Skier injured in 400m slide

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 10, 9 August 1983, Page 1

Skier injured in 400m slide

A young Auckland woman in her early 20s was injured when she slipped while skiing and slid about 400m over hard-packed snow and ice outside the Turoa skifield boundary area on Sunday afternoon.

Her name was not available at time of going to press. She was skiing with a friend who saw her fall in the area known locally as 'The Triangle' near the Mangahuehue glacier and outside the official ski patrol area. In her 400m slide she fell over a small bluff and disappeared from the sight of her friend who did the wise thing, said Turoa Ski Patrol leader Peter Sutton, and returned to inform them instead of attempting to follow the unfortunate skier. When the ski patrol got to the injured woman she was found to have facial

lacerations as well as an upper leg injury. Because she had ended up at the bottom of the snowline it would have taken about 4 hours to stretcher-lift her out by hand to the carpark so a Wanganui Aero Works helicopter, piloted by John Anderson, was brought in from Taihape. The injured woman was airlifted down to the carpark where Turoa Skifield's new ambulance was waiting. She was taken to the local duty doctor's surgery in Raetihi and examined by Dr Plant before being admitted to the Waimarino Hospital.