Tobi
03-08-2009, 10:15 PM
:(
A man died tonight after being caught in an avalanche while snowboarding on Coronet Peak, northeast of Queenstown.
He was the second person to die in an avalanche in the South Island's mountains in just over a week.
Searchers found the man about 7.15pm, and he was given medical treatment before being airlifted to Lakes District Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police said the 30-year-old man was from the Queenstown area and close family members were with him at the time of the avalanche.
Police were told about 5pm of the avalanche which was thought to have happened at the Greengate chairlift about 4.40pm.
A rescue mission was carried out by searchers with lighting and alpine rescue dogs, southern police communications Inspector Warren Kemp said.
Police said they would not release any other details about the man's identity until his family had been told.
The death would be referred to the coroner.
NZSki, which operates the ski area, said the avalanche happened outside its boundaries.
There had been several avalanches in the back country areas of Coronet Peak recently, spokesperson Alexa Forbes told Radio New Zealand.
On July 24 a large avalanche in the Southern Alps' Rugged Range killed an Australian heli-skier and temporarily buried two others.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10588245
Stay within the boundaries and be aware of the dangerous conditions is the warning after the second avalanche death in just over a week.
A 30-year-old Queenstown man was killed in the latest incident about a kilometre outside the Coronet Peak Skifield boundary on Sunday night.
Search teams took over two hours to find Ryan Campbell and had to dig five metres down.
"Had to move a lot of snow there was about 12 diggers going very very fast to dig down to that depth and he was found about 2.5 metres slightly uphill from that," says Alpine Rescue Team Leader Aaron Halstead.
But it was too late. Attempts to resuscitate the snowboarder were unsuccessful.
"The most frustrating thing is knowing there's a person there and actually just trying to find them and they don't have a transceiver and you're looking for a needle in a haystack that's essentially what you're trying to do," says Halstead.
It happened not long after the Coronet Peak Ski Area had closed for the night.
Up to 30 people and dogs were involved in the frantic search after a skier raised the alarm.
Snow groomers provided lights as crucial time ticked past.
The avalanche comes as no surprise to those who are following the snow conditions.
"It's been like this for at least two weeks and it's not ending any time soon," says Chris Cochrane, Regional Avalanche Forecaster of the Mountain Safety Council.
"It really just needs a trigger and that trigger unfortunately at this stage is either a snowboarder or skier."
Heli skiing operations were taking extra precautions on Monday.
Unlike the snowboarders who ignored the warnings and took to the back country a few hundred metres from the Coronet Peak ski boundary, with such devastating consequences.http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/warning-others-after-avalanche-death-2884848
Taking of out of bounds at the end of the day without avi equipment. :(
A man died tonight after being caught in an avalanche while snowboarding on Coronet Peak, northeast of Queenstown.
He was the second person to die in an avalanche in the South Island's mountains in just over a week.
Searchers found the man about 7.15pm, and he was given medical treatment before being airlifted to Lakes District Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police said the 30-year-old man was from the Queenstown area and close family members were with him at the time of the avalanche.
Police were told about 5pm of the avalanche which was thought to have happened at the Greengate chairlift about 4.40pm.
A rescue mission was carried out by searchers with lighting and alpine rescue dogs, southern police communications Inspector Warren Kemp said.
Police said they would not release any other details about the man's identity until his family had been told.
The death would be referred to the coroner.
NZSki, which operates the ski area, said the avalanche happened outside its boundaries.
There had been several avalanches in the back country areas of Coronet Peak recently, spokesperson Alexa Forbes told Radio New Zealand.
On July 24 a large avalanche in the Southern Alps' Rugged Range killed an Australian heli-skier and temporarily buried two others.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10588245
Stay within the boundaries and be aware of the dangerous conditions is the warning after the second avalanche death in just over a week.
A 30-year-old Queenstown man was killed in the latest incident about a kilometre outside the Coronet Peak Skifield boundary on Sunday night.
Search teams took over two hours to find Ryan Campbell and had to dig five metres down.
"Had to move a lot of snow there was about 12 diggers going very very fast to dig down to that depth and he was found about 2.5 metres slightly uphill from that," says Alpine Rescue Team Leader Aaron Halstead.
But it was too late. Attempts to resuscitate the snowboarder were unsuccessful.
"The most frustrating thing is knowing there's a person there and actually just trying to find them and they don't have a transceiver and you're looking for a needle in a haystack that's essentially what you're trying to do," says Halstead.
It happened not long after the Coronet Peak Ski Area had closed for the night.
Up to 30 people and dogs were involved in the frantic search after a skier raised the alarm.
Snow groomers provided lights as crucial time ticked past.
The avalanche comes as no surprise to those who are following the snow conditions.
"It's been like this for at least two weeks and it's not ending any time soon," says Chris Cochrane, Regional Avalanche Forecaster of the Mountain Safety Council.
"It really just needs a trigger and that trigger unfortunately at this stage is either a snowboarder or skier."
Heli skiing operations were taking extra precautions on Monday.
Unlike the snowboarders who ignored the warnings and took to the back country a few hundred metres from the Coronet Peak ski boundary, with such devastating consequences.http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/warning-others-after-avalanche-death-2884848
Taking of out of bounds at the end of the day without avi equipment. :(