Hopefully not another one in the Tararua

says he's heading for "Mcgregor HUt" which is actually a very basic biv near the bushline, you can only sit up in, no fireplace... no insulation..

It reads like he's on hunkered in the leatherwood on the wrong side of the ridge to reach McGregor Biv, at least from Wairarapa SAR reported on its FB page 6 hours ago. https://www.facebook.com/WairarapaSearchandRescue/posts/980667372641038?comment_id=980840969290345&reply_comment_id=980869975954111 Meanwhile as of just under an hour ago, SAR volunteers are still stuck at Jumbo waiting for winds to drop. If everything in the report is accurate, this doesn't look good to me. Hopefully he comes out of it okay.

theres a comment by sar recently hes trying to get to the biv

It's nice to see a positive outcome. https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/300406274/rescued-tramper-credits-dog-for-helping-him-through-twonight-ordeal-in-tararua-ranges

Interesting place he spent the first night out, near the spur down from McGregor peak to the Atiwhakatu (if the position on Stuff aerial photo is correct). There used to be a route which I followed down that spur to the forks then 20 minutes straight up to Angle Knob Hut, where the weather station is today. (The Atiwhakatu is quite rough between those forks and the tracked part of the valley downstream.) There was a snowy photo on NZ Deer Cullers website mentioning the cullers end of season exit route from the first (1950s) Dorset Ridge Hut: down Dorset creek a bit, up the spur to Cairn (ground trail still used today to and from the current Dorset Ridge Hut) south a bit towards Broken Axe Pinnacles then descending sidle onto the spur east-southeast of McGregor peak, down to Atiwhakatu head forks and up to Angle Knob Hut.

Great write-up by the tramper, in https://calebsmith.co.nz/2021/12/09/baldy-and-back-its-just-a-day-trip/

That was a very educational and honest post from Caleb Smith. I've often wondered about using the mattresses as emergency insulation at huts one ends up at without a sleeping bag. I read an account of someone doing this at the Waimak Falls hut back in the day but in those days the mattresses were soft and melleable, like thick blankets. I thought it might work to have the two mattresses leaning against each other to make a little den. However you work it, it would still be pretty grim!

@Honora I did it once at the old Blyth Hut above Ohakune. It would have been May 1968 and much colder than our very crappy sleeping bags could cope with. I made a stack of two or three mattresses and slid myself in between a couple. I don't think I slept much but it was a better than freezing!

That would have been a sad long night...Now if you'd had a real couple to slide yourself in between!