Not a good time to be lost in the Tararuas

Another issue with winter tramping in particular is fitness. When the weather turns to custard you want to be able to move at a good pace sometimes for a reasonable length of time, while keeping up with fluids and energy foods, possibly without stopping. You haven't got the luxury of sitting on a rock having a rest, admiring the view in the sushine and munching on a muesli bar as in summer. I don't know about this couple's fitness but read that the woman had recently just got back into tramping. Was she 'pack fit'? I come across a lot of people who reckon they are fit because they cycle a bit or go to the gym. They soon think again on an uphill track with a pack! And that's on a good day.

Well in any case they should have turned back, another party up there told them to turn back.

I agree with you fruitbat 100% about being pack fit.I cycle alot to work and the weekends,that gets you cardo fit but when it comes to walking up hills with a heavy pack and if you havent done it for a while you feel it for a while till you get used to it again

Here are the DomPost stories so far about the inquest, in order. It's becoming interesting reading: * 16-2-10: Inquest into death of Te Papa boss, http://www.stuff.co.nz/3334629 * 17-2-10: Compass 'could have saved Te Papa boss', http://www.stuff.co.nz/3337571 * 18-2-10: Te Papa boss 'often ignored tramping advice', http://www.stuff.co.nz/3342443

Whupps -- I should have posted to this thread instead of the in-the-news thread. The coroner's findings are at http://www.stuff.co.nz/3422144

Meanwhile Newstalk ZB has decided to take a completely different tiny part of the findings to focus on, and are highlighting that a *cellphone* could have saved their lives. http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=172199 Mr Scott says their deaths may have been prevented if they had been carrying life-saving equipment, like a cell phone. "I simply struggle to understand why anyone would leave such a basic and common piece of equipment behind."

And there's a further update from this morning's DomPost: http://www.stuff.co.nz/3432484

Hi, I don't know that particular area, but as tragic as it may be it sounds like just another preventable case. At the very least if the area allows to go down below the bush- or treeline, or with a tiny bit of luck even above the treeline, they would have had a fair chance even in snowfall and storm if they would have carried a tent and sleeping bags. Did they? If so, why did they die? Based on the few things I know about this case, I carefully guess that their experience maybe wasn't quite as high as stated. Of course I don't know the details, but it seems to me that this was avoidable, as most cases. Not to say that I am 100% sure I won't make a serious mistake at some point, mind you, we're all human. Matt

Hi Matt. I'm guessing based on what's been published in the media, but I think they were probably focused on Kime Hut because once they realised they were in trouble, they probably deemed it the most likely place to find shelter and hoped to find a marker or something, and maybe that was their best bet. It flattens around Bridge Peak and in extreme winds and white-out conditions, it probably wasn't too clear which way was down, or whether they were going in circles. If they'd eventually tried to get to the bush-line, they would probably have had to compete with sopping wet leatherwood and dracophyllum. I've tried to come up towards Table Top (nearby) from below pushing through that stuff on a wet day without wind, but the beginnings of a cold. It took ages, was very energy-sapping and not at all nice. From what I've read it sounds as if one of them collapsed and couldn't go any further, and the other probably stopped to try and help, meaning even more risk for the person who stopped until it was too late. But yes, for so many reasons they really should never have needed to be in that situation in the first place. They were reported as experienced from friends early on, but I guess people get experience through different channels and some channels may be more reliable than others. As often happens with this kind of accident there were so many things that contributed to this, most of which were under their control, and any one of them might have made a difference. I'm confused about what's happening with the coroner's findings. The DomPost stated last month that the they were released. [ http://www.stuff.co.nz/3429667 ] I ventured to the Coroners Recommendations Register for 2009 accidents [ http://www.justice.govt.nz/courts/coroners-court/recommendations-register-data/recommendations-2009-test ] to find a non-media-filtered summary, but it wasn't there. Soon after I asked staff at the Ministry of Justice who said they hadn't heard anything about the coroner having officially closed that inquest, and as soon as it happened the summary would appear on that page under 'July' because that's when it occurred. (Summary only, as it's necessary to apply in writing for the full findings.) 3-4 weeks later, it still hasn't shown up but others have appeared. I wonder if maybe the inquest isn't yet complete and the media jumped the gun?

I feel there's been some very intelligent commentary made in this thread and can only add that there are times when for whatever reason things can and do go wrong in the NZ wilds. Survival can sometimes boil down to luck. We can certainly improve the odds with good preparation, experience, local knowledge, keen awareness of our surroundings etc. It may have been that this couple fell short in one or more of these areas but the thing I take most from this is it was a terrible and tragic event that, as with any loss of life under such circumstances, we must see as a terrible blow to friends and family of those lost. And we must admit that for all of our vigilance and preparation there can always still remain a circumstance, a time, a place, when the outcome of a survival fight lays not with us but in the hands of fate. My condolences go out to those who suffered most from this tragedy.