Geological Survey of Canterbury. 125 



its banks, and the whole forms one dark grey mass, ascending towards 

 the head of the valley. There, instead of finding as usual, a large 

 glacier filling the whole valley, I observed a true roche moutonnee, 

 reaching halfway across from the southern side, whilst from the 

 northern and opposite to it, a glacier of considerable dimensions 

 crosses the remaining portion of the valley, abutting apparently 

 against the almost vertical northern side of this rounded hill. But I 

 may observe that west of this roche moutonnee there is another valley, 

 and that between the glacier and the hill a torrent rushes down, 

 washing the southern flanks of the former, and thus prevents it from 

 abutting directly against the hill. High snowy ranges, in fantastic 

 forms, rose above, but owing to their distance and the considerable 

 width of the valley, they did not impress the mind with their truly 

 gigantic dimensions, with which I became subsequently better 

 acquainted. 



The course of the river compelled us again to cross to the northern 

 side, and, although I selected the best ford, the boulders were so large, 

 and the rush of the water was so strong, that the horses could with 

 difficulty stand against it. We camped on the evening of the 13th of 

 March about a mile below the junction of the Whitcombe Pass stream, 

 at the edge of the sub-alpine forest, where small grass flats offered 

 feed for the horses, and where at the foot of an avalanche channel, 

 formed last winter, a great quantity of firewood was easily procured 

 without the trouble of cutting it. 



On "Wednesday, March 14, 1 started at daybreak, accompanied by one 

 of my men, to ascend Whitcombe Pass. The Pass stream contains a 

 good deal of water where it enters the valley of the E-akaia on a large 

 fan, but loses itself by degrees in the shingle before reaching the 

 main river, so that we crossed it dry-footed, following along the edge 

 of the main river to its right hand bank. From here the remarkable 

 opening through the Southern Alps is clearly defined, with the peak of 

 Mount Whitcombe on its western side, raising its bold snow-covered 

 summit above the lower ranges in front. After a mile we had to cross 

 a torrent descending from a glacier of the second order, hanging 

 on to the mountain side like a gigantic icicle. Here we had the first 

 view of the saddle, apparently situated only a few hundred feet above 

 us, and from this point of observation, appearing to consist of a 

 shingle wall, not more than 100 feet high. 



Owing to the aspect of the valley, and to its being accessible to more 

 moisture from the west than other similar ones in the Alps, which are 



