Elite climber dies after fall
An elite New Zealand climbing team has lost five climbers in as many years.
Caleb Jennings is the most recent member of the New Zealand Alpine Team (NZAT) to die after a climbing accident since 2013. The 31-year-old was seriously injured while climbing near Mt Harper, in Mid Canterbury, on October 22. He was taken to Christchurch Hospital and died three days later.
A death notice, published in
The Press on Monday, said Jennings was a ‘‘dearly loved’’ family member. The NZAT posted a tribute to Jennings on its website on Monday morning. The post said Jennings fell following a wet-slide avalanche on low angle terrain in Arthur’s Pass National Park during a non-NZAT team trip with his climbing partner.
‘‘Caleb was a great climbing partner and friend to the team, he was incredibly strong, fit and reliable on trips but also a gentle man who always exercised sound judgment in the mountains.’’
Jennings spent most of his youth hunting and tramping in the Southern Alps. He joined the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) after leaving school, and spent the following 12 years of his service learning how to operate and climb in various mountainous environments. A NZDF spokeswoman said earlier Jennings served fulltime in the NZDF from 2005 until 2014, attaining the rank of lance corporal. He left the regular force in 2014 and transferred to the army reserve force with the goal of training as a mountain guide.
‘‘The climbing accident was not related to his reserve service nor was it a military activity.
‘‘He was well liked by his peers, and our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.’’
The NZAT has come under fire in recent years as four other members have died since 2013.
Ari Kingan, 21, died after losing his footing on a descent of Mt Aspiring in 2014, and mentor Jamie Vinton-Boot, 30, was killed in an avalanche in the Remarkables the year before.
Conor Smith, 22, and Sarwan Chand, 27, died while climbing the south face of Marian Peak in the Darran Mountains in April 2017. None of the deaths happened on official NZAT trips.
The deaths prompted former team members and other climbers to voice concerns about a culture that pushed young climbers too far, too quickly.
Soon after, the Expedition Climbers Club, of which the NZAT is an initiative, announced a review into the deaths of Smith and Chand.The review was finished earlier this year.
The NZAT told Stuff it planned to publish the document on its website, but has not done so.