Dead climbers roped together on risky slope

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX and NZPA

A father and daughter were among four Latvians who fell 300m to their deaths on Mt Cook while using an unusual climbing technique.

The bodies of Teodors Kirsis, 61, his daughter Evija and two other men were spotted by another climbing party about 5am yesterday.

It appeared the climbers were roped together rather than climbing in pairs or alone when they plunged at Linda Shelf near the summit of the mountain.

The president of the Latvian Alpinist Association, Kristaps Liepins, speaking from the capital, Riga, said last night that the other two victims were Ilmars Bernans and Aivars Prosenkovs, both in their 50s.

Mr Kirsis was one of Latvia's most experienced climbers.

Last year he climbed Mt Kosciusko (Australia's highest) to become the oldest man to complete the feat known as Seven Summits, which involves climbing the highest peak on each continent.

(The record was beaten just minutes later by another Latvian climber.)

Mr Kirsis' achievements make him one of the most accomplished mountaineers to die on Aoraki-Mt Cook.

He was also a scientist and university lecturer and in 1996 was awarded one of Latvia's highest honours, becoming a Commander of the Order of Three Stars.

Evija Kirsis, aged in her 20s, had been climbing for about five years, Mr Liepins said.

Mr Kirsis was married to Aina-Lilija and had another daughter, Karena.

Mr Liepins had spoken to Mrs Kirsis, who had not accompanied her husband and daughter on their climbing adventure.

"She is feeling very terrible and it is extra bad for her because she does not know what to do because New Zealand is so far away."

He believed the climbing party had been in the country for just a few days, intending to stay for about two weeks.

"I had spoken to Teodors a little bit about 10 days ago about equipment," Mr Liepins said.

The Latvians had chosen to climb from the bottom of Mt Cook rather than fly to the base camp, Plateau Hut at 2300m, as most people do.

Department of Conservation staff said the group had obeyed all of the Mt Cook National Park rules, registering their intentions and signing the logs at the huts.

Veteran Mt Cook guide Charlie Hobbs said having four climbers attached to one rope was extremely unusual. Most people climbed in pairs or alone.

Tim O'Leary, guiding director of Queenstown Mountain Guiding, also said having multiple climbers on one rope on Mt Cook was uncommon and could increase the risk in an already dangerous environment.

The danger lies in the ice - if one person slips it can be hard to stop falling, especially if other people add weight to the same rope.

The bodies of the Latvians, understood to be in New Zealand specifically to climb Mt Cook, were recovered yesterday afternoon in near-perfect conditions.

The group were taking the Linda Glacier route, the most common.

It is not clear if they had reached the summit or were still ascending when the accident happened.

The four had arrived at Mt Cook village last Thursday, and began their climb over the weekend.

They stopped at the Ball Shelter after a trek of about eight hours before heading to the Plateau Hut, which would have taken another day.

The group signed in at the hut on Monday night and began their trip to the summit early on Tuesday morning.

Climbers usually leave the Plateau Hut by 1am to ensure they get to the Linda Shelf, a large "snow ramp" that pitches up at a 30-degree angle, before sunrise.

The route then goes up an extremely steep gully to the Summit Rocks, before climbers tackle the Ice Cap at the top of the mountain, 3754m above sea level.

The return trip from the Plateau Hut takes about 18 hours for average climbers.

The Latvian climbers were last seen by a professional guide and his client on Tuesday afternoon, at which time they were still heading for the summit.

Mr Hobbs, who has climbed Mt Cook 28 times, said he could not understand why the group were roped together.

"It's not the way Mt Cook is usually climbed, and, yes, for them it has obviously been a dangerous method as it's cost them their lives.

"They obviously climbed in right from the village, which is noble," he said. "It's a tragedy that it ended like this."

Mr O'Leary said all professional mountaineering companies operating on Mt Cook used a two-person rope system holding just the guide and the client.

Police said they would try to contact the climbers' families overnight.

Treacherous ice triggered three rescues this week in the Mt Cook National Park.

Large blocks of ice showered three Australian climbers, a Christchurch man was injured by falling ice, and another Australian man slid 150m down an ice slope before being knocked unconscious.


Graphic: Death on Mt Cook / Aoraki