Tararua Rescue on southern crossing

I love the idea of them promoting plb and can't understand why you would have a problem with them doing so? It's a no brainer for me to take a plb. It's not like you have to trade sensible decisions for a plb. You are allowed to have both. If he made it to the hut and the trampers helped him he could of still died without a plb as he may have been stuck in the hut and alerting authorities by having to have one of the trampers hike back to the forks could of taken too long.

I cant see why anyone would complain about a person with hypothermia activating a beacon

yeah but its all they go on about and its not the only answer people dont think about notifying a trusted contact, you wonder how complacent it may make some people. because htey think they have a get out of jail free card with a PLB. how about people get decent bushcraft skills to minimise the chances of getting into trouble in the first place. i've done dozens of trips to the Tararuas in all seasons and all weather and i never got hypothermia, juste as well, PLB's didnt exist then, if you got into trouble it was a lot harder to get out of trouble, your gropu had to sort things out themselves

I think people are getting it wrong. It's not about trading one for the other. I think there is plenty of media educating about letting people know where your going. Being fit. Reading forecasts. Being prepared etc. Plb is a modern tool that can be the difference between life or death. It is important to promote it. I don't think in anyway the story give the impression that all that matters is a plb and nothing else. The fact is people will go into the hills not informing people. Not being fit enough. Not having enough experience. Not having the right gear. Etc. having a plb is the difference between these people dying in the hills when things go wrong. we need to promote that. I could harp on about being in tons of trips on the tarry tops in terrible conditions but that means nothing. Isn't kime hut named after someone who succumbed to hypothermia at alpha hut? The fact is plb save lives.

people are getting fired up to go tramping with little or no previous experience, some people are walking the TA as their first tramp, because of the media they've come across about it and on the NZ outdoors , inc from hollywood. they have little idea how lucky they are to get through unscathed, i've never seen so many photos and videos online of people solo crossing water courses around nz and so few of people crossing in groups.. dodgy gear choices. dodgy decision making, dodgy navigation.... people getting freaked out in difficult situations when they should be keeping their heads and thinking their way out carefully rather than rushing around hoping for the best

Ummm, perhaps a couple of you could re-read the posts - no one has complained about activating a PLB. My comment mentioned activation and subsequent moving of the PLB but without criticism ('worthwhile' was the word). More generally (ie *not* to do with this case), there *is* an issue, as wayno mentions, with some people relying on PLBs as their 'out of jail' card. Educating people, slowly, persistently, is an important way of addressing the problem. The reality is that it takes time to gain experience; time to learn how to plan a tramp, consider the variations, escape routes, build confidence, know when to turn back, know how to navigate, read a contour map, estimate the time it will take, to let someone know your plan - and to carry a PLB. We do a lot when we tramp - without thinking that it's much at all. One way to gain the knowledge and skills is to join a tramping club - one way for experienced trampers to help others is ... join a tramping club.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/102684527/man-who-fell-ill-on-tararua-range-reportedly-illprepared-for-dangerously-low-temperatures his friend was equipped only with items such as a thermal and a raincoat, Hannon said. The man had previously competed in the 35km Tararua Mountain Race, which follows the Southern Crossing and is for experienced runners. "I guess he'd become equipped to the sort of gear you'd use if you were to run it, and usually in better weather,"

Interesting bit though is he went with a friend who had all the gear. This friend Im guessing was effectively a guide showing him the difference between mountain runing and tramping. The article descibes him as always well prepared but it looks like he did nothing to prepare his friend. None of this was in the first article and does show how often media writes storys with the intent of making us jump to conclusions that can be so wrong. First linked article does as so many commented on suggest a person who is ill prepared and ill experienced with nothing but a plb to keep him on the right track and safe. The reality is that he has relied on a second person that knows the ropes and still got caught out.

theres a few people trying to do a Man vs wild around. trying to test themselves with minimal gear in the mountains.

And a few of them will stay in the mountains. Forever