winter in NZ

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winter in NZ

Postby wayno » Mon 17 Jul, 2017 3:47 am

Avalanche warnings
http://www.avalanche.net.nz/Forecasts/

Snowstorms persistent, disruptive, and maybe not the last
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/9 ... t-the-last
from the land of the long white clouds...
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Re: winter in NZ

Postby wayno » Mon 17 Jul, 2017 9:21 am

from the land of the long white clouds...
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Re: winter in NZ

Postby newhue » Tue 18 Jul, 2017 6:07 am

interesting it was her last run. I have a bit of a personal alarm bell do nothing special for the last run. We go mountain biking at night and many of the lads want to do the fastest and hardest run last. But I see it as we are tired and starting to focus on other things, so I mostly run it at 7/10ths. Maybe I'm just a wuss. Many climbers tend to die after summiting upon their return, jovial, complete, tired, perhaps similar conditions. I believe most truck crashes are with 100K of home on the homebound run. I wonder if this woman suffered a bit of unconscious distraction as well.
I had to giggle though when it reads lucky she did not have to stay out for the night, 2.30AM in my book is a fair chuck of the night. I guess to miss the real cold that comes just before dawn when you at you most tired is what they are talking about.
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Re: winter in NZ

Postby wayno » Tue 18 Jul, 2017 6:15 am

Ed hillary said you havent climbed a mountain successfully until you have returned safely,
I think he said it to plant the idea in peoples minds to plan properly and not over extend themselves on the climb and give themselves enough leeway to return. from what i could see of a photo, it didnt look like she had a lot of insulation on under her jacket.
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Re: winter in NZ

Postby wayno » Mon 24 Jul, 2017 3:36 pm

RESCUE, TONGARIRO NORTHERN CIRCUIT, GREAT WALK

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=11894530

The mistakes that nearly cost trampers their lives at Tongariro

With exploding visitor numbers and 125,000 people attempting the Tongariro Alpine Crossing annually, police are warning a death on Mt Tongariro is not a case of if, but when.
That follows the rescue of two trampers, one suffering hypothermia, in the early hours of Sunday morning in freezing conditions on Mt Tongariro.
Taupo Senior Constable Barry Shepherd said police at search and rescue headquarters were extremely worried the wet and cold woman was in imminent danger of dying.
She could no longer walk who and was huddled in a sleeping bag on the side of a tramping track in the dark.
He said the whole rescue could have easily been avoided if the group had prepared better, made better decisions on the mountain and stuck together. But there were several other factors which led these hikers so close to a meeting with death.
The Crossing has become an increasingly attractive draw after the Lord of Rings films set neighbouring Mt Ngaruhoe as the imposing Mt Doom.
The party of four in their late twenties and early thirties had set out from Mangetepopo late on Saturday morning, intending to tramp to Oturere Hut on the other side of the mountain.
It took them more than five hours just to reach Red Crater, a walk which normally takes less than half that time.
Despite the sun setting, the group carried on down to the Oturere Valley where they met blizzard conditions.
In the snow, the group became separated.
The first two men reached Oturere Hut, but the man and the woman left behind were wet and became cold. They called police at 8.40pm.
Using the 111 location system, police were able to pinpoint the couple's location and began a search and rescue operation but were unable to get a helicopter in because of low cloud.
Instead, LandSAR volunteers Luke Middleton and Brett Donaldson were flown to Ketetahi Hut just before midnight to begin the three hour walk across the top of Mt Tongariro to Oturere, with another team 40 minutes behind them.
Meanwhile, police managed to contact the two other members of the group at the hut, told them of the couple's location and ordered them to go and find their friends, which they did.
It took the three men more than two hours to carry the immobile woman 1km back to the hut.
The searchers arrived at the hut a few minutes after the group and were able to use the spare warm gear they were carrying to get her changed into dry clothes and into the two remaining dry sleeping bags.
The rest of the group and the searchers spent a cold night in the hut, which did not have a working heater, and were helicoptered out at about 8am.
Mr Shepherd says the group made a series of mistakes which could have easily led to a fatality on the mountain.
Firstly, they had set off too late and then failed to turn back when it became obvious progress was too slow to complete the walk in daylight.
They had taken crampons, but ones unsuitable for their boots and lost valuable time trying repeatedly to refit them.
They failed to travel at the pace of the slowest member of the group and become separated.
The group at the hut failed to raise the alarm when their companions didn't arrive, even though they had a personal locator beacon and could have found cellphone coverage near the hut.
"People are reluctant to ring 111 because they think it's for emergencies, but we say if you need us now, call 111 regardless of what it is."
Mr Shepherd said the group were lucky there were LandSAR volunteers and rescue helicopter crew who were willing to sacrifice their own sleep and time and put themselves at risk to try to reach them on the mountain.
In all, four LandSAR searchers turned out in the middle of the night, along with two Greenlea rescue helicopter crew, four police staff and two LandSAR volunteers at Turangi Police Station.
"It required a really serious commitment to actually save [the woman's] life - that was potentially where it was going."
Mr Shepherd, a search and rescue veteran of 27 years, said given the numbers of people visiting Mt Tongariro and the lack of preparation of many of them, a fatality on the mountain was inevitable.
"It bothers a lot of people who go up there regularly just to see what people are doing," he said.
"One of these days someone will die and we're going to be having this discussion in front of a coroner."
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Re: winter in NZ

