Civis (Opinion ODT 15.3.25) mentioned how a mountain was named Betsey Jane, after explorer Charlie Douglas’ dog, and this reminded me of how this came to be.
Back in 1980, I undertook research to try to find a still unclimbed mountain in the Southern Alps, as you did. I discovered that there was a peak on the Main Divide overlooking the junction of the north and south branches of the Wilkin River in Mount Aspiring National Park that was 2176m high but without a name.
Maybe it was mistaken from the east as Mount Ragan, about 100m higher than that but further north. It was worth finding out.
Brian Turner and I slogged up the Wilkin from Makarora in March 1980 and found that this mountain, rather than overlooking the Top Forks Hut, massively overshadowed it with huge rock faces. There seemed no way up, at least for us.
But a look at the recently published NZMS 1 map of the area suggested there might be an accessible spur off the south branch track leading to Rabbit Pass and the East Matukituki. But it would mean a long day.
We had to climb (and descend) 5000 feet (1500m) and cover maybe 15km altogether there and back.
We were in luck. The bottom of the spur was rough and crumbling and it narrowed and steepened as we gained height, with big drops off either side. But the climbing was not technical and we emerged on to the Main Divide to take in fabulous views over the upper Waiatoto River valley in South Westland.
Until the last couple of hundred metres, the climbing remained straightforward, across a rock basin that had once harboured a glacier.
The summit climb was over mixed snow and rock where we finally roped up for safety and from the top we could look down all the way to the tiny rectangle of Top Forks Hut.
We shook hands and could confirm that it was a separate peak to Mount Ragan.
We had no time to traverse to Ragan because it was already about 1pm. It had taken us seven hours to get there and it would take not a lot less to get back down.
By the time we reached the river track again it was almost dark and my knees were in a bad way. They signalled the beginning of the end of my climbing career. Brian took off for the hut to prepare a brew as I groped my way down the last agonising kilometres of rock and root.
It was satisfying to have made the first ascent of one of the few remaining unclimbed mountains in the Southern Alps. Surely, I thought, that gave us the right to give it a name.
I wrote to the Geographic Board with details of our epic and suggested "Mount Betsey Jane." After the usual bureaucratic delay, the reply came that board rules prevented any natural feature being named after a family member.
I had wrongly (or mischievously) assumed they knew who Betsey Jane was. Chief assistant to Mr Explorer Douglas on his expedition to the Waiatoto 90 years earlier, I explained.
The next edition of the area map enshrined her memory on one of the great pinnacles rising above the wicked river that Charlie Douglas had explored in 1891.
• Dr Philip Temple ONZM is a Dunedin author and historian.
