‘Heroic’ rescue effort honoured
Eight-hour mission on Mt Ruapehu
Faced with freezing temperatures, gale force winds and pelting rain, a group of 22 rescuers worked for almost eight hours to rescue an injured climber on Mt Ruapehu last year.
The efforts of the rescuers were acknowledged at the Search and Rescue Awards at Parliament last night, with Transport Minister Michael Wood presenting a certificate of acknowledgement to the group.
Shortly before 1pm on September 26, 2020, police were notified that Emma Langley, a Wellington-based climber who was part of a group practising mountaineering skills at about 2500m on Mt Ruapehu, had fallen 200 vertical metres into the mountain’s Whangaehu Glacier.
The weather conditions at the time were treacherous, and the other eight climbers in the group were unable to rescue the fallen climber.
The wind was so high that a helicopter was unable to be dispatched, so police made the call to mobilise the Ruapehu Alpine Rescue Organisation (RARO), LandSAR Turangi and Tukino Ski Patrol for a ground rescue.
Five rescue teams were deployed, with the first reaching Langley around 5.30pm and discovering she had suffered serious injuries.
Over the next seven-and-a-half hours, the 22 rescuers worked to bring Langley and the rest of the climbing party off the mountain, as gale force winds and heavy rain hampered the rescue effort.
Langley was placed in a stretcher carried out of the glacier, using a complicated rope and belay system.
As the rescue continued, the National Park and Taupo¯ police SAR squads set up a search and rescue incident control point at a ski lodge in Tukino Village. Shortly before midnight, the eight other members of the climbing party arrived at Tukino Village. The rescue party alongside Langley arrived shortly after.
Tragically, 37-year-old Langley, a UK national working for the Ministry of Social Development in Wellington, succumbed to her injuries during the rescue and was pronounced dead upon arrival at Tukino Lodge.
National Park police senior constable Conrad Smith said the mission was a strong example of what could be achieved through prior collaboration. “Having the confidence to initiate a SAR operation in such extreme circumstances illustrates the importance of prior collaboration and training between police staff and LandSAR groups from two different police districts.
“With risks present, such as a nighttime alpine environment, very high winds, ice, cliffs, rope systems and stretchers, you need to know and trust the people you are working with.”
Land Search and Rescue New Zealand said the rescue was nothing short of heroic. “There were many challenges and hurdles . . . calculated and considered risks were taken to ensure everyone returned home safely. The operation to bring home Emma Langley and eight of her climbing companions from high on Mt Ruapehu with the knowledge of a forecasted weather bomb to arrive was a truly heroic effort by all involved.”