Man was saved by rising spring temperatures that had softened the snow and ice on the mountain on the country’s west coast
A climber survived a near 2,000ft fall down one of New Zealand’s deadliest mountains after landing on snow softened by rising spring temperatures.
The man was climbing with a group near the summit of Mount Taranaki on the west coast of New Zealand’s north island when he fell and slid out of sight.
Two other climbers scrambled to his aid and discovered him lying without his ice axe or crampons about a quarter of the way down the slope, 1,970ft from where he had been.
Police said the unidentified climber had sustained minor injuries during his tumble on Saturday afternoon, adding that warmer temperatures that had softened the ice and snow had helped to save him.
“Thanks to the recent spring weather the ice had softened and the snow caught the climber’s fall,” a police spokesman said. “He is exceptionally lucky to be alive.”
Police emphasised that climbing the mountain required experience and the right equipment.
“Failing to be properly equipped could result in a very different ending,” the spokesman added.
Mount Taranaki, which is more than 8000ft high, is the second tallest peak on the north island.
Although fairly accessible in summer months, weather conditions can deteriorate fast in the winter.
Two experienced climbers who tried to scale the mountain in May 2021 fell nearly 600ft to their deaths in the same area where the latest incident took place.
An inquest later found that the pair had done limited planning and underestimated the difficulty of the route.
A French climber also died after plummeting from the same peak in 2016.
‘Deadliest mountains’
The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council describes Mount Taranaki as challenging for climbers all year round, warning of its reputation as one of the country’s “deadliest mountains”.
In 1770 it was named Mount Egmont, after a former First Lord of the Admiralty, by the British explorer Capt James Cook.
Cook described it as “of prodigious height and its top covered with everlasting snow”…..…surrounded by a “flat country, which afforded a very good aspect”.
It was later officially re-named Mount Taranaki Maunga, after a Maori tribal group in the area.
The surrounding national park continues to be known as Egmont.