Many Aust. deaths on N.Z. mountains

Press, 31 August 1977, Page 24

Many Aust. deaths on N.Z. mountains

Australians rank high as the victims of fatal climbing accidents on New Zealand mountains.

This has been shown by accident statistics compiled from January, 1975, and fublished in this month’s ederated Mountain Clubs bulletin. The bulletin notes that Australians have accounted for five of the seven fatalities which have occurred through falls during this

period. It says most of the climbing accidents resulted from uncontrolled falls, which happened because of the climber’s misjudgment. “Climbers need to be constantly thinking about their situation and their degree of safety,” the bulletin says. “The protection used by a

• climber depends on many I factors such as the con- , sequences of a fall, the abilf ity to arrest a fall and the likelihood of a fall.” An F.M.C. executive r spokesman, Mr Arnold f Heine, said he believed that . Australian deaths from i mountain climbing accidents

in New Zealand — apart x from a lull a few years ago s — had always been statisti- c cally high. One reason for this was i probably the fact that “quite t a few” Australians came to 1 New Zealand for mountain- t eering and spent the bulk of < their time in the mountains, f

whereas New Zealanders spent much shorter periods climbing. A degree of risk was involved in mountaineering, and capable judgment as distinct from expertise and equipment, was often based on past experiences in a particular area.

"People can get into difficulty if they haven’t been round long enough,” he said.

This season the commercial alpine guide had provided courses for overseas visitors. The courses had been “basically successful,” But when climbers spent most of their holidays in the mountains, statistics on fatalities had to be viewed in the light of climbing man-hours, Mr Heine said.