Mawson Peak, New Route. Mawson Peak (2745m) is the highest point of Big Ben, the volcano on Heard Island. The peak received its third ascent when Australian climbers Robb Clifton, Stuart Davies, Matthew Rogerson and Tim Curtis journeyed to the island by fishing boat from Perth, Western Australia, and climbed the mountain via a new route from the west. They reached the summit on January 10 after an attempt two days earlier was beaten back by the island’s notoriously harsh weather. The party found generally poor climbing conditions with many crevasses and noticed that both sulphur and steam were emanating from a vent near the summit. The first ascent of Mawson Peak was from the Gotley Glacier to the southwest in January, 1965. The second ascent was from the east in February, 1983.

Damien Gildea