The Department of Conservation has installed new radios in four West Coast alpine huts, enabling trampers and climbers to call helicopter companies directly for a ride home.
The initiative is specific to the West Coast and will not be introduced at alpine huts in the Wanaka and Wakatipu areas, Doc staff have confirmed.
The West Coast initiative has been supported by the New Zealand Alpine Club, Glacier Helicopters, Fox and Franz Heliservices and the Helicopter Line.
Radios in Pioneer, Centennial, Almer and Chancellor huts have been available for hut users to contact Doc about intentions, weather reports and in emergencies.
The new radios have four bands and will automatically tune to the Doc channel whenever they are switched on, because this is the channel to be used in emergencies and for regular schedule updates.
A scroll button will allow people to use three other pre-programmed channels to contact a helicopter company in Franz Josef or Fox Glacier, Doc Franz Josef Waiau area community relations manager Cornelia Vervoorn said.
The four huts played a vital role in sheltering climbers and skiers from the elements, she said.
They were located at altitudes of up to 2200m above sea level and walking in from a road end or walking out at the end of an exhausting trip could take more time than climbing a mountain, she said.
"Time off to go climbing is a precious resource for many climbers, so being able to arrange a ten-minute helicopter flight to avoid an eight-hour walk through challenging glaciated terrain is important for many of the people who escape to the mountains for recreation," Ms Vervoorn said.
Climbers and skiers could also use the radios to alert pilots to changing weather patterns, she said.
New Zealand Alpine Club spokesman Ollie Clifton said the new service was "fantastic" for the climbing community.
"This is a great improvement to the accessibility of the huts and mountain services. Improvements such as these would not be possible without contributions from hut users, so everyone who has paid their hut fees has helped to make this project happen," Mr Clifton said.
Doc's Wanaka area community relations officer, Annette Smith, said the climbing environment on the West Coast was quite different from the Mt Aspiring National Park.
Helicopter access was not allowed at alpine huts administered by the Wanaka area office, unless in emergencies, and there were no plans to introduce a helicopter call system to huts there or in the Wakatipu area.
