An experienced climber who watched his friend tumble hundreds of metres down Taranaki Maunga and nearly puncture his lung with an ice axe has credited their preparedness with preventing “the incident from being much worse”.
Chester travelled from Auckland to Taranaki with his friend James over the weekend to climb the maunga’s eastern flank.
The pair hit trouble during yesterday’s ascent, with a multi-agency rescue launched after James fell down the slope, injured himself and became stranded in rocky terrain.
“It was clear sky where we were. It was actually quite a good climbing day,” Chester told the Herald.
“Some rime ice came off the mountain and started moving quite quickly down the slopes above us.
“James moved to take cover behind a rock ... in the process of all of that, he just started sliding, and I watched the whole thing.”
Chester said it was “crazy watching your climbing partner slide away from you and [there’s] nothing you can do”, but added that James did everything he’d been trained to, including attempting a self-arrest.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t able to stop his slide,” Chester said.
“He fell probably about 300m down the hill, and while he was tumbling, his ice axe went into his abdomen.”
Chester climbed down to James, concerned he’d punctured his lung, but found his partner already calling 111.
He set his personal locator beacon (PLB) off, then found some clothing to apply pressure to James’ wound and stop the bleeding.
“Because we had this really well-equipped med kit, I was able to dress the wound, bandage him up,” Chester said.
“I also had paramedics on the phone while this was all going down, so they were very helpful in making sure I was doing the right things.”
Having wrapped James in a foil blanket while they awaited rescue, Chester said his friend was still talkative and remained a “trooper throughout the whole thing”.
The PLB and first aid kit helped make the incident a “manageable emergency, rather than a major tragedy like it could have been”, Chester said, later learning the ice axe had come as close as grazing James’ lung.
With the help of two rescuers, who showed up about an hour after notifying authorities, Chester said they moved James to a better spot where a helicopter could retrieve him.
By the time it arrived, Chester said there were about seven or eight individuals tending to the pair on the ground.
“I really can’t speak highly enough of everyone involved in [the rescue].
“It was pretty incredible to see multiple agencies co-ordinate so professionally, and we’re really grateful for the care they took with James and helping him get to safety.”
Chester said it was important people adhered to mountain safety guidelines for their own protection, and strongly encouraged individuals to donate to LandSAR and Taranaki Rescue Helicopter Trust to support and acknowledge their work.
Search teams – including police, Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand, RTB Heli, Hato Hone St John, alpine rescue teams from Taranaki and Ruapehu, and a member of the public – spent more than five hours getting the climbers to safety after being notified shortly before 10am.
Police said rescuers reached the climber on foot, stabilised him and prepared him for extraction before he was airlifted by helicopter to Taranaki Base Hospital in a stable condition.
Acting Sergeant David Bentley, the search and rescue incident controller, praised the use of a PLB as critical to the rescue.
“The climber did all the right things,” Bentley said.
“He was carrying a PLB and used it when he needed to, that decision made a real difference to the outcome.”
Bentley acknowledged the “community effort” of agencies involved and urged those heading into remote alpine areas to plan carefully.
“If you’re heading into remote terrain, make sure you’re well prepared.
“Check conditions, tell someone your plans, and carry the right gear.”
