A 15-year-old snowboarder has his cellphone to thank after a near-death disaster at Mt Ruapehu.
He was travelling outside the ski field boundaries at Whakapapa on Tuesday when the accident happened - and National Park Police Constable Conrad Smith, a member of the Ruapehu Alpine Rescue Organisation, says the teen is lucky to be alive.
"A 15-year-old boy was snowboarding on his own outside the boundary and he fell into an eight-metre waterfall hole," he says.
"There was one thing that saved his life - he had one bar of reception on his cellphone."
Waterfall holes form naturally as temperatures rise, riddling the landscape with these death-traps for unwary backcountry travellers.
The waterfall hole (Ruapehu Alpine Rescue Organisation/Facebook)
"As it gets warmer the water starts running in rivers. It melts the snow beneath it and creates these holes," Mr Smith says.
The hole was lined with sharp icicles and rocks, and the teen only narrowly avoided being skewered in his fall.
He then called for a rescue, but didn't know where he was - and with cloud rolling in, time was limited.
Luckily, one of the rescue team noticed marks where he'd gone over the edge. Another half an hour and visibility would have been too poor to find him, says Mr Smith.
"He's very lucky - he's just had minor bumps and bruises, and was a bit cold and wet from the water in the hole."
The rescue team risked their own safety to get him out as quickly as possible.
"The patrol set up an anchor system with ropes, then a member went down with a harness and we pulled them back out."
Mr Smith has an urgent message for others that could save lives.
"If they go backcountry, if they leave the ski field, they need to go with a buddy - they need to go with an avalanche transceiver, and they need to know how to use it," he says.
"And check with the ski patrol before you leave."
Newshub.
