Mt Hutt struck by avalanche

Mount Hutt skifield has reopened following an avalanche that struck several skiers.

Skifield manager Dave Wilson told The Press the field had been shut following at least one avalanche that hit the South Face of the field earlier today.

He confirmed "two or three'' skiers had been caught up in the avalanche, but said no-one had been injured.

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Shortly after, a woman motorist suffered minor injuries after her four-wheel drive vehicle slid off the snow-covered access road.

The 60 year-old was initially treated by skifield medical staff but later transferred by ambulance to Ashburton Hospital, where she is in a comfortable condition.

Following the avalanche, skiiers were taken to the skifield carpark and a head count conducted by skifield staff.

Around 2000 skiers were on the mountain, enjoying otherwise perfect conditions, Wilson said.

Mt Hutt had just reopened the field after two days of snow, providing the field with the biggest dump of its season.

Wilson said the mountain was now open again. He said the skifield did an avalanche assessment every morning and was satisfied it was safe to continue today.

A skier on the mountain, Kelly Bancroft, told The Press by cellphone that all snowboarders and skiers had been cleared from the mountain and evacuated to the car park.

She said staff were doing a head court to ensure no-one had been left on the ski field.

''There was a big avalanche on the south side. They're checking numbers to make sure everyone's accounted for. There are a couple of helicopters here.

Earl Romero was on the south-west side and said he had counted two avalanches.

''First I heard it, a big crack under your feet, I was above it, some of my friends were in it.

''I saw a few people freaking out, a few missed it by only a few feet.

"One of my friends was buried to her knees. She's okay, she's out and having a debrief.

''I was lucky I didn't go down that way,'' he said.

Romero had seen avalanches in New Zealand and in California before and ''wasn't too concerned''.

''I think because of the recent deaths [staff] are being ultra cautious.

''I'd like to be out there, but it's dangerous, it's a fairly dodgy snowpack'' he said.

AVALANCHE RISK 'CONSIDERABLE'

Today's avalanche risk at Mount Hutt was assessed as "considerable", according to the Mountain Safety Council of New Zealand's Avalanche.net site.

Considerable is halfway up  a table of five stages, ranging from low to extreme.

At 7.30am this morning, Mount Hutt's snow conditions were recorded as:

"Snowpack: 20 to 50cms of variably distributed storm snow is bonding well to the previous crust. High elevation windward slopes are scoured to the crust, and stiff windslab has formed on lee and cross loaded aspects. In isolated high elevation shady aspects, a weak layer of loose facets down 65 to 80cm persists.

Avalanche Occurrences: Isolated storm snow slabs released on lee aspects in the height of Sunday's storm.

Travel Advisory: There is extensive wind effect throughout the ranges, so choose your route carefully around soft cornices at ridge top and around cross loaded terrain features. Be aware when travelling under steep solar aspects that have not released in Sunday's storm. High elevation shady terrain features continue to hold a weak layer of facets on a hard crust down 60 to 80 cms, and isolated pockets of buried windslab."

MOUNTAIN'S TROUBLED YEAR

Today's avalanche is the latest in a series of events at Mt Hutt this year.

On Friday snowboarder Nello Donaggio died after a he slid about 100 metres on the popular ski field, sustaining multiple fractures and a major head injury.

Another man was also flown from Mount Hutt by a Garden City Rescue helicopter after another accident on the same day.

On July 12, a 54 year-old Christchurch woman died while skiing with her daughter after she fell while skiing outside the boundary of the Mt Hutt ski-field.

In June, an American woman died after injuring herself while skiing off-trail at Mt Hutt. The 21-year-old student slid about 130m and hit rocks before sliding another 30m.

Also in June, a 60 year-old man died after his car veered off the access road and down a cliff as he was driving home from a day at the mountain.

It was the first fatality on the access road in 16 years.

- © Fairfax NZ News