Prepare for the worst - hunters

Two hunters, lucky to be alive after clinging for hours to a steep slipface in the Ruahine range on Saturday, hope others can learn from their experience.

The final-year vet students, Alice Wessel and Richard Cutler, were winched to safety by a rescue helicopter after slipping six metres down a rocky slope.

The experienced trampers, originally from America, were following a deer trail in the hills behind Norsewood when they slipped, badly scraping their arms and legs.

"My hands were gushing with blood at that point," Mr Cutler said.

If unable to stop, the pair would have fallen over 45 metres of steep rock-face followed by an eight-metre fall to a river valley.

With them stranded on the cliff, the slightest movement shifted rocks and threatened their grip.

Mr Cutler spent an hour throwing his 10-metre rope to trees above, but each missed attempt made the slip more unstable.

Either way they needed a helicopter – to rescue them or retrieve their bodies from the bottom of the cliff, they said.

Miss Wessel said she was "nervous, scared then terrified" as they struggled for 30 minutes to get a cellphone signal.

Eventually a friend received their text for help: "This is stupid but we're in trouble. Please call 111 as we are stuck ... we're OK but not safe. We need a chopper."

Mr Cutler provided police with their location from his GPS, which he received as a gift when moving to New Zealand five years ago.

The friends suffered numb limbs and leg spasms as they waited precariously for help.

The rescue helicopter arrived three hours after their fall, but the danger was not over. The wind from the helicopter spat stones and dust violently around.

"Our eyes were just watering constantly," Miss Wessel said.

Their fate, if they fell, played out when a rescuer dropped his camera down the jagged cliff.

"That was the scariest, seeing his camera fall down and it was just bouncing," Miss Wessel said.

Thankfully conditions were good – wind would have hampered rescue plans, while rain could have washed them away – and the pair were winched to safety.

"As soon as I took my hands off [the packs] they were falling down so fast. I could just see my rifle flipping end to end," Mr Cutler said.

The helicopter retrieved the packs before depositing the trampers at their car.

Mr Cutler's simple advice to hunters: "I wouldn't even consider going tramping without a way to communicate out.

"You need to be able to call for help."

The friends said they were embarrassed about the ordeal but grateful for everyone who helped.

- © Fairfax NZ News