Lost trampers spend freezing night on Mt Tongariro

Four trampers spent the night in freezing conditions after getting lost on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Photo / Andrew Warner

Four trampers have spent a night in freezing conditions, after getting lost on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

The group is still waiting to be choppered out, after rescuers managed to track them down in the middle of the night.

Two of the trampers called police at 8.40pm last night, and said they were walking in cold, snowy conditions, and had become separated from the other two from the group who had gone to Oturere hut.

Police located the trampers using the new 111 system, which uses GPS services and cell tower information to pin-point the caller.

The inexperienced trampers reported feeling cold and tired, and all their clothing was wet, Senior Constable Barry Shepherd said.

A rescue helicopter was dispatched, but conditions were too cloudy for it to land, and a search and rescue team was sent in on foot from near Ketetahi Hut.

It was a two and a half hour walk to Oturere Hut, and during that time the two other trampers who had already arrived at the hut made contact by texting, Shepherd said.

All four trampers were reunited shortly before midnight, after the pair in the hut went back out to find their friends, he said.

One of the group was so cold the other three had to carry her back to the hut around 2.30am.

The SAR team arrived at 2.45am to find one of the trampers hypothermic, Shepherd said.

The rescuers then stayed at the hut overnight with the four friends.

Earlier this morning, a helicopter was dispatched to pick up the SAR volunteers and the trampers, Shepherd said.

The group of four became separated in poor visability and darkness, a statement from the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter - which was sent out to help with the rescue - said.

"Due to the weather conditions on some of the slopes of the mountain, the helicopter was not able to conduct a full search of the area. However we were able to position search teams as high as possible on the mountain, below the cloud base."

Rescuers were able to cover ground"at an astonishing pace", the statement said, because of information gathered via text messages and broken phone calls with the group.

The missing party was found around 1 kilometre from the hut. One pair was "rapidly succumbing to the cold was unable to walk".

"This person needed to be carried to the hut by rescuers, where they had no choice but to stay the night."

The statement added: "There is no question that if they had not been found they would have perished in the conditions overnight."

The Greenlea Rescue helicopter returned to the Oturere Hutt this morning to retrieve the "very cold" hikers and LAND SAR and alpine rescue volunteers.