DRAMATIC CLASSICAL MUSIC I'm Kevin Biggar. I'm Kevin Biggar. And I'm Jamie Fitzgerald. And we're modern-day adventurers who have travelled all over NZ. In the past few years, we've traversed some of the most dangerous mountains,... I left my ice axe! ...wildest rivers... Oh! ...and rugged trails. Whoa! Now we're stepping back in time, retracing the footsteps of early pioneers,... Whoa! ...bringing the past back to life with tales of heroic rescue attempts,... (GROANS) (GROANS) Just take it slow, Kev! ...shipwrecks... Oh no! ...and deadly pursuits. It's getting deep! Where human endurance is pushed to the absolute limit. (GROANS) This week, Mt Aspiring. 3000m of jutting rock and ice. Samuel Turner, the most disliked climber in NZ history, takes on an outrageously risky expedition,... Is there a bit of a drop? (LAUGHS) ...leading three men who have never set foot on a snow slope to the summit of one of NZ's deadliest mountains. Pretty spooky, eh? But why did Turner agree to lead them? Was he playing with their lives for material for a book? We might be blown over! As they would find out, a mountain is no place to gamble with your life. Take aim! Copyright Able 2014 MID-TEMPO ELECTRONIC MUSIC We're heading to the base of Otago's imposing Mt Aspiring. The Maori, they named it Tititea, which translates as 'glistening peak'. Both names describe the mountain perfectly. It was first climbed in 1909 by Capt Bernard Head and legendary guides Alec Graham and Jack Clarke. But it was the second ascent, in 1913, that we're here to investigate. Incredibly, it was claimed by three men who had never set foot on the snow slopes before. But enter Samuel Turner, mountaineer, showman and author. He knew a great tale when he heard one, and this sounded like a cracker. When he heard of this expedition, he volunteered his services as a guide. He, the great English mountaineer, would lead these three novices to the top of Mt Aspiring and then write a book about it on their return. What transpired was an epic journey that nearly killed them all. But then afterwards, claim then counterclaim bitterly played out in the newspapers. So what really happened? Was the journey as epic as Turner claimed? Was it a work of fiction, designed to sell books? The truth ` well, it lies somewhere out there on Mt Aspiring. Turner was already a famous author and mountaineer when he left his native England to climb and write about NZ Southern Alps. Here to promote the region, he also used his writings to push both himself and his new business. But it was the way that he wrote that made him enormously unpopular. He was considered pompous and a show-off. In fact, professional guides sent Hodgkinson, Murrell and Robertson a letter, advising them not to use his services. Safe travels, gentlemen! When Turner did arrive, he found a party ill-prepared for the scale of the challenge ahead. Not that he told them that. This blanket's pretty good. What's yours like? No blanket. No blanket. Oh no. Only one blanket between all four of them, in fact. I think we're going possum hunting, as well. I think we're going possum hunting, as well. (LAUGHS) Have you got any goggles? Have you got any goggles? Oh, you bet. Oh, you're looking good. You're looking really good. How much food have you got? How much food have you got? I've got nothing. That's all we've got? Two tins of sardines. Well, I'll just keep them in here in my pack. We'll do out best to follow the key sections of the original 1913 route, to try and separate fact from fiction. They established a big camp at the base of the mountain, and started the climb intending to set up a second, smaller camp much higher up as a launching pad for the final push to the top. Nowadays, most climbers fly into an alpine hut and begin their climb from halfway. But in the early days, when they climbed a mountain, they really climbed it all. They planned to use the same route of the first, successful ascent done four years earlier. (GROANS) Only another 2900m to the top. It's thick bush, and picking your way up the slope is tricky, so the roar from up ahead offers an enticing option. Sometimes when the bush is dense like this, the easiest way to make progress is up the streams. We were always gonna get caught out with these waterfalls. There are heaps of them throughout the park. What do you think, Kev? What do you think, Kev? I don't think it's too bad. We just need to rope up. I'll get up this little piece here, up to that first step,... I'll get up this little piece here, up to that first step,... Yep. ...and then maybe there'll be an easier way up through the bush. ...and then maybe there'll be an easier way up through the bush. Around the side, OK. I'll get the rope out. There are two kids of climbers ` optimists, and