Not a good time to be lost in the Tararuas
Original post
It doesn't look good for this pair
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10584497
Though it does say they are experienced and equipped. Hopefully they are holed up somewhere.
61 comments
another chilling reminder that mother nature is not to be taken lightly, another sad loss
I get quite unsettled when I hear of experienced and equipped trampers comming to grief. I guess we need to know more.
They were last seen between Field and Kime on Saturday morning by other trampers, yet they are found 1km short of Kime! Looking at the map, that is barely over half way between the two huts.
I think we need to wait for more information. Something isn't quite right here.
I recall the story in Chris McLennan's book. It was back in the 1920s when trampers used to wear plus fours and tweed jackets. This guy surcummed to exposure within 100m of the hut. He actually lay there for a couple of days before he was found, still alive. When he was found they dragged him into the hut, sat him in front of a roaring fire and poured a bottle of brandy down his throat. We know now that they may as well have taken out a gun and shot him in the head, he died fairly quickly after that.
I too find it strange, he was experienced and it was reported that both were well geared.
Trying to put myself in their boots I would be reluctant to turn around and head back if I knew the hut was close (a frightening thought considering the outcome here), perhaps they spent some time searching for the hut or maybe they overshot it and were trying to head back to Field.
Either way a sad end to the situation.
It's impossible to know if it might have helped at this point, but I'll be interested to know what kind of mobile shelter they had with them (if any).
Radio NZ has a little more, from http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/07/15/1245bbef9560
"They were about 1km from Kime Hut, their intended destination on Saturday night.
"Their bodies were found a short distance off the route to the hut.
"The bodies are being removed from the ranges and will be taken to Palmerston North Hospital.
"The cause of death is not known yet but police say they did not appear to have fallen, or have been injured."
Early days, but from the way that's been described it reads as if they may have lost the track in the conditions somehow.
It is around the junction of Southern Crossing and Tararua Peaks Tracks. Weather upthere could be changed in minutes. In Feb 2008, I had been stuck in Kime Hut for most of morning due to high winds and poor visibility and had decided to abandon the walk to Chain ladder near Maungahuka. Later I made it to Maungahuka Hut on another trip via Mt Holdsworth and Aokaparangi.
Hope that the signpost at the junction was properly fixed before the arrival of Winter.
maybe they got lost?, its very sad indeed, i guess at the end of the day it can happen to anyone, even well prepared, experienced people
I suspect that this would be one of those occaisions where the beacon would have served to locate the bodies quicker but not saved life. Hard to tell of course and there would be heaps of arguments against but in this area when the weather turns and your caught time line comes down to minutes not hours. The weather was bad enough to stop flights and a walking party would take at least 4 to 5 hours from the forks in good weather to reach them.
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| Forum | The campfire |
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| Started by | pmcke |
| On | 15 July 2009 |
| Replies | 60 |
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