Alpine deaths could have been prevented

Englishman Robert Buckley died after he plunged 700m near Mt Sefton Bivvy, in Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park.

Coroner says tramping fatalities highlight need for planning, equipment.

The deaths of three trampers have highlighted the need for better equipment and planning, a coroner has found.

In findings released yesterday, coroner Richard McElrea found Duncan Robert Rait, 36, Rex Leslie Taylor, 50, and Robert Christopher Buckley, 32, all died in separate incidents from impact injuries after falling in steep and rugged terrain.

Mr Rait, from Melbourne, died after he slipped and fell down a steep ice gully as he was approaching the Tasman Saddle Hut in Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park on September 13 last year.

He slipped on ice while carrying two banana boxes of food, crampons and ice axes to the hut.

Although Mr Rait was well equipped with tramping gear, he was not wearing crampons and did not have an ice axe.

The coroner said Mr Rait was an experienced mountaineer, but his death could have been avoided had he had the correct gear on hand.

"Had he kept his hands free, with an ice axe for self-arrest, it is very probable that he would have avoided injury.

"Likewise, if he had anticipated the possible need to fit crampons in the course of traversing the distance, and so fitted them when required, a safe outcome would have resulted."

Mr Taylor, a fit and experienced tramper, was last seen on October 16, 2012, when he parked his car at the end of Totara Valley Rd, intending to tramp to the Explorer Hut at the headwaters of the adjoining Mikonui River.

He wrote down his intentions in a logbook at the Explorer Hut on October 23, saying he expected to be out two days later.

His family reported him missing on November 6. Police search and rescue teams scoured the area but failed to find him.

According to the coroner's report, his body was found by a private helicopter operator on December 16, and recovered by police the next day. It was apparent he had fallen a considerable distance from a steep slip.

He was not carrying a personal locator beacon. However, given the nature of the fall, it was unlikely he would have been able to activate one even if he had been carrying it, Mr McElrea said.

The coroner said the case highlighted the need for trampers to carry a personal locator beacon and make it known to friends, family or police when they would be returning from remote locations.

Mr Buckley, from England, died on September 14 last year, after falling 700m near Mt Sefton Bivvy, in Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park. He was tramping with three friends, none of whom was particularly experienced at tramping.

As a result of all three deaths, Mr McElrea noted the need for trampers to have the necessary skills and experience when tramping in rugged conditions.

Aoraki-Mt Cook park deaths

More than 200 people have died in the Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park, most recently:
July 2014: Australian sergeant Gary Francis, 44, dies during a mountain and cold weather training activity on the mountain's Grand Plateau when ice gave way and he fell into a deep crevasse.
November 2013: Magnus Kastengren, 31, falls 600m to his death from Aoraki-Mt Cook while taking part in extreme skiing.
September 2013: Duncan Rait, 36, falls 150m off a ridge near the Tasman Glacier at Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park.
Englishman Robert Buckley, 32, dies after falling 700m near Mt Sefton Bivvy at Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park.