pessimists. That's it! That's it! Whoa! Kevin is firmly in the optimist's camp. Last time. Do you want me to get`? Do you wanna stand on a shoulder? Do you want me to get`? Do you wanna stand on a shoulder? Nah, we can do it, we can do it. I was nearly there. OK. OK. Here we go. (GRUNTS) I got it! Good work! The streams were the first chance for Turner to test the abilities of his novice team. It gave them plenty of trouble, but by roping together they managed to get up. Ah, good work. OK, I'll just try to get a step. Problem was, this was a walk in the park compared to what lay ahead. Good job. Whoo! I think that might be a bit too slippery. I think that might be a bit too slippery. (LAUGHS) There's a way over here. Should we head there? There's a way over here. Should we head there? It hasn't been a waste of time. There's definitely a path up. It would take seven hours to climb the foot of the mountain to the snow line, where they would pitch a tent for the night. Turner was well-equipped and warm, and slept well. The others, however, froze. At about midnight, Turner tried to get the men out of bed to start cutting steps, but they refused to move. It was well after 6am before anyone was ready to carry on. So, what do you think Hodgkinson, Murrell and Robertson were thinking at this point? What were they thinking? What were they thinking? Yeah. I dunno. Probably that they've bitten off more than they can chew. I dunno. Probably that they've bitten off more than they can chew. Yeah. No, no, no, I know. If they hadn't have let Turner talk himself into the trip, maybe they could have turned around, forgotten the whole thing, and just gone home. forgotten the whole thing, and just gone home. (CHUCKLES) They did get a reprieve of sorts, though. It started to rain so hard that it drove them, not just from their base camp here, but all the way down back into their base camp right at the foot of the valley. They were stormed down for six whole days. Finally, when they managed to get back up, they left at 6am from base camp, and arrived here at about 1am, ready to tackle the summit. They left at about 2.30, so they didn't get very much sleep. Fortunately, we can have a little bit longer than that. Still, it's an early start tomorrow. Yeah. Let's get this camp sorted. Let's get this camp sorted. I'll take every hour I get. Let's get this camp sorted. I'll take every hour I get. Exactly. Turner's plan was to climb the west face of Aspiring, following the route set by Capt Head on the successful first ascent. But first, they needed to head north, to reach the ramp to the top. Turner told the others that if they climbed hard, they should reach the summit around noon. OMINOUS MUSIC We've had our fair share of early alpine starts, but not often in terrain as challenging as this. Turner and the others had gone to huge effort to try and pre-cut steps to save time on summit day. But after returning, after six days of rain, they found that the snow` their snow steps had been obliterated. It meant they had to come back, dig more steps in the dark, in a place that's frightening even in daylight. Jeez. Jeez. And the extra time it would take them to do this would prove very costly later on in the trip. Already, Turner must have known his midday summit time was wildly optimistic. But his novice companions still had complete confidence in him. However, that trust was about to be betrayed. We've come to Central Otago to discover the true story behind Samuel Turner and the three novice climbers' attempt to reach the summit of Mt Aspiring. The race to the top was now on, but a delay in recutting the ice steps exposed them to a very real danger ` travelling below unstable slopes, laden with heavy snow. There was one thing in their favour ` it was early morning, so the ice was still firm from overnight, and that meant great conditions for travelling toward the avalanche zone. But first they had to get there. (GROANS) As they neared the top of the ridge, they came across a large serac field, which blocked their path. A serac is a large chunk of glacier ice, usually formed around multiple crevasses. It can be extremely unstable, but Turner thought navigating through here was their best option. It doesn't make any sense. Normally, you'd stay well clear of these huge towers of ice. They can fall over at any time, particularly at the end of a long, hot summer's day. The change in temperature can cause fissures and fractures in the ice, and even touching a serac in the wrong place can prove catastrophic. So Turner ` well, what he said is that he cut along the side of a serac, to get up to the top. He said he cut a path 15ft long and 6 inches wide across a drop of 200ft deep. Does that make any sense to you? Does that make any sense to you? I