NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • All Blacks
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

H-Files: First dog to cross the snowy central Southern Alps to Aoraki/Mt Cook

NZ Herald
4 Mar, 2019 10:31 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Guide Frank Alack at Graham Saddle with his dog, probably Chief, said to be the first canine to cross the central Southern Alps. Photo / Herald, National Library

Guide Frank Alack at Graham Saddle with his dog, probably Chief, said to be the first canine to cross the central Southern Alps. Photo / Herald, National Library

Alpine guide Frank Alack's large, shaggy dog was claimed in the early 1930s to be the first canine to cross the snowy central Southern Alps.

Alack (1899-1991) was born in Austria, raised in Australia and, after some time in Canada and Alaska, took to guiding at the Aoraki/Mt Cook Hermitage hotel in the early 1920s.

A decade later he was working at Franz Josef Glacier and later again at Fox Glacier.

While at Franz, he and a client made the first winter crossing of Graham Saddle to the Hermitage. They used skis when they could, but struck 1200m of ice on the descent from the 2635m saddle down to the Rudolf Glacier and "had to cut every step" with an ice-axe and carry the skis, Alack records in his memoir, "Guide Aspiring".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Alpine guide Frank Alack inset into a picture of the snowfields at the head of the Franz Josef Glacier, where he skied in the 1920s and 30s. Photo / Herald, National Library
Alpine guide Frank Alack inset into a picture of the snowfields at the head of the Franz Josef Glacier, where he skied in the 1920s and 30s. Photo / Herald, National Library

The image of Alack and his dog was published in the Herald in 1932 without identifying the dog or the location. It appeared in the Christchurch Press in 1934, where it was stated they were on Graham Saddle, but again the dog went unnamed.

Alack's book, however, said a male dog named Smut was left behind in Fox when the family which owned him moved on. Smut gradually adopted him, they became strongly attached to each other and he renamed him Chief.

Alpine guide Frank Alack with his dog Chief on a glacier ice pinnacle. Photo / Weekly News
Alpine guide Frank Alack with his dog Chief on a glacier ice pinnacle. Photo / Weekly News

A Weekly News picture of Chief appears in the book and Chief looks like the unnamed alpine dog of Herald and Press fame.

Alack devoted a chapter of his book to Chief, "A canine in the alps".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"He was very much glacier and mountain wise, and rarely got into difficulties."

But on one glacier trip, when Alack was leading a party of six during a break from his high-climbing work, Chief fell down a melt-water hole, a "moulin" that was 5m deep and just 60cm wide.

"Should water be pouring down them [moulins] they can be extremely dangerous. Fortunately for both of us, this was one proved almost dry," Alack wrote.

"I had to get him out. I took stock of my party, but did not think there was one who could be lowered into the hole and who would be strong enough to bring Chief up, for he was a heavy dog.

Discover more

New Zealand

A century enjoying the slopes of Mt Ruapehu

20 Jun 05:30 PM
New Zealand

Snowfalls fuelling skiing excitement

23 May 03:19 AM
New Zealand

Found: Edmund Hillary's passport application

19 Jul 05:17 AM
World

What will Cook Islands change its name to?

06 Mar 01:09 AM

"However, I felt that their combined strength on the end of a rope would be sufficient to pull me up with Chief in my arms."

"So I fixed the rope to myself and went down head first. It had to be that way. Had I gone down feet first, the moulin, being only a couple of feet wide, would not have allowed me to bend down to grasp the animal.

"Slowly the party lowered me. Coming close to Chief I grabbed him behind his forelegs, then gave the order for those on the rope to haul me back."

READ MORE:
• Heritage hut for chop on Aoraki/Mt Cook after snow gets in and climbers say no thanks

• Lightning or hypothermia: what killed five people on Aoraki/Mt Cook's Tasman Glacier?

The rescue was a success and Alack sat for a moment to recover, the dog watching him. "As soon as I moved to get to my feet he jumped up, trying to bury his shaggy head in my arms …

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"If it is possible for a human being to tap a dog's 'wave length', then I think I could claim to have done it at that moment. It might have been just imagination on my part, but all I can say is that I experienced a most uncanny sensation at that instant of reunion."

Graham Saddle, although an achievement for a dog, was far from the peak of Chief's alpine career.

"I took him to the top of Mt Lendenfeld," wrote Alack, "which is more than 10,500ft [3200m] high, which gives him the honour of having been higher than any other dog in New Zealand. Knowing the nature of the peaks which are higher than Lendenfeld, I think Chief will hold this record indefinitely."

In 2019 Lendenfeld Peak is listed on latest maps at 3194m (10,479ft). Although high, its main route is a relatively straightforward climb from Marcel Col and the tributaries of the Fox Glacier.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

08 Jul 09:03 AM
New Zealand

Family appalled after 99yo's landline left disconnected for days

08 Jul 08:26 AM
New Zealand

'Disgraceful act': Historical graves damaged in Auckland

08 Jul 08:25 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder
New Zealand

'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

08 Jul 09:03 AM
Family appalled after 99yo's landline left disconnected for days
New Zealand

Family appalled after 99yo's landline left disconnected for days

08 Jul 08:26 AM
'Disgraceful act': Historical graves damaged in Auckland
New Zealand

'Disgraceful act': Historical graves damaged in Auckland

08 Jul 08:25 AM
63,000 lockdown breaches reported as Covid inquiry reveals impact
New Zealand

63,000 lockdown breaches reported as Covid inquiry reveals impact

08 Jul 08:11 AM
CCTV footage shows what daughter did in the wake of allegedly murdering her mother
Crime

CCTV footage shows what daughter did in the wake of allegedly murdering her mother

08 Jul 08:00 AM

Latest from New Zealand

'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

08 Jul 09:03 AM

Scott Guy was 31 when he was shot on July 8, 2010, at the end of his driveway.

Family appalled after 99yo's landline left disconnected for days

Family appalled after 99yo's landline left disconnected for days

08 Jul 08:26 AM
'Disgraceful act': Historical graves damaged in Auckland

'Disgraceful act': Historical graves damaged in Auckland

08 Jul 08:25 AM
63,000 lockdown breaches reported as Covid inquiry reveals impact

63,000 lockdown breaches reported as Covid inquiry reveals impact

08 Jul 08:11 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search