Western Hutt - a rescue

Just a road ride this past weekend. A loop of Lake Wairarapa, during which I learn that I'm not very bike fit, also that Angela's gym work and spin classes have phenomenally increased her bike strength.

The more interesting matter is a follow up from my recent Western Hutt River trip. During the week following I exchanged emails with one of the chaps from the party at Elder Hutt. It seems their adventures had only just begun when they made the hut late that Saturday evening. They have very kindly agreed to share the story here.

Recap

The party of four came in from Otaki Forks over Hector (1529). Weather on the tops was good with the sort of views you so often don't get on the Southern Crossing. With a clear forecast for the day and a less experienced member, they didn't push the pace. They slowed further as the member's knees started playing up.

The light was waning and torches were coming out by the time they reached Aston (1376) - this is the junction to depart the tops in a steep decent to Renata Ridge and Elder Hut.  By this time the group were sharing the injured member's pack. They made Elder hut after 8pm after almost 3 hours in the dark (with that little final indignity of a 100m climb to Elder (1110) just when you think the ridge has flattened).

Day of the rescue

A night in a warm hut and some pain killers mean that although the knees are still sore in the morning the party sets off for Renata Hut at 0820. Rain is forecast for the afternoon and they have a long walk in front of them (aiming for Otaki Forks). However, it soon becomes clear that the level of pain is slowing progress and there is no way the injured party will make it out of the ranges under his own steam.

By 1245 they are still half an hour from Renata Hut.  One member keeps the injured party moving to the hut while the other two review their options. The forecast rain starts coming through after this, but not heavily.

One option is a self rescue by 4WD: two of the party walk to Otaki forks, an hour drive up the Coast, pick up the 4WD, an hour plus drive to the top of the Akatarawa Road, then who knows how long to drive to Maymorn junction (about 1.5km from Renata Hut) - if that road is even passable.

They have four mobile phones - the one on the Skinny (Spark) network has cover (about 8 orange triangles up ridge of Renata Hut, 5-10 minutes), the Vodafone and 2 Degrees phones don't. At 1257 they call the Police and ask about a 4WD extraction from Maymorn Junction.  The Police say standby then call back to say they are exploring helicopter winch extraction from Renata Hut.

With the injured party ensconced in the hut in front of a fire (probably to keep the rats at bay) things are stable. They nip up and down the track to communicate with the Police, who at 1455 confirm that the Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter has been dispatched.

The chopper duly arrives, checks the site and returns in half an hour to drop a paramedic. The injured party is strapped into a harness while the chopper hovers a little way off then returns to winch him, then the paramedic out.

The three remaining party members depart the hut at 1600 making good time to Otaki Forks before 2200. On the way home they receive word of the invalid: Already home from the hospital; fluid on the knee, torn ligament, old knee fracture, damaged tendon, other leg the same accept for the fracture.

Comment

So, that's basically what happened (allowing for inaccuracies in my translation). What do you think about the decision making around this event?

It was a somewhat ambitious tramp with a newbie, but conditions were reasonably mild - forecast rain on Sunday afternoon came through but was not heavy.  All routes are well known and marked and the hardest work was completed on day one.

Should they have left Elder Hut? I guess that is up to how the injured party was feeling after a night's rest. The party knew that Renata Hut was not far down the ridge, providing good if not salubrious shelter.  The party was working together to share load and support the injured party.

Cell phones came into their own allowing discussion of options with Police (not possible with a PLB). They called while there was plenty of daylight so the Police had time to consider options, and having the injured party stabilised at a hut took the pressure off decision making. Given the nature of the injury, you can imagine how much worse it would have been if they didn't have the good sense to stay put and had tried to soldier on masking the pain with pain killers.

The event illustrates that cell phone coverage is patchy in the Tararuas and not all networks are born equal - even though the ridge is reasonably high. A smaller party or a solo may not have had cell phone as an option.

Would you have used a PLB in this event if cell coverage wasn't available? I'm inclined to say not given there were three fit party members, half a day to the road end and the injured party was stable, sheltered and had food. If two of the party had walked out to call for help the end result would still likely have been a helicopter extraction - however, Police would have the opportunity to decide on relative priority rather than being forced to send a helicopter in response to a beacon.

Anyway, those are my thoughts - others will likely have more astute observations.

Thanks to the guys for agreeing to share their story as these situations are always useful to think about and discuss.