dunno. It's kind of tricky, you know. Like, maybe it was sort of the way he wrote, but when you think path, you think highway, or, you know, it's firm, and you just wander along. But I can't help but think it must have been steps or... No, I think we need to cut a path. No, I think we need to cut a path. We gotta test it out. The only way to find this out, to see if this works, is we'll cut a 15... Well, I guess they didn't have crampons, so... Well, I guess they didn't have crampons, so... Yeah. OK. OK. Well, should I start first? OK. Well, should I start first? Yeah, you go for it. You can be our contractor. Create our road, Mr Biggar. Create our road, Mr Biggar. (LAUGHS) Maybe he was just trying to talk up how much work that he did. Maybe it's not that it wasn't impossible to do, just` Watch out, here I go. Hold me. Whoa, whoa. Got ya! You all right? You all right? (PANTS) Yeah. Can you get back on to your steps? Can you get back on to your steps? (PANTS) Turner said he was anxious about the safety of his new friends, who were about to set foot on a very steep snow slope for the first time. It seems a strange thing to say, given that he'd already led them into one of the most dangerous natural environments on the planet. Maybe the ledge was the only way to keep his companions ` and therefore his book ` moving. Oh, we're in the soft snow now. Oh, we're in the soft snow now. Much better? Oh, we're in the soft snow now. Much better? I'd say that's that. As the party tried to forge a safe path to the north-west ridge, the devastation cause by a previous avalanche was all around them. It was enormous ` over 3 miles long and a mile wide. We've come across our own avalanche challenge here, too. Not a big as the one Turner talked about, but they have exactly the same obstacles. The problem for them, and for us, is that avalanches, they pour down the valley and cover everything in their path, including the crevasses. You know, you don't know what you're stepping on. It could be 20m of solid snow, or just a few millimetres with a void underneath. It took longer than they thought to get through the field. Turner must have had doubts about making it to the top and back in one day. But if he had those doubts, he wasn't saying anything. Just about there. Just about there. Yeah. But as the mist cleared, and they got closer to the face they intended to climb, they discovered a nasty surprise. When they finally reached this point, they could see that the original route taken by Capt Head was no longer an option. The entire west face of Aspiring had avalanched off, and was now lying on the valley floor. They were gonna have to find a new route up. So they came around here, making their way up, and in his journal, he described it as 'the east ridge.' But in fact what he'd made was an error in his journal. And here, it's in fact the north-west ridge. But I don't know why. Why do you think he did it? I think he` I think he was telling porkies. He was trying to make it sound like the face they were climbing up was the one that people could see and looked the most sheer. Yeah. Cos if you really` I mean, it doesn't take a lot of sunlight to orientate yourself with where we are, and I mean, it's sort of misting in now, but every patch` every now and again we get a patch of sun and... yeah, I think they kind of... He tried to make something special, right? He was being a salesman at this point. It's a mistake a climber of Turner's experience should never have made. The only conclusion is that he exaggerated to make his book more dramatic. Hodgkinson, Murrell and Robertson were now beginning to have doubts about Turner and his leadership. They were slipping further and further behind schedule, and had to reach the summit, and be down again, before nightfall. If the weather turned, getting caught out on the mountain at night could be fatal. For us, however, it's not time we're worried about, but rather the conditions. The mist has given way to sleet, and now it's beginning to snow. Unpleasant and very cold, we'll carry on and hope it clears long enough for us to make a dash for the summit. The conditions were better for Turner. But then, he faced a different set of problems. The higher up the mountain they got, the harder the route-finding was. Hodgkinson started to complain he had indigestion, but it might just as well have been fear. And you couldn't blame him. It was the first time that any of these three guys had been on a snow slope. You'd be terrified. If you'd never climbed before and had to come up the ridge facing things like this, you'd hate it, right? Yeah. Yeah. There was one other thing happening, by the other three climbers. They were complaining to Turner that he was taking the hardest possible route. When they're