Missing tramper on Cascade Saddle

Personally I think its more about rescuing people per se than just about rescuing 'tourists'.......but I agree the threads being discussed here are at risk of being confused....! As for the missing tramper (tourist or not), this I believe everyone is agreed, we all hope he's safe and well....we can debate the 'cost' later.......!

He's been found. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5192412/Search-for-missing-Mt-Aspiring-tramper "A Wanaka police spokesman confirmed the 23-year-old's body was found below some bluffs on the Cascade Saddle route in the Matukituki Valley this afternoon."

Nasty slabs on that route. I would only like to go up and especially down them on a dry day. Having a layer of greasy snow would make them especially lethal.

A sad end to yet another young life.....thoughts and prayers to his family.

Not the outcome we were hoping for... Re: Travel Insurance - The NZ Alpine club offers excellent cover at a reasonable price for those looking at more active trips aboard. Info can be found here. http://alpineclub.org.nz/system/files/ACE_Travel_Insurance_Brochure_2010_web.pdf There is no onerous joining process so obtaining the cover just requires you to join the club.

As a keen tramper, and a person involved with SAR, I've found this thread interesting... especially from the Search and Rescue point of view. The truth is a good keen SAR Volunteer (although they wouldn't wish it on anyone to get lost or injured) relishes the chance to get out there and put their training into practise. We are actually trained to search and track... yes we do courses - there is more to it than just walking around like a lot of people think, we learn techniques and practise them, we are essentially a community, and this is our "sport." Groups are mostly self funded, and motivated groups don't seem to have trouble getting grants and fundraising. The LandSAR volunteers are a good bunch of people. The money "problem" tends to be your outdoor guides and commercial helicopter pilots. They even fight over "SAR Business." I don't think the average volunteer would be too happy about being associated to much with them. Your average search volunteer does what they do out of a right heart and is actually passionate about what they do, they actually want to help. It's no burden. If you are interested in SAR, we have a volunteer forum where we discuss such topics. http://www.landsarforum.co.nz/

I think it's more than just applying for membership....one has to be a resident of NZ in order to gain cover, which is the whole point of the discussion involving tourists. They are thus precluded from getting NZAC insurance. Aussies are however included. The same problem goes for those from Europe for example, if you want to get BMC insurance then you have to be a resident of the UK, and it costs a fortune. IHI, now Bupa, used to be one of the best insurers for adventure activities worldwide but I think even they have tightened the reins on their policies these days, and I think Elvia still offer good deals but not 100% sure. My point is that most insurance companies wont touch you for anything like tramping, it's just too risky for them. So just getting insurance for a 'tourist' to tramp the outdoors in NZ isn't as easy as it might seem...unfortunately. What other measures might be applied, I'm unsure, but I really don't see that banning anyone who isn't insured from going bush is just plain crazy, not the mention unworkable, and most likely against one's human rights and all that stuff, nor do I think it should be a pre-requisite that one has to have the paperwork in order before rescuers will attempt to save your life, that's just plain inhumane. No quick fix solutions I think will work, nor knee jerk reactions either, though they are understood.

Just come back to this thread after starting it.. Whew! Pity about the guy on Cascade Saddle. By the look of it he hasn't done a lot wrong except maybe forging on in conditions that weren't good. Seems he got to the pylon OK then maybe went off to get some pictures. One slip and it's all over rover. I wonder if his pack was with him when he went over. With regard to funding of SAR. SAR funding comes from the Police. DOC staff and resources may be involved but generally it is the Police. The exception is Mt Cook where DOC have a specialist alpine rescue team which they fund themselves. I for one am in favour of not charging the victims for SAR operations. It could be counter productive as there have been times when the victims have attempted to hide from a search for fear of getting a bill. It could also mean that families might delay calling in SAR if they fear there will be a cost. SAR operations are getting cheaper and cheaper as with the use of helicopters, cell phones and PLBs mean that operations are concluded quickly. We don't seem to be getting the large multi day searches of the past. I think it is better to keep that trend rather than doing something counter productive like charging. Sure they do charge in some other countries but why do we have to be like everyone else? We are kiwis, we care and this is our way, and it works.

I've taken geeves' hint from earlier, and created a new thread to discuss the SAR-charging topic. See http://tramper.co.nz/?view=topic&id=1471

oh man thats so sad. poor guy, was doing what we all love - enjoying the outdoors and probably one small mistake. we should all take a minute to think of our own tramping and make sure we have fun but be careful