Third elimbing fatality

Press, 11 September 1989, Page 1

Third elimbing fatality

By

CULLEN SMITH

An American climber fell to his death on Mount Dixon in the Mount Cook National Park yesterday — the third fatal South Island mountain accident in as many weeks. The man, whose name will not be released until next of kin are informed, was in a party of three descending the 3019 m Mount Dixon about 12.30 p.m. when he slipped and. fell 300 m to 400 m. His companions — an American with whom he is believed to have travelled to New Zealand and a fellow countryman who has been living here for some time — returned to the Plateau Hut, raising a rescue alert at 2.30 p.m.

Constable Bill Apes, of the

Lake Tekapo police, said the climbing party left for the mountain, off the Grand Plateau, early yesterday morning, reaching the summit about 11.30 a.m.

They left the summit about 12.15 p.m. intending to descend via the east ridge, he said. A Squirrel helicopter, flown by Mr Gavin Craig, of Lake Tekapo, ferried a party of three mountaineers to the accident site and the body of the climber was recovered and taken to the Mount Cook National Park headquarters about 4.30 p.m. Constable Apes said an inquest would be opened today to formally identify the climber.

The weather at the time of the accident was fine and the man was an experienced climber, he

said. No other details were available last evening.

Four people have died on South Island mountains since July 16, with three deaths recorded in the last three weeks.

An Australian woman skier was killed when she slipped on the steep south face of Mount Hutt and struck a ski-field marker post on August 27.

A Christchurch climber was killed in an avalanche on Mount D’Archiac in the Two Thumbs Range on September 2.

One of New Zealand’s foremost mountain safety experts, Mr David McNulty, was killed in an avalanche near Mount Cook on July 16.