KEY POINTS:
An American tramper who died after falling 200m down a bluff in the Southern Alps was experienced, confident and well-equipped, an inquest was told yesterday.
Westland coroner Tony Sullivan reserved his findings into the death of Christopher Brent Clarke, 34, of Ohio.
Mr Sullivan was told Mr Clarke set on out March 1 intending to complete the Three Passes route from Hokitika to arrive at Arthur's Pass Village on March 5.
On March 14, Mr Clarke's parents contacted the United States consulate when he failed to return home and the consulate called New Zealand police.
A search and rescue helicopter sent out the following day found Mr Clarke's body at the bottom of steep bluffs below Browning Pass -- the main divide of the Southern Alps, 9km north of Hokitika.
Tramper Gary Morrison, who overnighted with Mr Clarke at a hut, said he had an appropriate map for the area.
"He was confident and capable," he said in a statement read out at the inquest. "He had the right equipment and had researched the route well."
At the request of the coroner, MetService delivered a report of the weather conditions on the Browning Pass on the afternoon and evening of March 2, when Mr Clarke would have been crossing the pass solo.
Meteorologists said south-westerly winds of near gale force speeds of 60km/h were blowing and increased to storm force 90km/h speed around midnight.
Visibility would have been very poor in patches of mist or cloud below the level of the peaks but moderate to good in breaks in the cloud.
Browning Pass could well have been in cloud or mist by the time he arrived.
- NZPA
