Three women stuck in snow near Mt Cook ignored DOC warning

WESTPAC RESCUE HELICOPTER

Three tourists about to be winched to a helicopter after becoming trapped in snow at Mt Cook on Sunday night.

Three international students rescued after becoming stranded in snow near Mt Cook had been warned about the changing weather conditions.

A search was initiated for the three women after they were reported overdue from a tramp about 8.30pm on Sunday, a police spokesman said.

The group had become stranded in deep snow on the track up to Mueller Hut, in the Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park.

The trampers, caught out by the large amounts of snow, were able to raise the alarm using a cellphone.

The Christchurch Westpac Rescue Helicopter was also called to the scene about an hour after the women were reported overdue.

The Aoraki Alpine Team and Mackenzie Land Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteers searched for the women – two Britons and an American – and found them "in the midst of the high boulder field", Department of Conservation (DOC) senior ranger David Dittmer said.

Rescue helicopter spokesman Wayne Ledgerwood said the cellphone was triangulated to find the women about 1600 metres above sea level, in a steep basin, just after midnight.

"With the assistance of members of the Mt Cook SAR team, the group of three were winched into the helicopter and flown down to the SAR base."

Dittmer said the women were suffering from "extreme cold but were OK otherwise".

"It is fair to say these international students learnt their lesson the hard way."

Local DOC staff had told the trio they should postpone their trip due to "threatening weather conditions".

They were very appreciative of being rescued, he said.

The rescue served as a reminder about how challenging New Zealand's weather could be, and that people should heed the advice of local DOC staff when planning their wilderness adventures, Dittmer said.

DOC describes the four-hour long track from Mt Cook village to Mueller Hut as suitable for "advanced" trampers.

The alpine route zig-zags through scrub, herb fields and tussocks, and at certain times of the year becomes a "steep snow slope", according to DOC's website.