Postby RonK » Mon 24 Jul, 2017 5:59 pm

Jeez - you're having a doozy of a winter over there Wayno. :)
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Re: winter in NZ

Postby ChrisJHC » Mon 24 Jul, 2017 7:23 pm

I note that LandSAR is a voluntary organisation and relies on public support. Hopefully a large donation coming their way.


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Re: winter in NZ

Postby wayno » Tue 25 Jul, 2017 4:06 am

this is quite normal for NZ winter, regular rescues go on throughout winter.
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Re: winter in NZ

Postby RonK » Tue 25 Jul, 2017 10:36 am

wayno wrote:this is quite normal for NZ winter, regular rescues go on throughout winter.

Was thinking about the weather - two cyclones and much flooding while I was there in April. Since then more rain, heavy snowfall, more flooding, more coming...

The highland lakes were quite low when I was there. I bet they are much higher now.
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Re: winter in NZ

Postby wayno » Wed 26 Jul, 2017 4:39 am

more details of the rescue
knee deep snow and severe weather

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=11894703
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Re: winter in NZ

Postby wayno » Wed 26 Jul, 2017 4:37 pm

from the land of the long white clouds...
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Re: winter in NZ

Postby roysta » Mon 31 Jul, 2017 8:06 am

wayno wrote:RESCUE, TONGARIRO NORTHERN CIRCUIT, GREAT WALK

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=11894530

The mistakes that nearly cost trampers their lives at Tongariro

With exploding visitor numbers and 125,000 people attempting the Tongariro Alpine Crossing annually, police are warning a death on Mt Tongariro is not a case of if, but when.
That follows the rescue of two trampers, one suffering hypothermia, in the early hours of Sunday morning in freezing conditions on Mt Tongariro.
Taupo Senior Constable Barry Shepherd said police at search and rescue headquarters were extremely worried the wet and cold woman was in imminent danger of dying.
She could no longer walk who and was huddled in a sleeping bag on the side of a tramping track in the dark.
He said the whole rescue could have easily been avoided if the group had prepared better, made better decisions on the mountain and stuck together. But there were several other factors which led these hikers so close to a meeting with death.
The Crossing has become an increasingly attractive draw after the Lord of Rings films set neighbouring Mt Ngaruhoe as the imposing Mt Doom.
The party of four in their late twenties and early thirties had set out from Mangetepopo late on Saturday morning, intending to tramp to Oturere Hut on the other side of the mountain.
It took them more than five hours just to reach Red Crater, a walk which normally takes less than half that time.
Despite the sun setting, the group carried on down to the Oturere Valley where they met blizzard conditions.
In the snow, the group became separated.
The first two men reached Oturere Hut, but the man and the woman left behind were wet and became cold. They called police at 8.40pm.
Using the 111 location system, police were able to pinpoint the couple's location and began a search and rescue operation but were unable to get a helicopter in because of low cloud.
Instead, LandSAR volunteers Luke Middleton and Brett Donaldson were flown to Ketetahi Hut just before midnight to begin the three hour walk across the top of Mt Tongariro to Oturere, with another team 40 minutes behind them.
Meanwhile, police managed to contact the two other members of the group at the hut, told them of the couple's location and ordered them to go and find their friends, which they did.
It took the three men more than two hours to carry the immobile woman 1km back to the hut.
The searchers arrived at the hut a few minutes after the group and were able to use the spare warm gear they were carrying to get her changed into dry clothes and into the two remaining dry sleeping bags.
The rest of the group and the searchers spent a cold night in the hut, which did not have a working heater, and were helicoptered out at about 8am.
Mr Shepherd says the group made a series of mistakes which could have easily led to a fatality on the mountain.
Firstly, they had set off too late and then failed to turn back when it became obvious progress was too slow to complete the walk in daylight.
They had taken crampons, but ones unsuitable for their boots and lost valuable time trying repeatedly to refit them.
They failed to travel at the pace of the slowest member of the group and become separated.
The group at the hut failed to raise the alarm when their companions didn't arrive, even though they had a personal locator beacon and could have found cellphone coverage near the hut.
"People are reluctant to ring 111 because they think it's for emergencies, but we say if you need us now, call 111 regardless of what it is."
Mr Shepherd said the group were lucky there were LandSAR volunteers and rescue helicopter crew who were willing to sacrifice their own sleep and time and put themselves at risk to try to reach them on the mountain.
In all, four LandSAR searchers turned out in the middle of the night, along with two Greenlea rescue helicopter crew, four police staff and two LandSAR volunteers at Turangi Police Station.
"It required a really serious commitment to actually save [the woman's] life - that was potentially where it was going."
Mr Shepherd, a search and rescue veteran of 27 years, said given the numbers of people visiting Mt Tongariro and the lack of preparation of many of them, a fatality on the mountain was inevitable.
"It bothers a lot of people who go up there regularly just to see what people are doing," he said.
"One of these days someone will die and we're going to be having this discussion in front of a coroner."
Crampons that wouldn't fit their boots, I mean seriously?


