Heliski Company Speaks Out About Avalanche Accident

18/08/08

During a heliskiing trip yesterday, an Alpine Heli Ski Ltd client became trapped under two metres of snow after an avalanche occurred in the South Richardson Mountains near Glenorchy (50km northwest of Queenstown).

The company’s emergency procedures were immediately activated and the client was dug out of the snow in 10 minutes and promptly airlifted to Queenstown. He was taken to Lakes District Hospital in Queenstown for assessment and observation, and is in a stable condition.
 
The remaining clients on the trip were transported back to the company’s base in Queenstown after the incident.
 
Alpine Heli Ski co-owner Tim O’Leary said the company was operating well within the boundaries of normal heliskiing conditions.
 
“Client safety is absolutely paramount to our operation and we always select the safest and most suitable terrain for heliskiing each day, based on avalanche conditions. When we assessed the conditions yesterday morning we chose to operate on the safer lower angled slopes of the South Richardson Mountains,” he said.
 
Mr O’Leary said the group was given a full safety briefing about the conditions before the trip.
 
“We also supply all clients with an avalanche locator beacon which enabled us to locate our client quickly and successfully during the incident yesterday.”
 
As per normal procedure, the company is conducting an internal assessment of the incident before submitting its report to the Mountain Safety Council Avalanche Unit and the NZ Mountain Guides Association.