battling with all of this kind of loose stuff, it would have been a nightmare. But, you know, Turner tried changing the route, but even that was difficult, so... Just goes to show what was going through their minds, even then. I'll try and find the nicest possible way. I hope this is the easiest route. I hope this is the easiest route. Well, I can't find an escalator. I hope this is the easiest route. Well, I can't find an escalator. (LAUGHS) This will have to do. Turner described this point as a giant thumb of rock and hopelessly bad. Yeah, sometimes there are great cracks to hold on to, and other times it's a battle. How's it looking up there? > How's it looking up there? > Uh, yeah, there's a bit of a crack. Gee. He would climb a section and then throw a rope down and pull the others up. What he hadn't told them was that it was the point of no return. We're following in the footsteps of NZ's most disliked climber, Samuel Turner, to find out what happened when he took a group of first-time climbers to the summit of Mt Aspiring. OK, Kev, you ready? OK, Kev, you ready? Yep! The further up the mountain the party went, the more the accounts began to vary. I wouldn't like to do this after 36 hours non-stop, which is what they had to do. Turner had seemed to never let the truth get in the way of a good story. So was the climb of the large thumb of rock really as scary as he made out in his book? If you've never done any rock climbing, you can understand why they had a sudden bout of indigestion up here. Do you have any advice? Uh, nah, it's a bit of a grovel, mate. Uh, nah, it's a bit of a grovel, mate. Ooh. Another, uh` Another metre and you'll pop over. Here you come, yep. (GROANS) (GROANS) One you get up, mate` Yeah, get up on to that, and then you'll probably be doing the old chimney. and then you'll probably be doing the old chimney. (GRUNTS) (PANTS) (PANTS) (PANTS) Yeah, it's a grovel, mate. Just try and get your knee in there. That's it. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Well done. There's not a lot of room up here; we've gotta go around the corner. There's not a lot of room up here; we've gotta go around the corner. We'll have to take a sit here. Wow, how was that? It's just that there's these, sort of, cracks, eh? It's just that there's these, sort of, cracks, eh? Chimney-type things. Yeah. Yeah. Which is what you'd expect, because he mentions them. And when he wrote about it, it sounded almost too good to be true, it sounded a bit too superhuman, but in fact, if it wasn't this one, there's lots of them all around that could have been exactly like what he was talking about. Yeah. I think I've fallen into this trap of thinking that everything he says was kind of 60%. A little bit` A little bit over the top. But actually, there are a few things that that he talked about` But actually, there are a few things that that he talked about` ...that were spot on. Either way, I'm not looking forward to having to go back down. No, that's gonna be the worst part of the trip. No, that's gonna be the worst part of the trip. Yeah, for sure. We're gonna have to go around the corner before we can keep going. It's like a big kind of buttressy thing that we'll be able to just cruise around. Anyway, OK, cool. It's easy to get into serious difficulties on Aspiring's west face. It's made up of a series of narrow ledges and steep, smooth rock, which in some places is rotten. Loose stones rest on the edge, where you least expect them. There's no doubt the first-time climbers did extremely well to cross this section. How does it look, Kev? Doable, but steep as. As they were making their way up the ridgeline, they came across a big gendarme, like a thumb of rock, just like this. They found the only safe way around was this tiny little ledge. In fact, safe is a bit of a relative term, because it was still a 1000ft drop down into the ice below. Are you good? Are you good? Yeah, I'm just moving some of this around. OK, I'm good. OK, I'm good. OK. DRAMATIC MUSIC Just imagine the splat. Now the snow's made the rocks all wet and icy. Oh. Oh. Is there a bit of a drop? > Oh. Is there a bit of a drop? > (LAUGHS) I just can't trust any of these rocks, either. Shoot! > Yeah, good on you, Kev. Yeah, good on you, Kev. < Yeah, nearly there. Are you safe? Are you safe? Yep. Right. There's no hiding the fact that the snow is now falling harder. At the moment, we're on the sheltered side of the mountain, but the final pitch to the top will see us exposed to the full force of the wind. Pretty spooky, eh? Pretty spooky, eh? (GROANS) Sometimes you just hope that there's a foothold there for you. Good work. Good work. Yeah. There you go. There you go. (GROANS) Thanks. Well I'm glad you didn't need me. I'm glad as well. This snow, it's