesterday, and a second attempt early this morning was thwarted by thick cloud. Emergency teams were hoping for better weather today.The 80-year-old is believed to have reached the 2,500-metre summit three times previously - the first conquest at age 75.

This time he was staying at a hotel in Stratford, on New Zealand's North Island, at the base of the mountain.

Police were alerted at 7pm on Tuesday when he failed to return. Taranaki Alpine Cliff Rescue Team then received a call about a climber shouting for help.

Sergeant Selwyn Wansbrough, of New Plymouth Police, said the climber, with more than 50 years' mountaineering experience, may have become disorientated by low cloud and a sudden change in weather.

"It seems the deceased was not well equipped. He was wearing light clothing and had a day pack - adequate for a climb on a fine day, but not enough gear for conditions on the day he went missing," he said.

The climber, a British citizen living in the US, was making the 10-hour climb alone. His name will be revealed once his family has been informed.

But bad weather could delay the recovery of his body till the weekend. An autopsy will then be done.

Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont, is a dormant volcano, which last erupted in 1755. More than twice the height of Snowdon, it has one of the worst death tolls in New Zealand.

Although its straightforward ascent makes it popular with climbers, the weather can change dramatically.

There have been 65 deaths on the mountain. The most recent were on November 30, last year, when a light plane crashed into the summit killing the pilot and a passenger.

Meanwhile a Briton and an acclaimed Kiwi climber were among three people killed in a fall on New Zealand's highest peak, Mount Cook, yesterday.

John Lowndes, a 59-year-old salesman from Stoke-on-Trent, and Kazuhiro Kotani, 29, from Japan, were roped to 41-year-old guide Erica Jane Beuzenberg.

One slipped, dragging the others in a 200-metre drop to their deaths.

Mountain death fall man named

Police have named a Welshman who died in an attempt to celebrate his 80th birthday on top of Mount Taranaki in New Zealand.

Harold Henry Vernon, 80, who was born in Swansea, Wales, fell while climbing to the summit of the mountain in New Zealand's North Island.

The man, missing since Tuesday night, was found near the summit at about 1.30pm local time yesterday (12.30am GMT), Senior Sergeant Alan Whaley of New Plymouth Police told PA.

Mr Whaley said a search and rescue team was waiting for the weather to clear before removing the body from just below the summit.

A post mortem would be carried out to find out how exactly he died.

Mr Vernon had lived in the US for 20 to 30 years and had visited New Zealand many times, Mr Whaley said.

He was reportedly ill-prepared for the ascent despite more than 50 years of climbing experience in New Zealand.

Sergeant Matt Prendergast told the Taranaki Daily News: "He was a regular visitor here but it appears this time he may not have been equipped for the conditions."

Tuesday's attempted summit climb was the fourth attempt in as many days that the man had made to reach the top.

"Talking to a companion of his, it appears he was determined to reach the top on his 80th birthday," Mr Prendergast said.

Man, 80, dies in NZ mountain fall

[caption to map showing location of Mt. Taranaki on New Zealand's North Island] Rescuers are waiting for the weather to clear before recovering the body.

An 80-year-old Welshman died after falling during an attempt to climb a mountain in New Zealand to celebrate his 80th birthday.

Harold Henry Vernon, who had lived in the United States for more than 20 years, fell while climbing Mount Taranaki on North Island on Tuesday.

Described as an experienced climber, his body was found near the summit at about 1230 GMT on Wednesday.

Police in New Zealand said he was not properly equipped for the climb.

Senior Sergeant Alan Whaley of New Plymouth police said a search and rescue team was waiting for the weather to clear before recovering Mr Vernon's body.

Fourth attempt

A post mortem examination is to be carried out to discover exactly how the pensioner died.

Mr Whaley said Mr Vernon had lived in the US for 20 to 30 years and had visited New Zealand many times.

The pensioner was reportedly ill-prepared for the climb despite more than 50 years of climbing experience in the country, police told a local newspaper in New Zealand.

The fatal ascent was his fourth attempt in the same number of days to reach the summit of Mount Taranaki.

