Ill-prepared climbers on Mt Ruapehu ‘a headache’ for search and rescue teams

Search and rescue workers say climbers should not take on Mt Ruapehu without adequate preparation. Photo / Bevan Conley

High altitude and unmarked paths on Mt Ruapehu make it an easy trap for climbers in poor weather conditions.

In 2023, there were 26 search and rescue missions on the mountain, the most for seven years. However, the numbers have not risen greatly since 2017 when there were 19 operations, according to data from the Search and Rescue (SAR) operations run by the Police and Rescue Co-ordination Centre NZ, which does not include the number of ambulance-managed rescues.

In Covid-affected 2020, there were just seven search and rescue operations on the mountain.

Last month, a couple were rescued from Ruapehu in the middle of the night after getting lost in bad weather, bringing the number of rescues so far in 2024 to three.

Land Search and Rescue New Zealand group and volunteer support team member Peter Zimmer said there were a variety of reasons why people ran into trouble on Mt Ruapehu.

The paths were not well-defined and climbers often went off the beaten track, which meant they could lose their route or sense of orientation.

“In poor visibility, people do struggle.”

Injuries such as sprains or fractures were another common issue that stopped people from being able to walk back down the mountain.

Whanganui-Ruapehu district SAR co-ordinator Constable Conrad Smith said people climbing Mt Ruapehu ill-prepared were causing “a bit of a headache” for search and rescue teams.

The Sky Waka Gondola now took people up to the Knoll Ridge Chalet, which meant people could be as high as 2000-2040m and could carry on walking higher up the mountain.

They could easily get stuck if they missed the gondola back down or were caught in bad weather.

Smith said Ruapehu Alpine Lifts was doing good work around marking trails and safety messaging, but some visitors arrived unprepared.

Zimmer said he had seen examples of people wanting to get hikes done within a short time window, regardless of the weather conditions or how they were feeling on the day.

It was important to know your limits, he said.

“Know what you can do, and if you are actually fit enough, prepared enough and have the right equipment to achieve your goal.”

To successfully navigate on Mt Ruapehu, people needed good local knowledge, a map and compass and a personal locator beacon.

Smith said people wanting to climb high on Mt Ruapehu needed to talk to Department of Conservation staff at the visitor centre about what gear to take and which routes were viable.

“There’s a lot more risk on Ruapehu. It’s a lot higher, more altitude, you’ve got the volcano as well that’s active.”

Visitors needed a high level of fitness, equipment and knowledge, he said.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.