Australian climber falls to death

Press, 31 January 1979, Page 2

Australian climber falls to death

Timaru reporter |i An Australian climber fell < about' 4im to his death on I; the Haast Glacier in the!) Mount Cook area aboutjl noon on Monday when a piton holding his abseil was ! dislodged. He was Dale McKenzie, of Lot 3 I Duncan Street, Minto, (' New South Wales. Mr McKenzie’s body was ■ winched from a schrund by (an R.N.Z.A.F. Iroquois helijcopter. He and his English companion, John Husman, of; jCurney Wood Road. Tetley; ‘Avenue, Sheffield, were not I ; roped together. They were descending; from Pioneer Pass down Dixon Ridge to the Haast; Hut. The chief ranger at; Mount Cook National Park; headquarters (Mr B. W.* Thomas) said that the two; ( men were abseiling from a [ 'rock face on the Dixon; Ridge on to the Haast Gia-1 icier. “Mr McKenzie abseiled*

I first,” said Mr Thomas,;, (“When he was on the abseil,!] one of the pitons holding his;l ! abseil pulled out. Mr Hus-1; man descended the face andil 'found that his companion * ; was dead. He then set off for * ) the Haast Hut, arriving there i at 8 a.m. yesterday. “Apparently he bivoucedp overnight and made an!] emergency call when he!< I reached the hut,” Mr i [Thomas said. * I * The Iroquois arrived from” [the R.N.Z.A.F. station Wig-! ‘ram, about 10 a.m. Flown by|i [Flight Lieutenant Deveraux, (1 with Flight Lieutenant G.il Alexander as co-pilot, and*; [Sergeant M. Thomas asp [crewman, the machine pick-.’ ed up a rescue team of four, ; ;led by Ranger M. J. Haine, I from the park headquarters. *' ( The group was taken to; [the Haast Glacier where itjl i was ascertained that itp iwould be too difficult and;; (dangerous to venture onp I foot. The team was posi-p itioned on the Grand Plateaup 'and the helicopter returned';

and winched up Mr McKenzie’s body at an altitude of 2590 m from a schrund at the base of the 'Dixon Ridge. The body was taken to the park headquarters where an inquest was opened before Mr Thomas (a Justice of the Peace) for identification purposes and adjourned sine die. Arrangements were made for Mr McKenzie’s body to be taken by road to Timaru. Mr Thomas said that both men had set out from the Pioneer Hut on their return to Haast. They had been snow-caving on the western side ot the Main. Divide. The weather at the time of the accident had been fine and [snow conditions had been '“reasonable.” ’ The death was the one hundred and twenty-first in ;the park and the third in This summer’s climbing season. Two climbers died on 'the Linda Glacier earlier this .month after being caught in 'an avalanche.