just getting heavier and heavier. The problem with it is it doesn't stay as snow. As soon as it lands on the wool, it turns into water. < Yeah. < Yeah. I can start to feel it sneaking in. < Yeah. I can start to feel it sneaking in. < Is it getting through that? Yeah. It will do, soon. It's gonna get very cold soon. We have to keep moving. Well, while we're warm, we'll keep going. Well, while we're warm, we'll keep going. Yep. TENSE MUSIC Good job, mate. I think that's the end of the rocks. We're about probably just over 8000ft here, and it's at the very top of the rocky north-west ridge, just below the final summit climb. When they arrived here, it was just beautiful. The weather was perfect. They had fantastic views out over all of the main Alps, the Southern Alps, including Mt Cook. So they stopped, had a little something for lunch, and then pushed on, on what they said would be the hardest part of the climb. With the worst of the climb over, we've decided to push on. We've agreed the moment either of us feels uneasy about the conditions, we'll abandon the attempt. It's so hard to make out where you're headed. It's so hard to make out where you're headed. Yeah. It is just like a white-out in Antarctica, where the snow blends into the sky. Just head to the white bit. Come on. But as we near the summit, we catch a major break. We climb above the cloud and are bathed in sunshine. In 1913, they had no such luck. It began to rain, and then the rain turned to a driving sleet. Their tunics soon became partly frozen, and they began to resemble Arctic explorers. FOREBODING MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES MUSIC CONTINUES WIND HOWLS WIND HOWLS Good going, Muzz! Well done, mate! Well done, mate! Yeah! That was incredible. That was incredible. It's so windy, I don't even know if you can hear us. You feel like being blown over. When they got to the top, they had the full brunt of the storm blowing over the other side. They only stayed for about 30 seconds at the top before they headed back down again. By this time they'd been on the road for 19 and a half hours, and that's how far back their camp was. It was 5.30 when they reached up here in the night, and they knew they were in trouble. They had no chance of getting back before night fell. Let's head out, eh? Let's head out, eh? Let's go down. They were just metres from the summit when below them, all hell broke loose. An avalanche thundered down the west face, seemingly cutting off the route for their descent. It meant that before they could go any further, they'd have to spend a freezing night out, with only a single blanket between them. UPBEAT PIANO MUSIC We've come to Central Otago's Southern Alps to examine the two conflicting accounts of the 1913 expedition to the summit of Mt Aspiring. Turner, Hodgkinson, Murrell and Robertson had finally reached their goal at 5.30pm. Try and take note of your footholds. I'll need you. Now the race was on to get off the unprotected upper slopes before nightfall. OK, are you almost down? OK, are you almost down? Not quite yet. Turner's account suggested the descent was made all the more difficult by his companions' inexperience. As they made their way down the mountain, things really started to get gnarly. They were trying to descend in the same steps that they'd used to come up. The problem is they weren't really in the same condition. The, uh... As you come up the stairs, it's the responsibility on the people coming up to make certain that they don't mangle them. And Turner complained that the other three who were new to the snow had kicked the steps so badly that they'd turned into a slide. And as they tried to descend, it just turned into one crazy ride. What do you think, Jamie? Does that make sense? What do you think, Jamie? Does that make sense? Well, yeah, it does. And I do remember this section on the way up. I was following Kev as he was cutting some steps, and I don't think I did a good job at compacting it, so maybe this is the way` the place that we can test out the theory. All right, you go first. Well, you're connected to me, buddy, so you're gonna be coming as well. Well, you're connected to me, buddy, so you're gonna be coming as well. (LAUGHS) I'll be soon after. OK. On three. One, two, three. DRAMATIC MUSIC Whoa! Whoa! Whoa, watch out for Jamie's axe! Man, we're getting faster. Man, we're getting faster. I don't know where we're going! Man, we're getting faster. I don't know where we're going! Slow down! Murray! That was foggy. I didn't really know quite where we were going, but what do you think? That's pretty plausible, isn't it? That's pretty plausible, isn't it? It's plausible, definitely. It could have happened. I mean, if we were near the summit with gale-force winds, and the