The thickening snow and rapidly deteriorating highway conditions which prevented two Dunedin motorcyclists from returning to the city from Clarks Junction yesterday could prove lethal in future, a farmer, Jim Macdonald, warned yesterday.
The motorcyclists, draughtsman Kevin McLoughlin and Ken Spall, arranged to spend the night with Mr Macdonald, who owns Mt Gowrie Station, near State Highway 87, about 2km north of Clarks Junction, after conditions made it risky to return to Dunedin.
When Messrs McLoughlin and Spall arrived at the station yesterday, the road was white and snow was falling, Mr Macdonald said.
Another motorcyclist received minor head and arm injuries after slipping in icy conditions on the Clarks Junction-Lee Stream Rd, about 2km south of Clarks Junction shortly before 4pm yesterday and was flown to Dunedin Hospital by the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter .
Mt Gowrie Station is situated on Deep Stream Hill, which is about 550m high.
Mr Macdonald warned motorists, including drivers of four-wheel-drive vehicles, to be cautious in using SH87, between Outram and Middlemarch, when there had been MetService warnings of snow to 200-300m.
The highway was closed late yesterday morning, reopened about 2pm, and was closed again about 5pm.
At this time of the year, air temperatures suddenly dropped about 4pm and blizzard conditions could suddenly set in, Mr Macdonald said.
"Someone is going to die," he warned.
It was about 4km between farm houses on some parts of the highway.
"You can't walk 4km in a blizzard.
"With such high ground, someone is going to die. It's just too big a risk.
"When it snows here, really, stay off it," was Mr Macdonald's advice.
"The chill factor becomes so great."
Messrs McLoughlin and Spall were among five motorcyclists who travelled together to Middlemarch on Saturday planning to return to the city yesterday, but road conditions had become icy and the highway was closed.
The three men had attempted to load their motorcycles on to the guard's van of the Taieri Gorge Railway train at Pukerangi, about 20km south of Middlemarch, which had been due to depart for Dunedin at 2.30pm.
However, trouble moving the large motorcycles across a slippery aluminium ramp on to the train, resulted in the attempt being abandoned, Callum Wilson, of Middlemarch, who was helping the men, said.
After the highway reopened, two of the motorcyclists immediately set off for Dunedin and arrived successfully, before bad road conditions returned.
