Tongariro rescue prompts inquiry
A Hamilton learning institution has launched a health and safety investigation after two students had to be rescued in bitterly cold weather on Mt Tongariro.
Rescuers have said the stranded teens were ‘‘ill equipped’’ in weather conditions that potentially could have resulted in deaths.
Two teens who became separated from their group were found sitting on a patch of ice in zero degrees and 70kmh winds on Wednesday.
Guides who returned to the mountain to rescue the pair, after already completing long hikes, were forced to dig a trench in the ice and drag the boys to safety.
The 13-strong group of sport and recreation students from Hamilton’s Te Wananga o Aotearoa, had set off on the 20-kilometre Tongariro Crossing early on Wednesday accompanied by one instructor.
Senior Constable Barry Shepherd, of Taupo police, said three teenage boys went ahead at the Red Crater, splitting off to the left while the rest of the group continued on the correct track.
‘‘One of them then left and the other two gave up, sat down in the snow and rang police saying, ‘We’re cold, we don’t want to do this any more’.’’
The woman in charge of the group reached Ketetahi Shelter before realising the boys were missing.
‘‘Then she got a message from us saying two of your kids are stuck near the summit of Tongariro and one of them has gone back to Mangatepopo.’’
Other groups intending to walk the track that day had abandoned plans
"One of them then left and the other two gave up, sat down in the snow and rang police saying, 'We're cold, we don't want to do this any more'." Senior Constable Barry Shepherd
because of bad weather conditions, he said.
It was ‘‘zero degrees and a howling wind’’ with visibility of less than 10 metres, Shepherd said.
‘‘It wouldn’t have been my choice of day to do the crossing. In hindsight, they should have saved it for another day.
‘‘We keep saying we want people to have a good day on the mountain - unless you want an extreme weather experience, you are better off to postpone.’’
The boys made the call for help at 11.40am.
It was almost 2.30pm by the time the first rescuer, professional guide Terry Blumhardt, reached the pair, followed by two other Tongariro mountain guides and two of the Ruapehu alpine team.
‘‘They were cold, miserable and had given up,’’ Shepherd said of the pair’s condition.
Blumhardt dug a trench in the snow with a shovel to shuffle the boys across the slope to a warmer spot while feeding them electrolytes, food and water.
Despite wearing polypropylene pants and tops, the teens were not wearing the right clothing for the weather conditions, Shepherd said.
Without the coverage to make the cellphone call, there was the potential for deaths ‘‘for sure’’, Shepherd said.
‘‘There are numerous places where there is no coverage - and that is always our challenge with people losing their way on Tongariro.’’
Together with guides, the boys walked back to Ketetahi Shelter where they were picked up by the Greenlea rescue helicopter and flown off the mountain.
They were reunited with their schoolmates at a marae in Turangi where they were staying at 7pm. Efforts from rescuers were ‘‘top shelf’’. ‘‘First class, thanks to them. It’s a 20-kilometre hike over a mountain, battling serious weather,’’ Shepherd said.
Three of the rescuers had already completed tramps with their customers before making the long trek back across half of the crossing to rescue the boys.
‘‘Some of the rescuers would have already walked 35 kilometres those days,’’ Shepherd said.
If there were no guides on the mountain that day, the boys would have been left waiting for hours, he said.
‘‘It’s fortunate no-one came to any harm, the outcome could have been much worse.’’
Te Wananga o Aotearoa has since launched a full health and safety investigation into the incident, NZMEreported.
Te Waenga Hoe Whakatere Jocelyn Mikaere said the investigation would include interviewing all staff and students involved.
‘‘Te Wananga o Aotearoa sincerely thanks the police and search and rescue staff for their help in locating our students and returning them to safety.
‘‘We acknowledge that without their help, this incident could have had a more serious outcome.’’