Not a good time to be lost in the Tararuas

From up there a cell phone would be just as good if not better than a beacon, they could have then talked to rescuers. Apparently they didn't even have a cell phone. By the sound of things they might not have been able to find Kime and were trying to work their way back and ended up off the track.

I was also surprised to hear they didn't have cellphones, only because it seems unusual in this day and age. I wonder if given their jobs, not packing phones might have been a way of ensuring they could get away from them. In my experience the phone reception in that area can still be unreliable, so it might have made no difference. If they never reached Kime at all, it sounds like they were probably in trouble as early as Saturday night. EPIRB or phone, one would think that if they'd been able to somehow raise an alarm at the time, a rescue mission may have been able to get underway much earlier, maybe even a well-equipped team walking up to find them on Saturday night if it was clear enough that someone was in immediate danger. As it was, it was only after Sunday night that an alarm was raised. If they were stuck where they apparently were and still alive, this still would have all but guaranteed they'd have to spend at least 2 nights exposed. It's all guess-work at the moment though, I suppose. Probably we'll hear more about this in coming weeks and hopefully there will be something to learn from it.

Wow! Just seen this on the late news. I've tramped through that area dozens of times in the past 20 years in all sort of conditions including similar conditions to what was experienced over the weekend. I've previously never thought of the area being particularly dangerous if properly prepared with the right experience and gear. I will have to revise that opinion. From what I understand from the media the party was heading towards Kime Hut and lost the route between Bridge Peak and Kime Hut. Snow poles mark the route from the track up Judd Ridge. There is a relatively steep climb up the ridge onto Bridge Peak itself, which is a shallow dome shaped mound largely devoid of plant life. It is fully exposed to the southerly and a real kick in the pants after the somewhat sheltered climb up. In whiteout conditions and deep snow on the tops, the snow poles provide essential navigation aids. I can only guess that some bad navigation decisions were made in a severe hypothermic state. The two party members were found separated by 300m that suggests that one person tried to get to the hut raise help. Truly sad outcome and my condolences to the families.

Cellphone worked at Field Peak (1483m) which is just in southeast of Kime Hut and it takes a short climb from the hut. When I was there, a tramper used his phone trying to seek advice from his friend if to go ahead or not. He and his son planned heading to Alpha Hut. As discussed in my previous post, the morning’s weather conditions were extremely poor. Click on the links, the photographs of one of the snow poles led to Kime Hut and of the hut. Both were taken in Feb 2008 http://members.westnet.com.au/dzungn/Tararua_southern_x.jpg http://members.westnet.com.au/dzungn/Tararua_Kime_Hut.jpg

I would like to know why someone with apparent intelligence, money etc would venture in winter to such a dangerous place.

For the Challenge

@ Waihi Ride: Because it's the most beautiful place in the world when you are up there. @Dztramping. The conditions in your photo look splendid (in Tararua terms). It's verging on shirt-off tramping weather ;-) Imagine being up there, extremely tired, and not being able to see that snow pole from 5 metres away. In the end there was only one final problem here and that was a decision making one - these guys failed to turn back when they should have. I've gone to the loo at Kime and, on the way back to the hut, been at a point where I could see neither the hut nor the loo. We're only talking 15m each way - and the hut is a bloody big object. It was red back then too! Now put yourself 1km away from the hut with rolling tops and As someone mentioned earlier, it'd be very interesting to know if they had any shelter with them. I've never gone onto the tops in the Tararua without a tent (a Macpac Minaret). I never will - even just on a trip to Jumbo. A tent may not have saved them but it would have given them a better chance than either a locator beacon or a mobile phone. My condolences to the family and friends also. It's awful thinking of what a stranger went through in those conditions, let alone your own family member or friend. Slainte mhath Stu

I agree. It's as dangerous as you make it, but probably what happened here amongst other things is that they very sadly didn't notice the danger until it was too late, and their preparation didn't compensate. Walking to Kime Hut in the winter isn't typically dangerous if you do it the right way with the right equipment and experience, make the right decisions, and do it in the right frame of mind. (ie. Being prepared to turn around or not go at all if the conditions look bad.) Being winter changes the balance of some considerations, but it's also an attraction in itself. Even those who do everything right sometimes make mistakes or have bad things happen to them. There will always be some risk, but you can minimise it by over-preparing. As I mentioned earlier, I was very nearly up there a night earlier. We planned to go further than Kime, but I didn't really have any serious concerns because we were prepared to assess the situation beforehand and as we went up, treat it accordingly, and I'd more or less assumed we'd probably be stopping at Kime regardless. (It's still a night out tramping, which I enjoy.) If this was like many typical outdoor accidents, a combination of things went wrong, and it's been very sad that for whatever reason, their preparation and decisions didn't compensate. Sometimes it just works out that way, but the benefits for people out-weigh the risks in the same way that millions of people spend time driving to places despite the possibility of road accidents. All you can really do is absolutely everything you can to ensure that you're prepared with good safety gear, appropriate experience, and to make good decisions about changing plans when it makes sense to do so. I certainly wouldn't recommend people avoid the Tararuas in winter, though. They're a fascinating place at the best of times and at the worst of times. More details will emerge once things have settled down, and I look forward to hearing about what happened and what additional preparations might have helped them, so everyone can learn from it.

WaihiRide... I don't think they went up there because it was dangerous. The mountains are a comparatively safe place. You might ask the same question of somebody who drives around on the roads. I would say launching yourself onto our highways is probably a more dangerous thing to do. But, in saying that, as with any environment, the right decisions need to be made. It troubles and puzzles me that suposedly experienced and well equipped trampers should come to grief. I think we need to wait and see what comes out of this. It could be that they weren't as experienced and as well equipped as first said. I expect the most probable explanation, from what I have read, is that they were unable to locate Kime Hut due to poor visibility, or even went past it. They then attempted to head back to Field but left that decision too late and were caught out by darkness and bad weather. They were off the track so maybe they had trouble locating the track. It doesn't take much to bury snow poles. The fact that the two bodies were 300m apart doesn't mean much. Strange irrational things probably happen in the final stages of exposure so you can't read too much into what happened there.

For those that have been here or places like it no explanation for why is really needed. We would all go again and trust that should we be called on to make the right decision at a time of need our experience would pay off. I have walked this area in the sun and a white out. Its not even a very big area, in broad daylight you would wonder how anybody could go wrong. Its a whole different storey in a white out complecated with snow and the situation can change very quickly here. Minutes not hours! For my own sake it would be instructional to piece together what went wrong but i would still go again. to qoute Seddon Bennington as reported in the Herald, "with the Tararuas visible from the office window, I frequently think of the satisfaction of being away from city lights and comforts, of traversing ridges, of the sleep that comes of a day's hard exertion, and of the respect for nature and weather that goes with the terrain."