Three hunters who were camping at approximately 400 meters (1,312′) below a mountain face in a remote corner of New Zealand’s Fiordland felt they’d allowed for plenty of space in the event an avalanche was triggered.
Instead, they awoke to a “f…ing massive avalanche heading for us,” Ben Collins told New Zealand’s Stuff. They were able to scramble about 50 meters from the slide before being hit with avalanche debris.
“If we were 200 metres closer they’d be looking for bodies,“ he continued
The hunting party was airlifted back to the town of Te Anau without injuries following the incident.
New Zealand’s Avalanche Advisory had issued a moderate risk warning for the Saturday of the incident but that has now been updated to Considerable Risk.
The bulletin reads, “Rain, intense sun and high freezing levels contribute to the avalanche danger during spring. All are in the forecast for the next few days. It is not a good time for alpine travel.”
Luckily, Collins and his group had left themselves about 200 meters of room between themselves and what would have been a hard lesson to learn. Stay safe out there folks!
