Cranky trampers slam DOC

DAVID HALLETT/The Press

FURIOUS: Kerry Suter, left, and Nick Suter in Christchurch yesterday afternoon. They and a tramping companion are angry their request for a helicopter rescue was denied.

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Tired and relieved but furious with the authorities who blocked their rescue, three trampers have walked out of Arthurs Pass National Park.

The men had requested a helicopter pick them up on Tuesday after heavy rain swelled the White River, cutting them off at the remote Barker Hut.

After the Department of Conservation refused access to the helicopter -- which the men were happy to pay for -- the three crossed the river yesterday morning in harrowing conditions.

After reaching safety, prominent mountaineer and reality television personality Kerry Suter attacked the decision to deny access to a helicopter.

"They just can't imagine how bad the river was up at the hut where we were," he said. "It's almost like they were encouraging us to take risks just to make their point."

The men crossed the raging river by linking arms and moving slowly together before walking five hours to safety.

"It's a deadly canyon," Suter said. "People die in that river. It's waist high and the rate at which it is flowing you can't even comprehend ... it is just like a waterfall."

Police and the Department of Conservation had urged the men to stay in the hut, saying it was unsafe to cross the swollen river. But the men's request to be airlifted out was refused on Tuesday after police advised that their situation was not an emergency. The department's rules forbid commercial helicopters flying into the park unless in an emergency.

The three men were not injured but were running short of food, their supplies reduced to just an energy bar and a small quantity of instant mashed potato. They were also concerned that forecast bad weather would keep them stranded at the hut for another six days.

The group had been cut off since Saturday. They attempted to cross the river using ropes on both Monday and Tuesday but had to turn back because the torrent was too dangerous.

Suter said DOC had badly mismanaged the situation and that all three men would be making a formal complaint.

"We are experienced, fit athletes and expert trampers," he said. "It's not like we are just some slack tourists looking for an easy way out.

"We anticipated being there for a day, we had supplies for two days and we had been up there for four days. When you run out of food, you start making bad decisions and you make stupid decisions eventually. We were really lucky."

Radio operator Paul White, who received the men's distress call on Tuesday morning, said the group should have been evacuated.

"This proves that the safety system has some flaws in it," he said. "If a person in the mountains asks for help they don't normally do it unless they really mean it ... If the powers that be didn't have these silly regulations there would be no problem."

The men flew home to Auckland last night, predicting similar situations would happen again -- possibly with more serious consequences -- if the department did not change its helicopter ban.

"Either we were going to get helicoptered out at our own expense or we were going to have a run at it and risk needing search and rescue," Suter said.

He also said the department was not providing adequate information about conditions in the park.

The experienced mountaineer said he had attempted to research the area on the DOC website before travelling but found no warnings that sudden rain could cut the area off.

Support for the helicopter ban came from the New Zealand Alpine Club. "We are concerned with preserving natural quiet in a remote wilderness setting," said chief executive Ollie Clifton. In his opinion, the the group should have waited.

Kingsley Timpson, the DOC area manager for the Waimakariri region, said he believed the system was working well and that the men's success in getting out of the park showed they had followed advice, waiting for conditions to improve before leaving on foot. The helicopter ban would remain. "People need to know if the area they are going into is a permitted area for aircraft.

" In this park, relocating by aircraft has not been allowed for the last 20 years."

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