Snow trio filmed seconds before killer avalanche

By DARREL MAGER

The final moments of three New Zealand snowboarders killed in Japan were caught on video just seconds before a massive avalanche engulfed them.

The family of one of the men, Aucklander Chris Coster, said yesterday that an Australian friend who survived the avalanche had been filming the group as they prepared to descend the Happoone mountain slope in Nagano, 180km northwest of Tokyo.

Chris' father, Michael, said watching the video while in Japan this week reinforced feelings of hopelessness over the accident.

He said: "They were standing there watching one of the others go down. Then there's some rumbles and a little bit of snow falling and then Matt [Skinner, the Australian] drops the camera as he realises what's going on, and that's it."

Chris Coster, aged 23, Craig Mowat, 25, of Wanaka, and James Gordon, 28, of Dannevirke, were buried by the kilometre-long avalanche on February 19. The snow was up to 15m deep in places.

Michael Coster, his wife, Sharan, and daughter Nichola spent a fortnight in Japan waiting for news as local police carried out a fruitless search for the bodies.

Blizzards and further avalanches hampered searchers' initial efforts to find the trio.

Mrs Coster said Japanese police wanted to call off the search the day the families arrived.

"But there was no way we or the other [families] wanted to see that happen. We wanted to bring our boys home with us and the New Zealand Embassy staff were a real help in putting pressure on the authorities."

The police ground search was eventually called off last Saturday, although private searches are being conducted daily by snowboarding friends of the three.

Chris, an apprentice builder who had been working at the Happoone Ski Resort for three months, was due to return home on March 15.

His parents' Glenfield house was stripped bare of wallpaper in preparation for renovations that Chris was going to help with.

"I don't know when we'll get around to it ... it all seems unimportant now," said Mr Coster.

A memorial service will be held at 10 am at St Georges Presbyterian Church in Takapuna next Saturday.

Chris Coster was an athletic type who represented his school, Westlake Boys High, at athletics and soccer.

He also loved surfing and spent many weekends - and the odd school day - riding the waves at Maori Bay in West Auckland.

He had recently undertaken a snow survival course on Mt Ruapehu.

Mr Coster said: "He was coming home in March because he was eager to get back here and go surfing. He loved surfing even more than snowboarding."

Chris developed a taste for snowboarding during a visit to Japan three years ago. Friends said he had since become an expert on the slopes.

The Costers plan to return to Japan in a couple of months, when it is likely Chris' body could be recovered after the spring thaw.

Mr Coster wants to see a plaque erected at the bottom of the slope as a memorial to the three dead snowboarders and as a warning to others.