Visitors to New Zealand are continuing to die because they underestimate mountains and backcountry, the national volunteer search and rescue organisation LandSAR said today.
Japanese climbing guide Kiyoshi Ikenouchi died on Aoraki/Mt Cook after exposure to severe weather two weeks ago, and Australian climber Dr Mark Vinar is missing, presumed dead, after falling hundreds of metres while descending the mountain last week.
Both men and their climbing companions were trapped on the mountain when the weather changed for the worse.
LandSAR chairman Phillip Melchior said these are the latest in a succession of avoidable accidents.
"The last thing LandSAR wants to do is to scare people from exploring our mountains and back-country, but visitors to New Zealand persistently under-rate both the extreme pace at which our weather can change in the hills, and the degree of difficulty of our mountains."
He said too many overseas climbers think that because Aoraki/Mt Cook was small by overseas standards, it would be easy to climb, but the mountain was technically quite difficult and expedition tactics needed to be adapted to New Zealand conditions.
Nine people have died on Zurbriggens Ridge, where Dr Vinar is presumed dead, and 70 people have died on Aoraki/Mt Cook since 1907.