Lost skiers failed to carry basic equipment

Police say five skifield workers forced to spend a night on Mt Ruapehu when they got lost descending from the summit were not properly equipped.

They say the incident is a reminder of how quickly mountain weather can change and how climbers need to carry basic equipment such as a compass and torch.

The group of four men and one woman, who were skiing down the mountain after climbing to the Crater Lake, became disoriented when cloud closed in on the slopes on Thursday afternoon.

Unable to find their way or attract the attention of search parties combing the area, they built a snow cave and spent the night huddled together in cold, windy conditions.

All experienced skiers and employees of Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL), they were found yesterday morning walking out of a valley. No one was injured.

They had begun the climb at Turoa skifield, on Mt Ruapehu's southwestern slopes, in brilliant sunshine and were heading for Whakapapa, on the northern side, when conditions changed.

The group, from New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Ireland and Sweden, and all in their twenties, made a 111 call from a cellphone at 5.20pm saying they were lost.

RAL staff at Whakapapa were alerted and began a search of the area just west of the skifield which was monitored by National Park police.

At 6.30pm, after no luck finding the group, a full search and rescue operation was launched.

Fifty searchers from police, RAL, the Department of Conservation, and search and rescue teams in Ohakune, Turangi and Taumarunui worked through the night.

The search continued until 7.50am yesterday, when the group was spotted walking out of the valley.

A staff member at the RAL office said: "We can't give you any information about it. It's a relatively sensitive issue up here."

She would not comment on whether the company had a policy on staff going to the summit.

Constable Tony Carne, officer in charge of the search, said they had warm clothing, snacks and water, but lacked navigation equipment that could have saved them skiing off a track they were following.

"They lost orientation and made a judgment to go down a face just a bit to the west," he said. "They were not prepared."

He said anyone climbing a mountain should take a compass or GPS (global positioning satellite device), particularly as conditions were prone to change, as they had on Thursday.

"The conditions were perfect right through the day and clouded up real quick. That happens on all mountains."

A torch was also useful and would have helped the skiers when huddled in the snow cave.

"At one stage, they could see some of the search people, but had no way of contacting them."

The group was spotted after they had been walking for 1 1/2 hours and were transported on a skifield groomer to a medical centre.

They were cold but did not require treatment and did not want to talk about their ordeal.

"They're a bit embarrassed," Mr Carne said.

He said the New Zealander and Australian worked as ski instructors at Whakapapa, and the others were employed in the ski school, rentals and workshop.

The five were understood to be on a day off when they set off for the climb.

In 1990, six servicemen, five from the Army and one Navy sailor, died in a blizzard on Mt Ruapehu. None of their party of 13 had radio gear.


HIGH ANXIETY

June

Two German tourists got caught in snowdrifts between Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngauruhoe. Rescuers criticised the pair for ignoring a bad weather warning when they were found after two days.

April

Inexperience and poor preparation, specifically inadequate clothing, were blamed for the death of an American tourist who got lost on the Tongariro Crossing in freezing conditions.