Incidents in the mountains

Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter's busiest year requires funding lift http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/88187139/nelson-marlborough-rescue-helicopters-busiest-year-needs-funding-lift

missing tourist possibly tramping http://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/police-appeal-sightings-french-tourist-0 Police are appealing for sightings of a French tourist who has been reported missing by his family in France. Eddy Paluch, 32, arrived in New Zealand on 28 December and was expected back at work in France on 12 January. In his most recent communication with his family on 6 January Mr Paluch said he had an ankle injury but wanted to continue his journey, and was on his way to the coast to see the dolphins and maybe do another trek. Mr Paluch's last known location was the Abel Tasman National Park. Mr Paluch is reported to be very fit. He is experienced in tramping in difficult conditions and usually travels alone. Search and Rescue have checked huts on the Abel Tasman National Park and found no sign of Mr Paluch. Mr Paluch is believed to have rented a car while in New Zealand, and Police are currently contacting rental car companies to make enquiries. Police are also talking to water taxi operators in the area of the Abel Tasman National Park. If anyone has seen Mr Paluch, or believes they have information which might help Police locate him, please contact your nearest Police station. https://thetrek.co/do-what-makes-you-happy/?ref=slider

French tourist located http://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/french-tourist-located

Wanaka’s Gary Dickinson is a volunteer member of Wanaka LandSAR and was one of the rescuers who retrieved the body of the Czech climber who died climbing Mt Aspiring last month. He spoke with Kerrie Waterworth about the ups and downs of being an alpine guide and a member of the search and rescue team, and discussed his concerns for the future of mountain guiding in New Zealand. https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/wanaka/mountain-man-talks-work-life

Gary Dickenson wrote a manual on mountaincraft back in the day (not an MSC one). It was great to have it.

French tramper died after fall in Fiordland National Park http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/88586387/french-tramper-died-after-fall-in-fiordland-national-park

Swedish couple caught in flash flood, family rescued from hut after heavy rain http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/88572581/swedish-couple-caught-in-flash-flood-family-rescued-from-hut-after-heavy-rain They were rescued from Discovery Flat within an hour of activating an emergency personal locator beacon at 6.15pm, which saved their lives, he said. "It was quite serious because they were swept down the Hawdon River." The man managed to get out of the river but the woman was swept 300 metres downstream before washing up on a small island. Rescue Co-ordination Centre NZ search and rescue officers identified a break in the weather and Garden City Helicopters made the rescue, the spokesman said. They rescued the woman by hovering above the river and "plucking" her from the land. After grabbing the man, the couple was taken to Christchurch for medical assessment. A family also had to be rescued from South Temple Hut near Lake Ohau on Thursday morning after an emergency locator beacon was activated. A mother and four children, aged between 8 and 16, had to be rescued, he said. They became trapped by rising water because of heavy rain which hit the South Island on Wednesday night. The beacon was activated at 7.15am. A helicopter went to retrieve the family but strong winds prevented the helicopter from getting to the hut in Temple Valley. The family were picked up at 10.30am and airlifted to the road end at Hopkins Valley where their car was located. No-one was injured.

while all the facts are not known, re the Swedish couple, they ended up being swept down the hawdon. that's was presumably after the 240mm rain that fell in 24 hours. seems like a lack of judgement. the online discussions suggest that tourist incidents are increasing substantially. no idea if this is true, as once, you'd not hear too much about it, especially on the internet But if poor judgement/lack of knowledge is the cause of more incidents, then the mountain safety message isn't getting though. It seems that the paid of Ukranians killed in the Tararuas, were inadequately clothed (had all their clothes on), had light sleeping bags (but never used them), Lunches only, and were 800 meters from Alpha hut. They did take the long route, via Cone-Winchcombe. A big day for anyone. could have been a day run, intended? possible, if your fit, and weather ok. The weather was bad/freezing according to others reports. No surprize as to why it happened, really seems to unlikely to have been anything other than misjudging the conditions. a bailout was possible then ascending winchcombe ridge, or at hector. But you cant stop people doing stupid things, they don't know are stupid One wonders what the solution is. More warning signs? hope not. More bridges, huts etc? hope not. More education? could be effective? The TA covers some risky places. more walkers, more deaths coming?

It doesnt help that the journalists just ape the message from maritime NZ RCCNZ that you should take a beacon... little if any mention of getting relevant bushcraft skills and making sure you're adequately fit and equipped for the trip you're undertaking... whats happening now is people are being saved by the fact that they have a beacon and if they are extremely lucky a cell phone connection... and without those they would die because of their lack of preparedness for the circumstances they are in.... Tourists without relevant experience are being lured into our mountains for the scenery without any real understanding of the dangers. if youve never felt the power of water in a flooded stream , then the first time you see one might be your last. ultralight te araroa walkers with extensive overseas experience won't listen to local advice i've been told by one experienced long distance american hiker thats a standard attitude, they assume they can translate their experience to NZ, my american friend said she got a big wake up when she came and walked Te Araroa, its much harder than the major american long distance trails, you usually don't have to watch where you put your feet on those trails and they have zig zags to go up steeper sections. NZ is being marketed as an outdoors paradise, but you dont have to go very far into the mountains before that often changes.... we've got snow half way down to the bushline all around the country at present.... will ultralight summer clothing cope with that if they get caught out overnight? most overseas tourists come from countries that put a massive amount of resources into maintaining tracks and serviced accommodation in the mountains.... guess what, a lot of our huts in the coldest locations often dont have a fireplace and have little insulation. so its down to what you carry with you as to how warm or cold you will be... our mountains and trails are rough and regularly get wiped out by storms, its easy to loose the trail your on even if its marked.... the weather can be like winter in the middle of summer, and quite regularly this summer.... NZ is small on the map compared to other countries... easy to under estimate. the mountains arent that high compared to many other mountains. technically not as cold. but its still damp as hell, and it blows and rains like hell out of the blue......

We have different mountains in Europe, but they still kill about 60 people every year, NZ seems still far away from that number. Yes NZ mountains are lower but more dangerous, but European mountains may also be more accessible and as dangerous. In France you can use the aerial tramway from Chamonix at 1000 metres to the Aiguille du Midi near 4000 metres in about 15 minutes, then from there gain easy access to 4000+ metres peaks. A number of people need to be rescued every year because the access is so easy but gaining that much altitude in so little time is also quite hard on the body. And compared to France I would say there's a lot more effort and money going in the maintenance of tracks and hiker accommodation in NZ. We don't have huts everywhere (or at all), and most tracks are barely maintained, more often by volunteers. As for ultralight gear, yeah sure there's a difference between USA, Europe and NZ, but people are not completely stupid and they adjust their gear. It's not because you're not carrying a 15+ kg pack, or just wearing trail shoes instead of heavy boots that you don't know what to expect or you are not prepared for NZ conditions.