"Talking to a companion of his, it appears he was determined to reach the top on his 80th birthday," Sergeant Matt Prendergast told the Taranaki Daily News.

From: the New Zealand Herald, NZPA
Date: 19 May 2005

Last hours of elderly climber caught on film

It was a moment of triumph captured on film. On his 80th birthday, Harry Vernon posed at the summit of Mt Taranaki and photographed himself using a camera with a time-delay shutter.

Minutes later, the Welsh-born adventurer was dead after accidentally plunging over a bluff just metres from the top of the 2518m mountain.

His camera was smashed in the fall, but remarkably the film was undamaged.

The photos - featuring other scenes of his progress up the mountain - were produced at an inquest yesterday and detailed the final few hours of his life.

In the New Plymouth Coroner's Court, Taranaki Alpine Cliff Rescue Squad leader John Jordan said it appeared Mr Vernon had fallen over the bluff at Blondy's Traverse near the Surrey Rd bluff. The route out of the summit was dangerous and rarely used, he said.

It was possible Mr Vernon had become disoriented on his way down and made the fatal decision to take the wrong course.

Coroner Roger Mori said Mr Vernon died of multiple injuries.

"He was obviously a fit and independent person for his age and had made the summit on more than one occasion.

"Sadly, on his descent, something went wrong and he fell to his death."

Climbing Mt Taranaki had significant risks, Mr Mori said.

"Almost every year I have to deal with deaths on the mountain. It is important that people take note of this advice.

"I hope that the publicity will help in saving lives in future."

It appeared Mr Vernon had developed an obsession about climbing the mountain after a failed climb in 1956. He lived in New Zealand at that time, but at the time of his death was living in Maryland, United States.

Mr Vernon's brother, Vince, said from Swansea, Wales, that his family was looking forward to seeing the photographs. "He died as he lived, you know, dangerously. It always amazed us how he managed to live that long," he said.

This is the picture. Harry took it at the top of Mt. Taranaki three days after his 80th birthday. It was kindly provided by Harry's brother Vince Vernon. Harry is holding up a copy of the Bowie (Maryland) Blade news. Harry's intent was to submit it to the Bowie Blade since the paper occasionally featured such pictures of Bowieites in their travels. You can see a larger, uncropped picture by clicking on it.

I had imagined that any picture Harry got at the summit would show the terrible weather that was brewing, but this looks quite pleasant. John Jordan provided this commentary:

The rock Harry is leaning on is by the summit rock. The rock wall behind Harry is Sharks Tooth or east peak which is 2-300 metres away. The crater is between Harry and Sharks tooth. The camera took the photo looking towards east south east direction. The reason the photo shows no sign of bad weather looming is that the frontal system came in from the northwest (typical for Egmont) so would be building up behind the camera. The weather can change extremely quickly up there.

Contact Donald Sauter: send an email; view guestbook; sign guestbook.
Back to Donald Sauter's main page.
Rather shop than think? Please visit My Little Shop of Rare and Precious Commodities.
Back to the top of this page.

Helpful keywords not in the main text: Harold Vernon; Len Southam, the "companion" mentioned in the news reports; Donald Sauter; Ronnie Comesana, our fine White Mountains photographer; Bill Morris; the Old Man of the Mountain, without the plural as it sometimes appears; Joyce Perry; Yousef Aldoory; Kal Zitwer; Rubye Richards; Pat Gossard, Patricia Cole, Pat Cole, RIP; Linda Stephanides; Rhoda Perry; Larry Brenner; Ron Millard; Ronald Millard; the Gower Peninsula; Worms Head; Great Tor; Culver Hole; Fall Bay; Three Cliffs Bay; Egmont National Park; Mountain House Motor Lodge; Mt. Katahdin, Maine; Jack Benny; Mary Lou Goetz; Lois Sylva; Mary Sparks; Sue Attalla; David Schwartz; Vincent Vernon.

Parents, if you're considering tutoring or supplemental education for your child, you may be interested in my observations on Kumon.