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Re: winter in NZ

Postby wayno » Mon 31 Jul, 2017 8:24 am

it doesnt register with people what "winter alpine conditions" mean,
probably rented the crampons not understanding the importance of making sure they fit the boots or sorting out the fitting before they use them or the wrong design entirely for the type of boot...
its Tongariro, how hard can it be...... well life treatening actually
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Full moon played a critical part in the rescue of lost tramp

Postby wayno » Wed 09 Aug, 2017 3:42 am

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/955458 ... bay-forest


A full moon might be all that was between Martin Vaclavu and a cold, lonely death on the top of the Kaweka Range.

Vaclavu is not an inexperienced tramper, but is the first to admit he made mistakes when going on what should have been a short walk in the Hawke's Bay range on Monday.

The 25-year-old from the Czech Republic went for a walk to "see where I could get".

"I just saw the peaks, loved the way they looked, and wanted to get closer to them. But I miscalculated the time I would need to get back."

The weather changed and became colder, with a light fog, and it started to get darker. He did not have a torch.

"I knew the direction I needed to go in, but it was getting dark and I was afraid of getting lost, so I stayed on the only track I could see."

Vaclavu said he was walking through knee-deep snow for much of the walk.

"I know I made some bad decisions and that I was not as prepared as I should have been.

"It was freezing. I realised I could be in a lot of danger, so I rang my friends to tell them where I was, then the emergency number to tell them."

He climbed to a snow-covered saddle at about 1400 metres, found some foliage providing shelter, and lay down to wait for his rescuers.

"I just tried to cover up and shelter from the strong wind that came with the night. It was very cold.

"My shoes and gloves were wet, so my fingers and toes were frozen. But I wasn't giving up."

Monday night's full moon was a blessing.

"I was very lucky. It was really foggy, but somehow it cleared and the moon was really shining. I think it meant the helicopter could see me easily.

"I've learned a big lesson. I just should have thought about the consequences earlier and turned back, but I didn't."

Vaclavu arrived in New Zealand three months ago and has travelled around the North Island, making several short walks. He intends to spend more than a year in the country and will go to the South Island soon.

Hawke's Bay police search and rescue co-ordinator Wayne Stead said Vaclavu had started his tramp from the Lakes car park near Kuripapango on the Napier-Taihape Road.

"He followed a track to the top of ranges, then followed a poled route. He was in an area known as Mad Dog Hill when the cloud and dark came in."

Stead agreed the the light of the full moon was critical to the rescue.

"If we hadn't been able to land the helicopter near him, we would have had to find another landing site and drop teams off to search for him by foot.

"The longer he was up there, the colder he would have got, and the more likely he would have become severely hypothermic. It would only have got worse. He was fortunate we were able to reach him when we did.

"It's a valuable reminder to always be prepared."
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