Two climbers rescued from Double Cone in the Remarkables mountain range were “in good spirits” on first contact, despite getting caught in an avalanche and spending the night in an ice cave.
“Physically and mentally they were in decent shape, a little damp as you would be — they had been at camp three nights earlier,” said Russell Tilsley, Alpine Cliff Rescue team coordinator.
The climbers, in their early twenties, were experienced and well equipped for a night in a snow cave.
They had been on a climbing tour since last Saturday and had initially gone through the Remarkables skifield to the ice falls at the head of the Wye Valley.
On Monday, they decided to come back up and trek around to the south side of the Remarkables, where they camped for the night.
“That was when the snow really came in,” Mr Tilsley said.
“They were in a tent and the tent was almost completely buried the next morning and then they realized, ‘Well, we better try to run away’.”
But when they left Tuesday morning, they set off an avalanche that Tilsley said was big enough to collect some rocks along the way.
“Had they probably been 20 or 30 meters further down that slope, they could have been buried by the avalanche quite easily rather than just taken for a short 20-meter drive to the side,” he said.
The climbers were able to free themselves, unharmed, and moved to a “relatively safe” area nearby.
They called 111 on a cell phone, “which was a great decision for them,” Mr Tilsley said.
A police statement said weather conditions were poor with high winds and snow obscuring visibility.
The rescue team tried twice to reach the couple on Tuesday afternoon, but were unable to due to the weather.
“We were in touch with these guys and they were really happy to go out for another night,” Mr Tilsley said.
The couple was advised to excavate a snow cave and were equipped with shovels for this, as well as food.
The next morning the weather was unfavorable again, but the rescue helicopter was able to drop a crew three 1.2 km from the climbers and about 350 vertical meters below them.
“The boys finally managed to get to those guys just before noon… [and] just after that we got a little slack and a small hole appeared in the cloud.
“It was a very quick pick-up – we went and grabbed them quickly before it started again.”
Mr Tilsley said the safety message was that he knew when to call for help.
“They made the right decision… They had a lot of the right gear, but instead of going ahead – and they probably would have put themselves in more danger – they withdrew.
“[It’s about] don’t be afraid to make that decision, to ask for help.”