Lucky to be alive after Mt Ruapehu fall

An Australian holidaymaker is lucky to be alive after surviving a 200m mountain fall and landing on hard snow.
Colin Lightbody, 41, had hiked up to Mt Ruapehu's Dome Summit on Sunday with friend Peter Ittak. They were on their way down when they walked through an area covered in chunks of ice and soft snow.
"I stepped on an icy lump, which collapsed under my weight and caused me to lose my footing," he said from his bed at Waikato Hospital.
"Peter estimated I then fell 200m down the snow face vertically and 600-800m in distance. Peter dug out a seat in the slope for me to sit in and then moved quickly to get help."
The duo were able to contact police by mobile phone and they called the Ruapehu Alpine Lifts team to organise a rescue.
Mr Lightbody, who is from Malvern East, Melbourne, said he wanted to thank the ski patrol team who came to his rescue, along with everyone else involved in his care.
He was flown from the Whakapapa medical centre by the Youthtown Trust Rescue Helicopter and taken to Waikato Hospital for treatment to two broken ankles, multiple cuts and bruising.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts marketing manager Mike Smith said the man landed in hard, icy snow just above the boundary of the mountain's upper ski area.
 "If it had been the other end of his body it could have been more serious," Mr Smith said."It was dark and cold and hypothermia could have been an issue. There were south-easterly winds and the snow was stripped and it was very hard and icy."
The ski slopes had closed at 4pm and staff had completed patrols of the slopes.
Mr Smith said a snow groomer and two other staff went to look for the man who was just outside the ski-patrolled area.
"He was reasonably easy to find. It's an area where a lot of people climb."
He said the man appeared to be equipped for the mountain.
Mr Smith said anyone attempting to climb Mt Ruapehu should team up with a companion and register their intentions with either the DoC office at Whakapapa or with family.
The Australian's fall was the second over the weekend and Mr Smith said that in itself was a rare occurrence.
On Saturday night, Aucklander Andrew Blair "fell like a rag doll" 60m down the mountain after climbing to the Dome Summit. He was descending from about 2600m when the strap on his ice pick broke and he slipped on the snow face between Tahurangi Peak and Girdlestone Peak.
Climbing companion Anthony Stead described the 37-year-old climber as looking "like a rag doll when he fell", and said his friend could easily have fallen another kilometre but stopped halfway down a long face.
"He was bloody lucky. He wasn't moving, so when we were heading down we were like, 'Oh God'. But when we got there he was conscious, clutching his leg."
Mr Blair was admitted to Rotorua Hospital with multiple injuries, including a broken left leg and broken ribs.
 additional reporting by APN and News Media