Each year the NZSAR council gives awards for outstanding service in the Search & Rescue sector.
Alpine Rescue Canterbury (ARC), along with GCH Aviation Greymouth, Christchurch Police SAR Squad, and RCC NZ were awarded the NZSAR Certificate of Achievement for Operational Activity for the rescue of two climbers of Mt Rolleston on 22-23 October 2021.
The Rescue
Around 8.45pm on 22 October 2021, two cold and exhausted climbers phoned
their emergency contact for rescue from the summit. At the same time, they
activated their personal locator beacon, which alerted the Rescue Coordination
Centre New Zealand.
The Greymouth Rescue Helicopter was tasked, however the intermittent cloud
cover meant that even with the aid of night vision goggles, they were unable to
reach the stricken climbers, or drop equipment to them.
ARC was tasked at 1.30am, arriving in Arthur’s Pass before dawn, with the Christchurch Police SAR Squad. They took off in the Greymouth Rescue Helicopter around 6.30am and began a reconnaissance of the conditions on the mountain.
Unable to access the climbers due to cloud, rain and strong winds, the helicopter
crew performed an extremely challenging 20-metre winch to deploy the rescue
team to the nearby Crow Glacier.
In dangerous climbing conditions and considerable avalanche hazard, the ARC
team carefully ascended the 2,275m summit, where they found the climbers
soaking wet and hypothermic after a night in an improvised snow shelter.
The ARC team lowered the climbers to the glacier in a whiteout, before a small
break in the weather allowed the helicopter to extract the climbers by winch.
Faced with a forecast of five more days of stormy weather, and the likelihood that
the helicopter would be unable to retrieve them, the team prepared to begin the
hazardous journey to traverse the summit and egress via the Rome Ridge.
Fortunately, another small break in the weather allowed the helicopter to make a
challenging hover load, aided by the ARC team creating a visual reference using
leftover coffee grounds.
The climbers and rescuers were flown to Arthur’s Pass for debriefing.
Alpine Rescue Canterbury 