Duty calls rescued Aussie mountaineer
An Australian soldier rescued after days in sub-zero conditions on Mt Aspiring near Wanaka wants to return to work as soon as possible.
Lieutenant Terry Harch was plucked from the mountain in a ‘‘snatch and grab’’ rescue on Friday, after spending most of the week alone in freezing temperatures. Harch’s family yesterday thanked New Zealand rescuers and medical staff for keeping him alive, and said the soldier wanted to quickly get back to work.
‘‘We wish to express our deep gratitude and thanks to New Zealand authorities and volunteer services in rescuing and caring for Mr Harch . . .Without these rescue services and their dedicated staff, he might not have survived,’’ the family said.
The statement said Harch wished to ‘‘return to his duties as an officer in the Australian Army as quickly as possible and has asked for media to respect his privacy at this time’’.
Thanks to his army training, Harch took all the right steps.
Rescuers set out in search of Harch after he activated a tracking device on Tuesday and had been fearing the worst – but found him on Thursday cold, tired, dehydrated, and suffering from mild frostbite.
Greg Johnston, senior search and rescue officer, said Harch’s intended route had been from French Ridge Hut, up to Quarterdeck Pass, across the Bonar Glacier and up Southwest Ridge of Mt Aspiring. It’s not yet clear exactly what happened after Harch set out on Saturday, but something went wrong. Johnston said he ‘‘seems to have got into difficulty on Bonar Glacier’’. When rescuers reached Harch on Thursday it had been three days since he activated a tracking device that was picked up in the United States and reported to the NZ Rescue Co-ordination Centre. But he could not be flown off the mountain until Friday afternoon. He was then admitted to Dunedin Hospital.