PAC: Climbers stranded on mountain were family friends
05 Dec 2008 1:18 PM
Wellington, Dec 5 NZPA - Two Japanese climbers stranded on New Zealand's Aoraki/Mt Cook were not just guide and client - they were family friends.
Kiyoshi Ikenouchi, 49, died on the mountain, while Hideaki Nara, 51, was rescued early today.
Both men were from Tokyo, and had been trapped above 3700m since last weekend.
Though Mr Ikenouchi has been described as Mr Nara's guide, police said the two were family friends.
Mr Nara is in Christchurch Hospital suffering from frostbite to his hands and face.
He was in a "comfortable condition" but did not want to speak to media and asked for his privacy to be respected, Canterbury District Health Board spokesman Rachel Solotti said this afternoon.
Mr Ikenouchi's body was taken to Timaru Hospital for an autopsy.
The pair were attempting Mt Cook's Grand Traverse, climbing from the Hooker Valley to the South Peak, summiting from there, before heading down to Plateau Hut.
Mr Ikenouchi was believed to have died just hours before this morning's dramatic rescue, after the pair's tent was buried in snow and they were forced into the open in temperatures of about -20deg Celsius.
Extreme winds had halted rescue efforts to reach them all week, with an Alpine Rescue Team on constant standby to go into the mountain if a gap in the weather arose.
Department of Conservation area manager Richard MacNamara said the waiting had been stressful for the search team.
It was "extremely hard" to know Mr Ikenouchi died within hours of rescuers reaching him, he told The Press.
"The only good thing to come out of it is that at least there is some closure for the family."
On Wednesday, a search helicopter was able to get close enough to the men's tent site to drop a pack of emergency supplies and a radio, but once again wind prevented a rescue.
Police Inspector Dave Gaskin said rescuers confirmed this morning the pair were unaware of the supplies that had been dropped to them.
It would not have made much of a difference in the end, as the pair were very well equipped, he said.
Mr Ikenouchi was part of the rescue team that helped when two Japanese climbers were hit by an avalanche on Zurbriggen's Ridge on the mountain five years ago. One of the climbers died.
