Mountain safety concern

Press, 2 December 1981, Page 17

Mountain safety concern

PA Wellington South Island mountain safety committees are concerned that many overseas visitors go into the mountains and bush country illprepared. Representatives of mountain safety committees from Otago and Southland, at. a recent mountain safety seminar at Queenstown, agreed that overseas visitors’ safety had become a big concern. “We are playing an increasingly effective role in the community at large,” said Mr Robert Badland, a field officer of the Mountain Safety Council. “But we have to think of better ways to get the message through to visitors from overseas. “We are not worried about people who come to New Zealand specifically to go tramping, mountaineering, or ski-ing. They are properly equipped and know what they are doing.

“The ones at risk are the ordinary tourists. They are not prepared for local conditions and are inclined to go into the mountains and bush country ill-prepared,” he said.