Mount Taranaki
Mountaineer in New Zealand survives 600 meter fall
Two hikers in front of Mount Taranaki in New Zealand (symbolic image)
© Wilpunt/Getty Images
A climber slipped and fell 600 meters on Mount Taranaki in New Zealand. Thanks to a blanket of snow, his colleagues and rescuers who happened to be there, he survived.
With “extraordinary luck” a mountaineer in New Zealand survived a 600 meter fall. As police said on Monday, he landed on snow and only sustained minor injuries.
According to police spokesman Vaughan Smith, the man was walking with a group on Saturday afternoon to the summit of Mount Taranaki, which is over 2,500 meters high, when he lost his footing and fell. For comparison: At 386 meters, the Berlin television tower is only a little more than half as high as the crash site on Mount Taranaki, which was 600 meters. Thanks to the local spring weather, the ice was softened and the snow softened his fall. “He’s extremely lucky to be alive,” Smith said.
Taranaki is one of New Zealand’s “deadliest” mountains
“After another member of the group observed their fellow climber sliding down the mountain and out of sight, they (the fellow climbers; Editor’s note) down to try to find him,” the police said after the successful rescue operation. Coincidentally, a member of the Taranaki Alpine Rescue – a mountain rescue team – was also climbing that day and also helped locate and ultimately rescue the man who had fallen.
Mount Taranaki on New Zealand’s North Island is one of the country’s “deadliest mountains,” according to the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council. Because of the year-round danger of avalanches and low temperatures, the nature conservation authority advises “special preparation and skills” before climbing the mountain.
If something goes wrong while climbing there, it often has serious consequences,” Smith also explained. Just two years ago, two mountaineers had fatal accidents in the same area.
Sources: BBCAFP, “New Zealand Herald”