Hypothermic trampers stranded on Mt Robert, Nelson

"Not anymore its not. Must have decided it was going to be a hot potato." It's definitely there when I look at it. 14 comments in: * One comment states costs must be high and PLBs should be compulsory. * Five comments state they should be fined / pay for it. * Four comments congratulate SAR.

Interesting, they are back. This is one is about right: "I'm glad they had a happy ending - good job rescue teams, you certainly have saved 2 lives and avoided the families a massive loss. The 2 people don't need a lecture, or even a single word said to them - they've just had the most powerful lesson they could take and nature can give, and live to remember and tell about it. Wheew. What a close one. "

@waynowski Not sure that it's constructive to group wildly popular daywalks with hikes in this instance. Two different debates almost. Likewise with Great Walks, on which so much information abounds that anyone getting caught out on one was beyond help to begin with.

i've seen ill equipped trampers ( far more often foreigners than locals) on the round the mountain track, around fiordland and aspiring park, nelson lakes, arthurs pass, north west nelson on various overnight tramps to a certain extent it is backpackers looking for DOC huts for cheap accommodation and word of mouth promotes where the huts are that dont always have wardens, and its word of mouth of various scenic tramps they want to knock off their bucket list. great walks can be a problem because the tracks are suck high quality its deceptive, they allow trampers to travel further faster into exposed places where the weather can slam them.. even great walks can be impassable to experienced trampers when the weather gets severe.

theres also problems around people who are trying to prepare but dont understand the gear they take with them clothing choices are far more elaborate now, you see people who might be wearing a recognised outdoor brand. lost count of the amount of people i've seen people using softshell, wind breakers and insulated jackets as rain jackets. they often think the jacket is waterproof the surface looks the same as the surface of a raincoat and they assume from that it is waterproof...

"But overall this industry which saw over 3 million visitors last year seems to be asked to do relatively little to put back into the core asset which attracts people here. Tourism should be funding DoC to the tune of hundreds of millions a year. It should be funding conservation and visitor programs designed to give our guests the best possible experiences - promoting awareness, safety and protection of the places they visit and want to experience. It should be funding SAR and better ways to prevent people making these same mistakes over and over. " The obvious way to achieve that without penalizing those that never venture out of the cities is to make access to the parks by permit only and permits have a fee possibly the same for residents and tourists alike possibly not. Are we ready for that outcome? Is it really as bad as everyone is about to tell me? We already pay up to $15 a night for hut access. Make that a flat permit fee and the huts included and we wont be that much worse off and it will be easier to catch the fee dodgers. This is a discussion point not a well thought through opinion. The other thing that catches people out is they look at the map and see NZ is similar in latitude to Spain. In winter in Spain at 1700 metres its still t shirt and shorts weather Here it can be but more often than not its full alpine gear only. All our skifieds start this low

we're in the south pacific... what visions do the words "south pacific" conjur up?

Fiji Tahiti Samoa ie a kiwi mountaneers version of fiery hell. Far to hot to go tramping.Even in there mountains. Maybe we should describe our location as the real South Pacific

South Pacific...wasn't that one of those excruciating musicals with lame besotted lyrics and equally lame acting? :) How about East Australia...no same problem..too hot,but it does have pretend mountains. Ooh, I know.....North Antarctica...That'll cure em!

Going from severe hypothermia to being assessed and discharged the next day sounds miraculous. In actual fact, it sounds as though they were suffering from moderate hypothermia. From wikipedia: In mild hypothermia there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe hypothermia there may be paradoxical undressing, where a person removes their clothing, as well as an increased risk of the heart stopping.[2] Stage 1 Awake and shivering Mild 32–35 °C (90–95 °F) Stage 2 Drowsy and not shivering Moderate 28–32 °C (82–90 °F) Stage 3 Unconscious, not shivering Severe 20–28 °C (68–82 °F) Stage 4 No vital signs Profound <20 °C (68 °F) Twenty to fifty percent of hypothermia deaths are associated with paradoxical undressing. This typically occurs during moderate to severe hypothermia, as the person becomes disoriented, confused, and combative. They may begin discarding their clothing, which, in turn, increases the rate of heat loss.[21][22] This is interesting: reminds me of that wee Israeli fellow, Elon Oved, found by the Alford River, hidden in the bushes. Terminal burrowing An apparent self-protective behaviour known as terminal burrowing, or hide-and-die syndrome,[25] occurs in the final stages of hypothermia. The afflicted will enter small, enclosed spaces, such as underneath beds or behind wardrobes. It is often associated with paradoxical undressing.[26] Researchers in Germany claim this is "obviously an autonomous process of the brain stem, which is triggered in the final state of hypothermia and produces a primitive and burrowing-like behavior of protection, as seen in hibernating animals."[27] This happens mostly in cases where temperature drops slowly.[24]