Editorial: 'Tis the season to be safe

OPINION: It's the time of year when many of us are preparing for a well-earned rest, but others, naturally, know that their services are more likely to be required now than at any other time, because they have taken the decision to try to keep us safe while we're enjoying a time of recreation.

Climbing the country's highest peaks wouldn't fit into most people's description of recreation, but for some people it is and at this time of year there are always a healthy number of people looking to take on that challenge. Naturally that means those charged with rescuing climbers who get into trouble need to be on high alert.

We're fortunate that Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park has two teams of rescue personnel ready to respond in a matter of minutes during the main climbing season, but that doesn't mean those highly skilled rescuers are not put at serious risk themselves when things go wrong.

Of course, they're equipped to carry out rescues and they are prepared to take the risks required to do so, but as Police Mid-South Canterbury Area Commander Inspector Dave Gaskin indicated in yesterday's Page 1 story, there are unnecessary rescues every year.

In other words, rescue missions necessitated by poor decision-making and lack of common sense on the part of the climbers who require rescuing.

The foolhardy decisions they make include climbing in bad weather, or, as Mr Gaskin, said, in areas in which the terrain is beyond their experience.

Perhaps it's because climbers underestimate our mountains. After all, our highest peaks are less than half the altitude of those in the Himalayas. So, having limited time in which to make an attempt at the summit of Mt Cook or other peaks in the park, they take risks with the weather, reasoning that it's not so dangerous.

Anyone who has watched documentaries about Mount Everest expeditions knows that teams attempting the summit must wait for a suitable "weather window" and that if one does not eventuate, they have to go home disappointed. Trying to summit in bad weather is downright suicidal.

Their altitude may not be comparable, but there's plenty of historical evidence that the Southern Alps are not to be trifled with when it comes to the weather and those who choose to take risks need to realise it's not just themselves they're endangering.

We hope, along with Conservation Department staff in the park, for a good, long season, but more importantly for a safe season. Any complacency among those set to embark on expeditions should have been shattered by the death of a Dunedin man in Mt Aspiring National Park at the weekend. Hopefully that tragedy will contribute to a raised level of alertness among other climbers this summer.

- © Fairfax NZ News