Don’t be fooled by social media - Get realistic information
Alpine safety rescuers and experts are urging hikers heading into the backcountry, especially overseas visitors unfamiliar with the area, not to rely on social media for “realistic information” about the conditions and skill level required.
The call comes after three helicopter rescues in the Queenstown Lakes area in less than a week.
A visiting Australian father and son, stranded high on the Wye Creek Track overnight wearing just underwear after stripping to cross a badly swollen river, were finally rescued by helicopter about 8am last Thursday morning, (27 November).
Two young Australians in their early 20s who’d set off to climb Mount Aspiring had to be rescued near Bonar Glacier on their first day walk into Colin Tudd Hut to start the climb after suffering from extreme exhaustion.
Two young German tourists were also rescued from Rock Burn after not feeling safe to return with the river rising.
Wakatipu Alpine Cliff Rescue Team coordinator Russ Tilsley says they’re urging people to rely on the Department of Conservation’s Visitor Centre and website information before they leave to ensure they’re not heading somewhere out of their depth, or they’re unprepared.
Unfortunately, many young people are being lured up mountains and into more tricky backcountry areas with a false sense of security after seeing posts on Instagram and other social media sites, Tilsley says.
They can get themselves into difficulty after underestimating distances, times, and the fitness levels required. “Make sure you rely on DOC’s information, not on an Instagram post from some guy who’s run up Mount Aspiring or Mitre Peak in shorts carrying a drink bottle on his back,” he says. “Those people are experts. Go into the DOC Visitor Centre and get the real information about where you’re going and don’t be lured into so-called easy trips by hyper-fit people where you’ll be out of your depth,” Tilsley says.
Those calls have been reiterated by the Mountain Safety Council which is urging people to use Plan My Walk (planmywalk.nz) featuring the details of more than 2000 tracks across New Zealand. MSC senior partnerships and insights advisor Bevan Smith says the site is like “the Trip Advisor for the outdoors” with locals encouraged to share real feedback on local tracks so that visitors have a better expectation of what each trip entails. Smith says it’s what younger users are looking for and they can then make smart, informed decisions.
Plan My Walk includes track descriptions, official weather forecasts as well as reviews and photos from those who’ve been before. People frequently post on the likes of Brewster Track and French Ridge Hut, popular with young overseas visitors.
Tilsely says the Aussies high above Wye Creek made all the right calls, turning back when they realised they were out of their depth. However, they’d decided to throw their packs and gear across the badly swollen Wye Creek on their return. “They’d reached high up on the plateau and realised there was too much snow to go over the pass,” Tilsley says. “They were only wearing sneakers and realised they were unprepared so turned back,” he says.
“They’d stripped down to their socks and boxer shorts to cross the river and threw their packs across ahead, then realised it wasn’t safe to cross,” Tilsley says. “There had been a heap of rainfall and snowmelt and it’s a narrow, rocky, bouldery and boisterous river in those conditions.”
Their phones and communication sources were in their packs, also their only light source, but thankfully they’d texted the wife and mother around 3pm to say they were turning back.
“The dad was 65 and had been going for 12 hours and was knackered so the son, 19, made a good call not to put his dad into the river.” The bad decision was throwing their packs across, Tilsley says. “In those situations, just undo the straps and then you can push the pack off if you need to get rid of it quickly.”
An Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter with night goggles couldn’t locate them after the man’s wife raised the alarm at 10.45pm last Wednesday (26 November), as there was no light source. A SAR dog team also searched overnight.
The Alpine Cliff rescuers were called in around 5am, leaving at 7am, and the pair were finally located from a Heliworks helicopter about 8am. “It had rained overnight so they were cold and shivering when we picked them up, but were fine,” Tilsley says. The son was wearing a short-sleeved thermal and had given his thermal leggings to his dad.
“They made some good decisions until the packs,” he says. The thing with Wye Creek is that people totally don’t understand the time it takes to get through,” Tilsley says. “You’re climbing a long way up, travelling through rocky valley and huge tussocks. It’s not an easy trail. There was still a lot of snow up on The Remarkables and Wye Saddle.”
