More trampers rescued from Central Plateau than any other place in country

Thursday, 5 July 2018

The crossing from Soda Springs to South Crater.

Instagram-hungry trampers are fuelling a spike in rescues from the Tongariro Crossing.

An in-depth report by the Mountain Safety Council shows a rising number of search-and-rescue missions in the Central Plateau.

People make the trek across the crossing with Mt Ngāuruhoe in the background.

Rescue missions have shot up 163 per cent over the past few years in the central North Island while all other national parks remained stable.

More injured people are rescued from the Tongariro Crossing than any other trek in the country.

The crossing encompasses the breathtaking Emerald Lake.

A woman is rescued after she slipped on ice while descending from the summit of Mt Tongariro, en route to Red Crater.

*** Trampers airlifted from Tongariro Alpine Crossing

* Overcrowding a growing issue in New Zealand's national parks**

It comes as Taupō's rescue helicopter base faces the chop under the National Ambulance Sector Office's (Naso) air ambulance services proposal.

In the last seven years, 322 rescue missions were completed in the region encompassing three active volcanos: Tongariro, Ngāuruhoe and Ruapehu.

That was over double the 157 tramping incidents in Fiordland National Park - the second highest.

And the number of search-and-rescue missions is rising each year.

Over seven years, 500 trampers had to be rescued from the Central Region.

One person died. Another 2636 were injured in the decade to 2017.

Almost 90 per cent of those rescued were on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

Made famous as the fictional Mount Doom in Sir Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings, the world heritage site that traverses volcanic craters and jewel-coloured lakes has become increasingly popular over the years.

On a single day last year, 2750 people used the crossing.

Mountain Safety Council spokesman Nick Kingston said visitor numbers on the crossing shot up from 77,000 trampers in 2010 to 141,000 in 2017.

Social media platforms like Instagram are fuelling the rise, he said.

'New Zealand is very Instagram friendly - you get a lot of people who see these lovely pictures, and quite rightly want to experience that.

'But the tricky bit is that these regions people are going into, they are outdoor environments and [can be] wild at times.

'While the environment is well photographed and shown on lovely days, you still need to think about safety.'

While tourists made up 75 per cent of the crossing's visitors, they make up 66 per cent of the rescues.

Kiwis make up the other quarter of visitors, but at 34 per cent of total rescues, they had a higher propensity to be saved by emergency services, Kingstone said.

'Kiwis have a slightly higher propensity to be involved in a search and rescue than international visitors, which is contrary to the generally accepted stories on the Tongariro Crossing.'

Temperatures can fluctuate from 21 to 32 degrees in January to sub-zero in the winter.

The report found trampers who got caught without enough daylight had to be rescued between the bush and car park of the crossing.

Lost hikers and those confronted by poor visibility were most often found around the Red Crater and on Mt Ngāuruhoe.

Taupō Police Search and Rescue Senior Constable Barry Shepherd said many overseas travellers do the crossing on the day they've allotted for it, regardless of the weather.

'There's no other 19-kilometre one-day hike that goes over a couple of mountains in New Zealand - so the hike is unique.'

But the issue isn't the mountain, it's the people walking it, he said.

Most of the rescues were for people who had slipped or fallen and injured themselves, he said.

'We get the odd group who are late, delayed out in a blizzard in the dark, those that start on a nice fine day and end up in bad weather - there are so many variables.'

Over Easter weekend, police and Turangi search and rescue personnel completed four jobs in succession.

'We often get calls after dark saying someone was overdue - we're escorting people off the track up until midnight.'

People take longer than expected and get caught out in the dark, he said. Others think they're fit enough to make the hike yet couldn't walk 19km around their hometown, he said.

'It's a half-marathon walk that goes up to 1950 metres.'

A 30-year-old Englishwoman had to be rescued from Mt Tongariro recently after slipping and plunging 100 metres down a ravine on solid ice.

She and her 19-year-old companion from Austria had set out at 4am on a Thursday in May.

By 7am, they were at the top of Red Crater. Conditions on the mountain were like an ice rink and the pair had no cramp-ons.

'It was lucky she didn't die,' Shepherd said.

'If you are not prepared, you are seriously putting your life in danger.'

Steps had been taken to reduce injuries for users on the track, including roving Department of Conservation rangers over summer.

Shepherd said there were no rescues off Ngāuruhoe this summer, and typically there are five or six.

Tips for the trip

Be realistic about the challenge and the time needed to complete it.

Tell someone your plans – this takes a lot of guesswork out of search-and-rescue planning if something goes wrong and you don't make it out when you said you would.

Check the forecast – New Zealand's weather changes quickly and you need to have a plan B – even if it delays your trip.

Know your limits and know when to turn back

Take the right clothing, equipment and supplies; consider hiring a beacon if you are going into areas with no cellphone coverage.