At 2:05 am on December 15th 2022, two mountain scramblers activated the SOS function on their inReach device. The day prior, they had been traversing the classic Philistine - Rolleston ridgeline. They lost 3 hours on Mt Rolleston middle peak freeing a stuck abseil rope and were then caught out in wet weather. They sheltered …
Continue reading "Summer Rescue on Mount Rolleston – 17 December 2022"
Three trampers called for help late on Sunday 23rd October, stuck near Lyell Peak and Avalanche Peak in Arthur's Pass. The trampers were uninjured, but out of their depth. Garden City Helicopters (GCH) attempted 7 times to access the stranded party at 2300hrs late on Sunday night but were unable to reach the party due …
Whether to call for help can often be a difficult decision. There is a tendency to delay asking for help due to embarrassment, not wanting to inconvenience others, or the expense to the government. In reality, delaying a rescue often costs more and can adversely affect the long-term health of injured people. When to call …
On Saturday 13 August, a climber experienced equipment difficulties while climbing Rome Ridge on Mt Rolleston. The front baskets of both crampons had failed, and one crampon was lost. The climber was able to call for assistance, and was advised to wait for a rescue rather than risk down climbing with only one broken crampon. …
Continue reading "Winter Rescue on Kaimatau/Mt Rolleston – 16 August 2022"
On Saturday evening of July 31st 2022, our team received a call out for a missing skier last seen Saturday afternoon at Craigieburn Valley ski field. Ski patrol set out to search in the night in blizzard conditions until early hours without success. The team was hampered by increasing avalanche danger due to large amounts …
Continue reading "Lost Skier in Craigieburn Ranges – 3 August 2022"
Winter is in full swing and last Saturday Alpine Rescue Canterbury focused its training on a ski touring scenario. Six team members met at Porters Ski Area and distributed the group gear to be used for the day. The Ski Area staff generously offered to boost us to the summit ridge by lift, we said a quick …
Continue reading "Crystal Valley Back Country Ski Rescue Training"
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. …
Alpine Rescue Canterbury received a call from Police at 9pm on June 19th regarding a missing climber at Coffin Rock crag in the Banks Peninsula. Two teams of 2 travelled to the crag's carpark arriving at 10:45pm. A search of the crag's surroundings was carried out in adverse weather conditions: cold, rain & wind. Some …
Continue reading "Missing Climber at Banks Peninsula Crag – 20 June 2022"
ARC was called at 9pm on April 10th to recover an uninjured climber who had become stuck in steep terrain on Mt Rolleston, Arthurs Pass National Park. The climber had climbed themselves into a position in which they were unable or willing to attempt a reversal of the moves that lead them to become stranded …
ARC together with members from LandSAR Dunedin, Wakatipu ACR and Franz Josef ACR gathered at the Aoraki/Mt Cook SAR base in late January to train in single pitch fundamentals. This was a pilot course which included a thorough review of basic ropework skills all the way through to complex team-based stretcher haul & lower scenarios …
Continue reading "Vertical Rope Rescue Training at Mount Cook"
Alpine Rescue Canterbury 