One Climber Killed, One Other Rescued On Mt. Cook

I have been profiling New Zealand’s Southern Alps here on On Walkabout and as beautiful as these mountains are, this just goes to show how deadly they can be as well:

A JAPANESE climber died just hours before a helicopter came to rescue him and a companion trapped for six days by a fierce storm near the summit of New Zealand’s highest mountain, police said.

Mountain guide Kiyoshi Ikenouchi, 49, died on the 3754m (12,316 feet) high Mount Cook early today, while his client Hideaki Nara, 51, was rescued several hours later.

Police Inspector Dave Gaskin said rescuers had brought Mr Nara and the body of Ikenouchi out when weather improved enough to allow a helicopter to reach the peak of the mountain, also known as Aoraki.

Ikenouchi is the 69th climber and the seventh Japanese known to have died on Mount Cook, which attracts climbers from around the world to the Southern Alps of New Zealand’s South Island.
The pair, both from Tokyo, had been trapped in a tent near the summit since last Saturday as storms lashed the mountain.

Police and officials said Mr Nara was in “remarkably good” condition despite suffering frostbite to his face, nose and ears during the ordeal.

Richard McNamara, regional manager for the Department of Conservation, said the pair’s tent had apparently collapsed last night due to the weight of snow.  [AFP]