Bushwalk Australia

RIP. Sad outcome.

people. check the weather forecast right up to the start of your trip and if you can get updates on your trip do so.. don't suffer from being caught out in severe weather unecessarily, be prepared to abandon or alter your trip plans at ANY stage of your trip.
most years in NZ people are killed by cold weather, in this case being trapped in cold weather... it is often a preventable scenario.
i dont want todays events to be a blame placing exercise.
thoughts are with the deceased's loved ones and the emergency services..

not sure if this will be viewable in aus, tv news video

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/strande ... eo-5662072

Bugger, what a b@#$&y shame. Hats of to SAR that would not have been easy carrying that hiker down, they would be gutted, and they still have a second retrieval to complete.

the bodies are still up at the top of the mountain, they are leaving them till the weather clears for the helicopter to retrieve..
sar had been working round the clock since saturday night trying to get to the climbers

This is a terrible tragedy, my thoughts are with the families. Shows you can never be too prepared, take care out there this week peeps!

Pair had no hope in tiny hole: guide - National - NZ Herald News

The two mountaineers who died on Mt Taranaki had little chance of surviving for two nights and a day in their shallow hole in the hard snow and freezing wind, says a leading local - New Zealand Herald


http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=11147741

Nicole Sutton and Hiroki Ogawa were a young couple in love - and expected to marry.

But they died side-by-side huddled in a waist-high trench at the weekend, more than a day after Ms Sutton sent a text to say she feared she would not survive the ordeal.



http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=11147737

Vaughan Smith's GPS won't work. It's frozen. He no longer knows how high they are. Not to the metre.

It hardly matters, because it's not the only thing iced up. He's iced up, and his fellow climbers are iced up. Some show signs of hypothermia. But their job's done.


http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=11147740

Thanks for the updates wayno. Those SAR people are something very special, aren't they........

indeed they are
i was climbing ruapehu once,, i went blind, the rain had turned to ice on my glasses, when i scraped the ice off i saw my clothes were covered in rime ice after the rain froze when the wind changed,, it all happened very quickly. luckily i wasnt very high up the mountain and made a quick exit down the mountain.

Has reached SMH.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/couple-die- ... 2wc7y.html

RIP both of them.

Very sad outcome.

Travis.

This is just so tragic. The father's comments are gut wrenching. I feel so desperately sorry for them both. And to think she was still alive when reached by the rescuers only to die in their arms. How traumatising for them. Such a tragedy.

K.

This is just so tragic. The father's comments are gut wrenching. I feel so desperately sorry for them both. And to think she was still alive when reached by the rescuers only to die in their arms. How traumatising for them. Such a tragedy.

K.

experienced mountaineers as well. they were still caught out by the conditions despite their experience..

wayno wrote:experienced mountaineers as well. they were still caught out by the conditions despite their experience..

So how? What were the reasons why the other 6 members from their party turned back?

they had reached the top earlier, they went up one route and down another, , these two were behind them... two others ended up in a snow cave but they escaped down the mountain after the first night

another sar pov
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9339728 ... untainside

comment on the mountains weather
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=11148376

I'm still a bit confused as to what happened.
I'll summarise what I understand happened; can you correct what I got wrong

8 went off to climb.
All 8 reached the summit (I'm not sure if together or not).
They descended in at least 3 groups.
One group of four made it down without issues.
One group of two, got trapped in a snow cave for one night, then descended to safety
The last group was unable to dig a cave to depth, and were trapped by the weather.

Did they all descend the same way? If so, was the main variable the descent speed?

My reading was that the groups have already split on the way up. One report said they only summited in the early evening when experienced climbers would set a 3pm deadline for summiting. So obviously very delayed.

i dont think all that information has been published as to when they split other than the two that died were behind all the others when they reached the top. it did take a lot longer to get to the top than planned, why still hasnt been published, , i cant find any published account by any of the survivors

Climbers tell of escape from mountain
A friend of two mountaineers who escaped a blizzard on Mt Taranaki, in which climbers Hiroki Ogawa and Nicole Sutton died, says they were incredibly lucky to get down alive.
Mr Ogawa, from Japan, and 29-year-old Nicole Sutton were trapped on Mt Taranaki for two nights. Rescuers reached them on Monday to find the 31-year-old had died. They found Ms Sutton alive and gave her medical assistance for some hours but she died in their arms.
John Salisbury and Kirsten Spealer became separated from the couple but managed to descend after spending Saturday night on the mountain.
Peter Cammell, a good friend of the four climbers, has spoken with Mr Salisbury.
He says Mr Salisbury told him he and Kirsten Spealer initially descended off Shark's Tooth on the East Ridge with Hiroki Ogawa and Nicole Sutton at night, but then became separated from the couple.
The former New Zealand Alpine Club president says the climbers became encased in ice within minutes in a process known as 'riming up'.
Mr Cammel says the conditions the group faced would have been like being in a blast freezer.
Ms Spealer slipped and fell but rejoined the party. Mr Salisbury realised it was a dangerous situation and decided to descend as quickly as possible.
Mr Cammell says the two who made it were very lucky to survive.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/ ... m-mountain