PM tells of attempt to save guide's life
The Press
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A devastated Prime Minister Helen Clark today told how she and others yesterday battled in vain to save the life of her close friend and mountain guide Gottlieb Braun-Elwert.
"It's just a terrible thing to see one of your old friends pass away," Miss Clark told reporters at Tekapo's Church of the Good Shepherd.
"It was very harrowing but everybody rose to the occasion and we just threw everything we could at trying to help and trying to get support in."
She said the ski party at the backcountry hut owned by Mr Braun-Elwert near Lake Tekapo kept up CPR on him for 2½ hours - to no avail.
"Gottlieb was one of the most incredible people I have ever seen. I have had so many beaut trips with him," Miss Clark said, adding that over the years she had also got to know his wife Anne and family very well.
Miss Clark said the party - including her husband Peter Davis and Cabinet Ministers Damien O'Connor and David Parker - had had two beautiful days' skiing in the Two Thumbs range.
"And we got to the hut door and two people went inside the hut and Gottlieb came back out of the hut and collapsed on the snow," she said.
Mrs Braun-Elwert praised the Prime Minister and her party for their "fantastic'' efforts to try and resuscitate her husband including performing CPR for more than two hours.
She said it remained unclear why her husband died, though it was believed to be a heart attack - "the last thing'' she would have expected given this fitness.
"We don't really know what the real cause is. We are just guessing it's a heart attack. He's such a fit, strong man, it's the last thing I thought would have taken him."
Miss Clark left the remote mountain hut late last night by snowmobile and four-wheel drive so she could spend time with Mrs Braun-Elwert, whose husband's body was flown by helicopter to Tekapo this morning.
"She made a special effort to come out in the dark last night. (It was) probably a bit scary coming down the mountain in the snow, partially on a skidoo," Mrs Braun-Elwert said on Radio New Zealand.
"So she made a special effort to get back."
She said Miss Clark was such a regular client of her husband they referred to her as their "pet client".
St John ambulance service yesterday said it received a call from Mt Gerald at 3.53pm.
Mr Braun-Elwert ran his own business, Alpine Recreation, at Lake Tekapo.
He had guided Miss Clark and Professor Davis more than a dozen times, on either cross-country skiing or climbing expeditions in New Zealand, South America and other countries.
In 2004, he took Miss Clark and Dr Davis on a four-day ski touring trip.
Miss Clark had to abandon a summit bid on Aconcagua in the Andes, with Mr Braun-Elwert in 2001, because of bad weather and a fellow climber's illness.
They had crossed New Zealand's highest guided pass, the 2105m Ball Pass on the Mount Cook Range, together the previous year, and later climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak.
- NZPA
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The Prime Minister's job is public enough, the least she can do is bugger off into the hills where she can get some peace. I think it's great that she gets out into our countryside and isn't a laptop toting beaurocrat the whole time. She's entitled to her free time as is any other working Kiwi.
I can't believe that after someone dies all you people can do is winge about the PM being there and who was paying for it! Condolences and best wishes to the family and everyone that was there.
I find the comments above really disturbing. Helen Clark, just like John Key or anyone else, can take time out for recreational activity. The story is about a good man who died, who was with New Zealand's Prime Minister at the time. How petty are we that we need to slag off about the PM because she happened to be there when her friend died?
What a tragedy for family and friends of Mr Braun-Elwert. As for the PM and MP's 'swanning off' what a crock of sh*t. We all get days off don't we? We get to indulge in our hobbies on our days off don't we? get over yourselves and spare a thought for the those who were present - yes including Helen Clark, who will live with this dreadful and sad memory for a long time to come. There was NOTHING they could have done to save his life, but they will still be wondering. RIP.
Nice to see the nats have found another blog site to attack Helen Clark. Q how many of them work 7 days a week or don't take annual leave ? Q Was Helen Clark rescued or was there a responce to an emergency call after a man had a heart attack ?
give the woman a break, she as just lost a friend, if this is all the nats have got to try and gain milage on (on this blog site) then its as weak an attempt as their ability to come up with their own policies.
yes lets bring on the election at least by then we will have their true agenda out in to the public forum for all to decide on.
Sorry to hear about this mans death, and my condolences go out to his friends and family. Including Helen, after all, shes a human being, not just a politician, she deserves our sympathies also
The prime minister was on a skiing trip - so what??? I think most of you are so caught up in your own misery you have missed the whole point......A good man has died and all you can do is b*tch about the government....get a life or move somewhere better
Nothing is more irritating to me, than pundits that are unable to make intelligent logical opinions without simply twisting events to serve their own political agenda.
Get a life.
Condolences to the man's family at such a sad time.
It is sad reflection on our society that people are taking a shot at our soon to be ex PM in relation to this story, it could also be said that this is payback for Labour having a go at John Key for spending a couple of days at his batch recently with his family and that was tut-tutted by Labour big time, reap what you sew.
The Prime Minister has just lost a close friend, why not leave her alone and stop putting a political slant on this, Surely she is entitled to a break just like every other New Zealander. A very sad time for her, people should be more respectful.
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Gottlieb was a great asset to NZs mountain and outdoor community. He strived long and hard to keep it that way for all. As a former pupil of his at Linwood High I would not have gone on to do as many things as I have without having his guidance and knowledge to see me on the way to so many great journeys. Kia Kaha travel well Gottlieb.