ice was rock solid, that would have been petrifying. The thing is, would they have`? Normally, you do a zigzag up the slope. Yeah. Yeah. But it's just possible to get so close near the top that they'd have just cut stairs. that they'd have just cut stairs. Yeah. that they'd have just cut stairs. Yeah. That's what would have happened. And clearly the snow doesn't hold you ` the steps you make. It's been raining as well, for us, so there's a bit of that moisture in it that makes it like an ice slick. Yeah. Well, I think Turner may well have not have exaggerated that one. But the poor steps were the least of their problems. As they headed down the mountain, the rain and wind got heavier. That, along with the fading light, meant that they now had only one option. Turner, he told the other three that they'd run out of daylight hours and they'd be forced to camp out overnight. The penny must have dropped for them long ago, but for Hodgkinson, Robertson and Murrell, they must have been highly unimpressed. They had to find a place to camp ` not that they had anything to camp with. They'd probably just find a crack in the rock, like this, and build up a few stones to try and keep the worst of the wind out. That's what we're gonna have to do. That's what we're gonna have to do. Yeah. Yeah, should we try and lock up where the wind's coming in there? We'll get the worst of this stuff. We'll get the worst of this stuff. Yeah. At least, uh, for us, we only have to make a bivvy for two people. For them, they didn't have the luxury of a roof. Just the walls. They'd be sleeping under the stars for the night. Problem was, they had no stars. It was just mist and rain. OMINOUS MUSIC You can't see anything much. That's cos that's the roof of the tent. It's the roof of the bivvy. You look like you got a lot more room there than it actually is. You look like you got a lot more room there than it actually is. It's incredibly deceptive. We were just saying` We were just saying` We need something else to show some scale. So, that's my face, and that's the wall. It ain't good. If you're scared of rocks, this isn't the place for you. Nuh-uh. I'd say this is by far the worst biv that we have ever had. And one blanket, that's all they had. Do you think Turner did it on purpose? No... It's hard for me to think like that, because, you know, we've heard of so many times where these climbers of any experience, they kind of get the fever, and they're pretty close to the summit. It's what happens at Everest. Yeah. Yeah. Small little window ` they've tried a whole bunch of times, and then they get this one little small window and they just have a crack at it. For right or wrong, and they might get up late, but they keep going. But the suspicious thing, though, is that Turner said he was dressed warmer than the others. (CHUCKLES) (CHUCKLES) As if he knew` Well, he was more experienced. Yeah, and maybe you could call that` him` say he was an irresponsible guide, if he was in fact the guide. Yeah. But he arrived very late,... Mmm. Mmm. ...right, so they were already on the way. There wasn't a chance to change gear. There wasn't a chance to change gear. Yeah... Yeah... But the fact he kind of talked about it, like, in a nasty way. At the end of the day, they did it, though. They got up there. Incredible. Tough as goat's knees, they were. Tough as goat's knees. OMINOUS MUSIC The moment there was the first hint of light, they were on the move again. They realised if the weather turned for the worst, they were now in no condition to survive another night on the mountain. As they got lower down, they could see for the first time the impact that the last night's avalanche had had on the mountain. It had taken away so much of the snow, but left some. Odds were that the rest was gonna come down at some point during the day. It was gonna be crucial not to be in the avalanche zone when that happened. Finding that new route down would add hours to the journey. It also meant that they had to find a new way down the cliff face that had given them so much trouble on the way up. They must have been pretty desperate men to do this. They must have been pretty desperate men to do this. Yeah. I agree. OK, just try and get that rope going straight over the edge. OK, just try and get that rope going straight over the edge. Yep. Ooh! Yep, I've got you. Yep, I've got you. Yep. You good? You good? Yeah, yeah. Get that knot over. You good? Yeah, yeah. Get that knot over. Yep. This rock's like sandpaper on the rope. Ooh. If it wasn't so cold, I would have put my jersey under it, but it's pretty chilly. You happy? You happy? Yeah, right (!) Happy-ish. You going over a lip? You going over a lip? Uh, yep. It's all my weight now. > You going over a lip? Uh, yep. It's all