Petr Mandik flew from Switzerland to climb Aoraki/Mount Cook, but died in a rockfall the day after starting out. Photo / Facebook
Petr Mandik flew from Switzerland to climb Aoraki/Mount Cook, but died in a rockfall the day after starting out. Photo / Facebook
Experienced climber Petr Mandik came to New Zealand from his home in Switzerland on a whistle-stop trip to tackle the highest peak in the Southern Alps.
But, the day after he began his mission to climb Aoraki/Mt Cook, the 50-year-old died after suffering a range of injuries during a rockfall.
Mandik, a Czech national, arrived in Christchurch from Switzerland on December 13, 2019. He drove straight to Aoraki/Mt Cook where he planned to use Haast Ridge to gain access to Plateau Hut before climbing the mountain.
He was due to fly out from Christchurch again on December 18 but failed to show for the flight - and was reported missing the following day. His silver Nissan Tiida was found at the Tasman Valley car park.
Switzerland-based Petr Mandik died near Aoraki Mt Cook in December 2019 while on a climbing holiday. Photo / Facebook
Aoraki Mount Cook District had the only full-time professional Search and Rescue team in the country, which meant it could initiate a formal search at short notice.
It was New Year's Day 2020 when police revealed they had recovered Mandik's body the day before, partially covered in rocks at the bottom of the Haast Ridge.
The Coroner found Mandik died during or shortly after a rockfall on December 14, 2019, from injuries to his head, chest and neck.
The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council said in a report to the inquest it estimated that Mandik was caught in a rockfall while climbing the moraine of Tasman Glacier on Haast Ridge, between 1pm and 2pm on December 14.
The safety council's report writers said rockfalls in the area were very common, but impossible to predict. In recent years the use of helicopters and ski planes to access the area, including Plateau Hut, had become much more common for reasons around quicker access, and to avoid a rockfall hazard on Haast Ridge.
"It is fair to say nowadays very few people walk in via Haast Ridge," the safety council report noted.
Mandik, a fit and experienced mountaineer was described on a fund-raising page set up in his honour and to help get his body back home, as a husband, a father of three girls, a climber, a runner and a friend.
A blog written at the time by his wife, Lea Mandikova, described how she and their daughters had hoped for a happy ending when they learned he was missing.
"Mountains have their magic, silence and their stories, but some of them are without triumphs."
Mandikova wrote about the huge amount of support she and her daughters received from friends and people they did not know at the company where Mandik had worked, who did all they could to help find him when he was reported missing.
"We received great support, both mental and financial, from friends, acquaintances and colleagues.
"Even though my husband Petr was found lifeless, thanks to the support of others we could say goodbye to him," Mandikova wrote.
The Mountain Safety Council said there were lessons from what happened that were valuable to climbers in New Zealand, particularly those from overseas or those unfamiliar with the Southern Alps of the South Island.
It said New Zealand mountains "punched above their weight" in terms of technical challenges, ice and snow conditions compared to other mountains of the same altitude in areas such as the European alps.
The safety council added that rockfall was highly prevalent in the Southern Alps and likely to get worse due to climate change, particularly in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park where glaciers were retreating rapidly.
The Coroner said it was not possible to know whether Mandik was aware of the risk of rockfall in that area.
Father of three and experienced mountaineer Petr Mandik died near Aoraki Mt Cook in December 2019. Photo / Facebook
However, given that there were alternative means by which to reach Plateau Hut, the chances of deaths occurring in similar circumstances might be reduced by increased awareness of the risk of rock fall in that area.
The Department of Conservation said it was an ongoing challenge to ensure that pre-visit information for the Aoraki/Mount Cook area was current and accurately set out the existing hazards.
The department was said to have strong processes in place to manage its own communication channels and ensure current information could be accessed by those looking for it, but said it was "very difficult" (almost impossible) to influence the information provided by third parties such as social media networks.
DOC said in the coroner's report it was constantly seeking to improve its visitor safety communications.
The fundraising campaign set up at the time of his death raised CHF 9406 Swiss francs (almost $16,000 at today's rate). The fund managers said the money raised would be used for mountain rescue operations and services at the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park.
