Bianca Bratton from the Mountain Safety Council is not involved in the rescue but is abreast of the challenging conditions and terrain.
“It goes without saying that these areas up in our high alpine are some of the country’s most remote and wild environments so they are particularly volatile,” she told Checkpoint.
“The search and rescue team is going up against some really crazy weather systems that continue to sort of hamper their efforts in the region.”
The climbers are in the best place by staying at the hut, she said.
Rescuers are hoping the weather clears so the two can be flown out.
“At the moment it’s not possible to get a team in on foot so they’ll be waiting for a clearance to get the helicopter to fly in and take the pair out.”
The DOC huts “definitely don’t have your creature comforts”, Bratton said, with no shower, comfortable couch or Wi-Fi.
But they do have radios and climbers in these kinds of environments typically carry satellite phones or other reliable communication devices, so the climbers have been in touch with rescuers.
“Most critically, the huts do provide a refuge for climbers like these people from the snow and the wind and they do provide a small amount of insulation from the cold.”
The climbers were well prepared for their adventure, Bratton said.
“They really should have food to get them through to the next break in the weather.
“These routes to and from the huts are really only appropriate for experienced mountaineers so I hope that they are equipped, and it sounds as though they’ve got everything they need to wait it out until rescue is a possibility.”
Spring conditions can be volatile and the recent weather has been unpredictable across the Southern Alps.
“I know that new snow is predicted over these next couple of days.”
Frostbite is a risk in the cold temperatures, Bratton said. It can affect the fingers, toes, nose or other extremities.
“The good thing is they’re in touch with their search and rescue team. They do have medical advice to help them treat it in the interim. It’s not clear at the moment exactly how serious their frostbite is.”
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