my weight now. > Yeah, I've got you. I've got another couple of metres. > The only good thing about doing this is that it's faster than downclimbing. Are you safe? Are you safe? Uh, yeah, I'm safe. I just need some more! > Cool, OK. As the four climbers were lowering down the cliff face, they had a very serious accident, probably the worst on the trip. The interesting thing, though, is there are two completely different accounts of what took place. Turner got to the ground first. He was being lowered down. He gave a yank on the rope. And in doing so, he pulled out one of the other men from the cliff, who dangled in the air. Fortunately, he was held in place by the two on top, who could pull him back into the cliff. Right foot to you, to the left. That's it. Now you're down. Good work. Now you're down. Good work. Whoa, hold on. Whoa. Oh. (PANTS) Of course, Turner, he had a different side of the story. You know, he said that the guy was falling off, and it was him that pulled the rope in, and so Turner was the saviour of the day, really. (LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) But, the thing with a lot of trips, you know, you and I have been on trips ourselves, it's pretty easy to come back and have slightly different versions of the story as well. You lose big gaps of your memory. You lose big gaps of your memory. Yeah. Well, maybe it was simple as that. Well, maybe it was simple as that. I don't know. I'm not too sure. Are we giving him the benefit of the doubt? Are we giving him the benefit of the doubt? I think so. He was up to something. Come on, there's a bit more to go. Come on, there's a bit more to go. Yeah. But if they thought their ordeal was over, the mountain had one last test for them to overcome ` one much more dangerous than all that had gone before. 50 hours after having set out from base camp, and having survived the chimney climb up the ridge,... You can understand why they had a sudden bout of indigestion up here. ...tiptoeing a narrow ledge over a 500m chasm... Is there a bit of a drop? ...and a freezing climb to the summit, the relief as they reached the glacier must have been enormous. But blocking their escape route was a huge crevasse. Oh. What do you think? I'll just have a little look. I'll just have a little look. Yeah, careful. You can't see over the edge. You can't see to the bottom, but I think one of us needs to take a look. We need to go over and check it out. There's no other way around. We need to go over and check it out. There's no other way around. Yeah, exactly. Are you good? Are you good? Good. Yeah. Yeah. OK, slow, eh? Yeah. OK, slow, eh? Yeah, yeah, sure. Crevasses as large as this are usually best avoided. You all right? You all right? I can't see anything yet. Venturing inside them is fraught with danger. Ah, little bit, little bit. Ah, little bit, little bit. Go. Whoa! Yeah? Yeah? Whoa! Yeah? Whoa! Whoa. How is it? How is it? Yeah, it's` We'll be able to get there` whoa! Oh, sorry! It's hard to hold you. We'll be able to get down, but it cuts back in underneath, so we better not muck around. All right, OK, all right. We'll lower you down. Whoa! Whoa! Sorry, mate, it's hard. It's considerably colder inside a crevasse, and hypothermia is a real risk. < Are you there? < Are you there? Yeah. Keep going! And then there's the possibility of becoming wedged between the ice walls. Oh, it's just sliding. You OK? You OK? Yeah, just keep going! You OK? Yeah, just keep going! All right. Whoa, whoa there! With the basic equipment Turner had at his disposal, any slip-up would prove to be fatal. < What's happening down there? Eh? Eh? < What's happening down there? Eh? < What's happening down there? Yeah, it's slippery out of the sun. I'll try and kick` I'll cut some steps! I'll try and kick` I'll cut some steps! < Thanks. Our plan is for Jamie to carve out a route that hopefully I can follow. (PANTS) < OK down? < OK down? Yep! (PUFFS) < How much? Yeah, that's it! Are you ready? Are you ready? Yeah. You're right, mate? Are you ready? Yeah. You're right, mate? OK. With Jamie now on the other side, he's been able to find a place where he can belay me down ` as long as I jump across and climb down the far ice wall. Three, two, one... jump! Oof! Oof! You right? Oof! You right? Yep, good. Real good. Phew! Phew! Are you safe? Phew! Are you safe? Yeah, I'm just moving down now. Good on ya. Just take it easy; it goes in quite a way, eh. > Have you got to the end of those steps? Have you got to the end of those steps? Just about. OK. And then are you gonna go down, so we can use this mini serac as a, like, an anchor? Yeah. Yeah. And once you're at the bottom, you can get around. Oh, yeah, I see. Yeah. OK. Ooh! Just let me know how you're going, mate. > Just let me know how