A Christchurch man in his mid-30s was in a stable condition yesterday after being rescued from under 2m of snow when his party was struck by an avalanche in the South Richardson Mountains near Glenorchy at 3.50pm on Sunday.
He was taken to Lakes District Hospital for assessment and observation for suspected hypothermia, and the other two clients were transported back to the company's base in the resort.
Alpine Heli Ski co-owner Tim O'Leary said the group was given a full safety briefing about the conditions before the trip and an avalanche locator beacon.
The avalanche risk was acknowledged and accepted in the standard waivers the skiers signed, he said.
Mr O'Leary said stability of mountain slopes was much the same throughout the Queenstown and Wanaka areas and Alpine Heli Ski and the two other heli-ski operators has been triggering small avalanches over the past four days.
"Each heli-ski company goes through an avalanche cycle each season. It's a period when a lot of factors make the snow more unstable than other times during the season.
"Avalanches are a constant risk in heli-skiing throughout the world and it's an element that makes heli-skiing exciting."
Alpine Heli Ski was in its fourth year of operations and Sunday's incident was the first time a client had been buried under snow, he said.
The company would continue to operate on the lower angled slopes of the South Richardson Mountains and would take clients into the area today once weather conditions improved.
The company would conduct an internal assessment of the incident before submitting its report to the Mountain Safety Council Avalanche Unit and the New Zealand Mountain Guides Association.
The report was unlikely to be made public, he said.
Senior Sergeant John Fookes, of Queenstown, said police had referred the matter to the Department of Labour for investigation because it was "technically" a workplace accident.
Department of Labour service manager John Pannett, of Invercargill, said the department "is seeking clarification of the circumstances before deciding what, if any, further action is appropriate."
