Survivor says slip into crevasse fatal

Press, 5 September 1989, Page 3

Survivor says slip into crevasse fatal

By

BARRY CLARKE

A Christchurch climber would probably have cheated death if he had not slipped into a crevasse during an 80m avalanche slide on the Southern Alps, his companion, Mr Paul Rogers, said yesterday. Mr Marty Sinclair, aged 32, the director of the Castle Hill Outdoor Centre, died when he and Mr Rogers were swept down a slope of Mount D’Archiac after triggering a small avalanche on Saturday. Both fell into the crevasse, but by the time Mr Rogers had found his friend with an avalanche transceiver and dug through 1.5 m of snow to get to him, he was dead. “If we hadn’t gone into the crevasse, we both probably would have survived,” said Mr Rogers. “I just couldn’t get to him quickly enough.”

He said the death had robbed Canterury of one of its most likeable and respected mountaineers. Mr Sinclair had climbed in Nepal and North America, and made ascents of nine different routes of Mount Cook. His 11 years of rockclimbing included an ascent of the Nose route of El Capitaine, Yosemite, California. "He was a man of immense strength. He touched a lot of people. He was really diverse and dynamic.” Mr Rogers spent Saturday night in a hut before walking about 30km to Erewhon station to raise the alarm. Two ski patrollers and a helicopter from Mount Hutt were sent to recover the body. During the six-hour trek to Erewhon, Mr Rogers could only think about how he was going to break the news.'

“I thought of all the pain and suffering everyone who knew him was going to go through. I was going to be the bearer of bad news.”

The pair had decided on two to three days climbing on 2865 m Mount D’Archiac at the head of the Two Thumb Range. Conditions were good and there had been little snowfall. “It was one of those unfortunate things. We stepped on to a slab avalanche. It was only about 10 inches deep; quite small. We just slid with it,” said Mr Rogers. He suffered a black eye, bruised ' ribs and lost a tooth in the accident. Mr Sinclair was also the New Zealand masters windsurfing champion and was a qualified mountain guide and kayak instructor. He accompanied school groups on recreational activities in his role with the Castle Hill Outdoor Centre.