Tukino avalanche kills two

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 397, 30 July 1991, Page 3

Tukino avalanche kills two

An avalanche killed two people on Tukino Skifield last Monday afternoon. Six others narrowly escaped death after being caught in the same slide. The dead were Debbie Emery and John Munro. The group were on a snow craft training course and were experienced mountaineers and skiers, all members of the Tukino Ski Patrol and Rescue group. They were studying avalanche structure and control and had just finished digging a pit to examine the snow pack formation when a crack appeared on the snow surface and the group were engulfed by the subsequent avalanche. The avalanche covered an area of 30m by 30m, and the snow measured 2m deep in places. It hap-

pened just before 4pm at the top of the lower tow rope. Four people escaped being trapped and were able to help rescue two others. Twenty five minutes later the rescuers found the seventh person, and within 45 minutes they had reached the eighth person. A large rescue operation was quickly organised, and 50 people were asked to assist. The rescuers included representatives from the Ruapehu Alpine Rescue Organisation (RARO) including staff from the Conservation Department, Outdoor Pursuits Centre, Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, Turoa Ski Resort, and several doctors from surrounding areas. The Army Adventurous Training Centre was also called to help but their instructors were all on a course in the South Island, however they provided essential transport. Driver Richard Knowles took two policemen, Waiouru's constable Chris Scales and Taihape's Senior Sergeant Kelvin Powell, up the mountain. The Waiouru team arrived on the scene at 4.45pm and the survivors were returning

from the avalanche site. Efforts to resuscitate the two people continued for one and a half hours before they were pronounced dead. "The survivors coped amazingly well considering they had just lost two of their group members. They gave each other a lot of support", said Constable Chris Scales. The truck was able to leave the next day, and help transport some victims and members of the rescue party that were stranded off the mountain. The two bodies were taken to Wanganui from Waiouru at 10.30pm the night of the accident. One survivor, suffering from exhaustion and exposure was admitted to Waiouru hospital for observation, and was

discharged the next morning. Transceivers not carried None of the participants in the course were wearing avalanche transceivers - small radio transmitters and receivers often carried by people in avalanche risk areas. There has been speculation the two dead could have survived if the party had been carrying the instruments. When activated a buried person can normally be located in a matter of minutes. A 32-page report was presented to Mountain Safety Council director Alan Trist last Friday. "I think it's incautious to run an avalanche training

course on avalanche terrain, in those sorts of snow conditions, without having the proper gear," said Mr Trist. RARO leader Don Bogie said he would have thought the slope in question had a reasonable probability of sliding at some stage that day.

Both said however that it is unlikely anyone would ever know if the correct equipment would have saved the pair. Mr Bogie said there was always a factor of unpredictability about avalanches but that in general people were better off to carry the

right gear with them. He said a five to ten minute dash to get equipment can make all the difference. He said with transceivers switched on plus probes and shovels on hand survivors could generally find victims in about two minutes up to a range of 50 metres.