Climber who survived 200m fall on Mount Aspiring should buy Lotto ticket, rescuers say
A climber survived a 200-meter fall on Mount Aspiring after his companion hiked for three hours to find cellphone coverage to call for help. Rescue teams successfully located and extracted both climbers despite challenging high-altitude weather conditions.
Why it matters
The incident underscores the extreme risks associated with high-altitude mountaineering and the critical importance of emergency rescue coordination.
A climber who survived a big fall down a steep, icy face on Mount Aspiring should buy a Lotto ticket, his rescuers say.
Emergency services launched a highly technical, high-altitude rescue on Tuesday night after the man's climbing companion hiked three hours to call for help, presuming his friend was dead.
The pair had summited Aspiring's south face and were descending via a steep snow and ice ridge known as The Ramp on Bonar Glacier.
Helicopters Otago chief executive Graeme Gale said climber fell just after dark at about 7pm.
"The message that I got was that he had fallen approximately 200 metres and his companion felt it was unsurvivable," he said.
The fallen climber had all of the pair's gear, including their locator beacon, Gale said.
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