Soldier’s rescue costs six figures

An Australian soldier’s rescue from Mt Aspiring is thought to have cost New Zealand taxpayers at least $150,000 and 500 volunteer hours.

Terry Harch was hospitalised last week with mild frostbite after spending three days trapped alone on the mountain in the South Island national park, and then another night with rescuers.

It is not the first time Harch has been saved from a mountain in the Southern Alps. In 2013, he and a friend were rescued from New Zealand’s second highest mountain, Mt Tasman.

In both cases, daring helicopter rescues were required to save him after he became trapped on a mountainside in deteriorating weather.

He is also known to have successfully reached the summit of Mt Cook in 2011 and 2014.

Confirmed costs for last week’s rescue are not yet available but it is understood the two Squirrel helicopters used by Aspiring Helicopters were charged out at about $3000 an hour. The larger helicopter, owned by Southern Lakes Helicopters, cost about $5000 an hour.

The operational hours, which included searching for Harch after his tracking device was activated and waiting for weather to clear to remove him and rescuers from the mountain, have not yet been calculated. One source estimated it would have been at least 50 hours. The Rescue Co-ordination Centre, which is part of the Ministry of Transport, will be responsible for covering the bill.

Wanaka search and rescue spokesman Phil Melchior said his team, including the four rescuers who stayed on the mountain with Harch, put in about 500 volunteer man hours in total.

‘‘Virtually all of these people are selfemployed. Most of these guys gave up three or four days’ pay to do this.’’

Some of the team returned on Monday to collect more gear left on Mt Aspiring.

‘‘One’s a builder and one’s a painter. They asked if we could organise someone to sort the stuff out when we get back because they needed to get back to work.’’

The rescuers did not seek any compensation ‘‘because they believe in what they do’’ but there was a significant cost to them, Melchior said.

In the 2013 case, Harch and a friend known only as Gareth reached the summit of Mt Tasman, but when they decided to take a different and unfamiliar route down the mountain their day trip turned into a three-day ordeal.

With night approaching they realised they were off course and could see only about five metres in front of them, Gareth said in an interview with Stuff.

The forecast had predicted bad weather would settle over the area for about two days and they dug into a narrow crevasse to await rescue, which came 38 hours later.