you're going, mate. > LOUD SCRAPING Oh` Ooh! You all right? > You all right? > Yeah. I forgot about my pack. Oh. > Oh. > It's quite wide. Are you all right? > Are you all right? > Yeah, I'm good. That's better. All right, lower! Thanks. Ooh, hey, wait. This isn't the way you came down. This isn't the way you came down. No. > Can you get around the other side of it? > Oh, can you see a little gap? > I'm now stuck between the ice walls of the crevasse, a position mountaineers will do almost anything to avoid. Yeah. OK, lower me down a wee bit. But luckily, the crevasse widens out behind me. If I can just wriggle backwards... Yeah` Oh, there you are! Yeah, I can see you. > OK, let me know when you need a bit more. OK. OK. You good? Lower me down a little bit. That's it. Ooh! Wh-Where are you going? That's it. That's it. Are you right? That's it. Are you right? Ooh, yeah. Phew! I'm out. I'm out. Good on you, mate. It's pretty sloshy here. It's pretty sloshy here. I don't know how soft that stuff is. It's pretty sloshy here. I don't know how soft that stuff is. This stuff's been in the sun. Did you see my jump? Did you see my jump? Yeah! Jeez, Hollywood. (LAUGHS) All right, it's good to get out of that one. I mean, they must have been freaking out, right, when they had to come down, not knowing there was a proper route; it must have been frightening. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. I came over the edge, and I didn't know how deep it was. The last thing they wanted to be was lost in here, cos they only would have just survived that night out. All four of them with one blanket, and they still had a long way to go before they got back to safety. Same with us. Let's go. 64 hours after leaving, the party crawled into their bivvy at base camp. The second ascent of Aspiring was complete. Turner parted ways with his exhausted companions happy that he'd kept his part of the bargain and guided them to the summit. However, when Turner's account of the expedition, complete with the heroic deeds of Turner himself, was published, it was too much for Hodgkinson. He wrote his own account, which painted Turner in a far less flattering light. The alpine community, tired of Turner's boastful self-promotion, joined in the criticism with glee. Turner was said to be a liar, whose books could not be taken seriously. And worst of all, he was a poor climber who relied on his guides for all of his achievements. The character assassination was complete when even his death, caused by a heart attack, was widely rumoured to be suicide. So, Jamie, was Turner's journey epic, or was it a work of fiction? It certainly wasn't fiction. It was epic. Just look at us. Just look at us. BOTH LAUGH Just look at us. BOTH LAUGH We're wasted. I mean, that's just been a real` I mean, it's just put us through the ringer, really. I mean, think of what we had. Just going up, uh, across all the rivers, and then the step cutting at night. And then making their way up the cliffs. Yeah. I mean, having to, uh, having to deal with all of the seracs, and going` The avalanche fields, and things` The avalanche fields, and things` And then the summit, and stuff. That's right. And then to bivvy out overnight. Yeah, it was tough. Yeah, it was tough. The funny thing is that there were two different accounts of the trip, Hodgkinson and Turner's, but they're not quite the same, are they? It wouldn't be the first time a party comes back with a different account. Like, for a guide, I'm sure it could just be another Tuesday, but for some novice climbers with him, it could be an exploded storyline. I agree with you, but in this case, when Turner and Hodgkinson's accounts differed, it was always because Turner was saving the day. He was putting himself up at the expense of the others. Yeah, yeah, you're absolutely right. Yeah, yeah, you're absolutely right. Funny thing is, he doesn't have to exaggerate, because he was a great climber, one of the best of his time. And yet people disliked him a lot at the time. Why do you think it was? Yeah. Yeah. Do you think it's the first of the tall poppy? Dunno. I think what it probably was is that he probably just` the way he communicated, the way he, kind of, interacted with others, he didn't quite get that balance of ambition and humility quite right, at least for that time. quite right, at least for that time. No. I don't think it would work now, and it didn't work then. Do you know what the other lesson I learned is? Don't get offside with your climbing partner. So, let's get a beer, and let's sort out what actually happened on this trip. All right, sounds good. DRAMATIC CLASSICAL MUSIC SLOW PIANO MUSIC Captioned by Alana Cruikshank. Edited by Jessica Boell. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2014