The 27-year-old Canadian climber lost on Mt Aspiring at the
weekend has thanked the helicopter operator and LandSAR
Alpine cliff rescue team that lifted him to safety.
Wanaka sub-area commander Senior Sergeant Allan Grindell said
the man was "pretty knocked around" by his experience and was
continuing to receive medical treatment in Wanaka.
The rescued climber declined a request from the Otago Daily
Times for an interview yesterday.
He had become lost on Friday on his way back from the summit
of Mt Aspiring.
Police were alerted to the man's predicament late on Friday
night by his father, who was in Australia. The man's father
had been tracking him via his Spot Tracker GPS device and
noticed he had not moved for five hours.
Bad weather held up his rescue until Sunday morning and the
man spent two nights in a snow cave.
When rescued, he was found to be suffering from
snow-blindness.
Department of Conservation Wanaka area manager Paul
Hellebrekers said he was not aware of the circumstances of
the weekend incident but did not consider it "best practice"
to climb Mt Aspiring solo.
mark.price@odt.co.nz
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