Alpine rescue teams upskill

Alpine Cliff Rescue team members Mike Roberts and Anthea Fisher attended the mountain rescue workshop. PHOTOS: REGAN HARRIS

Wānaka residents are no strangers to the odd helicopter flyover, but the appearance of two sleek aircraft in the centre of town this week was enough to turn heads.

For several hours on Tuesday morning, passersby had the opportunity to get an up-close look at the two Otago Southland Rescue Helicopters parked on the lawn next to the Wānaka Hotel while their crew members attended a mountain rescue workshop at the Lake Wānaka Centre.

Helicopters Otago Limited operates the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter service. General manager Graeme Gale said there was a practical reason for such a unique landing.

“We’re operational. If there’s an emergency on the go, we’re gone.”

More than 160 alpine rescue practitioners from throughout the country were in town for the day-long event, organised by the Department of Conservation’s Aoraki Mt Cook Alpine Rescue Team, New Zealand Search and Rescue (NZSAR) and the Land Safety

Aoraki Mt Cook Alpine Rescue team leader David Lewis was one of the organisers of the mountain rescue workshop at Aspiring Helicopters.

Forum to coincide with the Southern Hemisphere Alpine Conference, a biennial event
that took place in Wānaka on Wednesday and Thursday.

Doc’s Aoraki Mt Cook Alpine Rescue team leader David Lewis, one of the organisers of the workshop, said there had been a push to run a mountain rescue workshop in the build-up to the conference since 2019, taking advantage of the fact so many practitioners would be in the same location at once.

“Trying to get everyone in the same room is a bit of a challenge.”

A bystander films two helicopters taking off from Otago Southland Rescue Helicopters on the lawn next to the Wānaka Hotel on Tuesday morning.

While a much smaller workshop had been put together before the pandemic, this year marked the first time the workshop had come together on such a large scale. It involved representatives from a multitude of agencies such as the police, the Wellington-based Rescue Co-ordination Centre, volunteer and paid rescue teams and ski patrol teams from Cardrona, Treble Cone and The Remarkables ski fields.

Mr Lewis said the workshop was an opportunity for practitioners to "put the names to faces" and provide them with a greater appreciation of the skills and capabilities of their colleagues.

"We’ve just really tried to step it up this year and sort of showcase some new ideas, some new equipment.

"It’s nice to see a big wide range of people here this time."

Attendees of the mountain rescue workshop at Aspiring Helicopters watch a demonstration of a steep terrain rescue by the Department of Conservation’s Aoraki Mt Cook Alpine Rescue Team.

Following the morning workshop in town, attendees drove and flew to Aspiring Helicopters where, in the shadow of Treble Cone, they witnessed a demonstration of aerial rescue techniques by the Wānaka Alpine Cliff Rescue and Aoraki Mt Cook Alpine Rescue teams.

Lionel Clay, one of the team leaders at the Wānaka Alpine Cliff Rescue Team, said the workshop’s "very friendly and informal" nature made it the perfect place for networking.

"To have the tasking authorities here, the rescue co-ordination centre and the police, who send us out on the jobs ... for us to be able to brief them on what we’re dealing with on rescue jobs, what goes well, what doesn’t ... it’s a great environment."

He said it was difficult to overstate the value of having such an experienced team of rescuers on call at all hours in Wānaka, all of whom were volunteers.

"Every single one of us. It’s the Kiwi way."

regan.harris@alliedpress.co.nz