Not a good time to be lost in the Tararuas

A friend and I were on the verge of attempting a moonlight southern crossing on Friday night. The weather was still reasonably calm then, and we were planning to be out late Saturday morning. (Bad weather wasn't scheduled to roll in until at least Saturday avo, though throughout the week it seemed to be getting earlier every time.) We canned the idea just before we were about to leave because it was clouding over and didn't look to be improving. We almost certainly would have ended up stopping at Kime anyway simply due to cloud. When I heard about this yesterday, I'd hoped they might have just been holed up in a hut, but it sounds as if all the likely ones have been checked now. I presume they must have also checked Penn Creek Hut off to the side. If they found themselves down there, it's a damp hole behind side-creeks that can trap people when it's raining.

Actually the recent report on Stuff is implying that they're only going down to Penn Creek now. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2594033/Te-Papa-boss-missing-in-bush "Taking advantage of a break in the weather, an Air Force Iroquois helicopter took off from Levin Showgrounds at 10.15am carrying five searchers. The rescuers were heading for Penn Creek, near Kime Hutt." I wonder if it means they hadn't checked Penn Creek Hut yet, which would be hopeful because it'd be a natural alternative place to go and an easy place to get trapped behind flooded side-creeks, or perhaps it just means they're searching the wider area.

...and the latest report is that there are "developments" and apparently the search has ended. Stuff was reporting they were FOUND at 12.18pm, but they've now toned it down and it sounds more as if their reporters were guessing based around actions of the search teams, etc. Press conference at 2pm.

Stuff has just reported that they were found dead http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2594033/Te-Papa-boss-Seddon-Bennington-found-dead

Apparently about a kilometre short of Kime Hut. That'd suck being stuck up there. I wonder what sort of trouble they ran into.

A very exposed section of track in bad weather it wouldnt take much to get caught and it does change quick up there. A lesson for all even the experienced get caught.

In poor visibility, with the track covered by snow, finding the hut could be quite difficult. From memory its slightly off to the side of the ridge in a shallow bowl and would be very hard to spot.

At the door of Kime hut theres a rather short note to the effect that in poor visibility this area is very confusing. Having said that a tramper with lots of experience in this walk would be tempted to push on as Field and Kime are not far apart. Deep snow and a steady uphill climb to sap the energy confounded by a sudden change in conditions would be all it would take. Gives you pause for thought nobody likes to hear of a fellow walker having thier walking cut short.

That had crossed my mind, too. At least one person's died within 100 metres of Kime Hut without realising it was there. (Perhaps someone else could recall the details, I'm sure it's noted in Chris MacLean's Tararua history which I don't have with me right now.) Very sad regardless.