How climber survived 100m fall

Mark Hateley, a 23-year-old Australian, was just 50m from the summit of Mt Cook when he lost his footing and started sliding out of control.

The climber fell more than 100m, escaping death by rolling over an ice bridge across a crevasse that was 3m wide and 20m deep.

Rescuers found Mr Hateley semi-conscious half and hour later. He was rushed to Christchurch Hospital with chest injuries and a smashed foot.

Mr Hateley was yesterday still in hospital and his parents, Shirley and Russell Hateley, have flown from Australia to be at their son's bedside.

They thanked everyone involved in their son's rescue: "His climbing companions, other climbers who radioed for assistance, those involved in the rescue itself and all hospital staff involved in his care."

Mt Cook rescue team leader Aaron Halstead said Mr Hateley was extremely fortunate to have survived the fall, which happened a fortnight ago.

"This guy was very, very lucky, in the location he fell and in the fact that the crevasse just happened to have a ledge on it, which it normally never does. If he had slipped higher up or lower down, he would have kept going," said Mr Halstead.

Mr Hateley was climbing the 3754m peak with a partner but they were not roped together or anchored to the mountain.

It is unclear why he fell but Mr Halstead described conditions that day as perfect for climbing.

He had been told that as Mr Hateley fell, he tried to jam his ice axe into the mountain to self-arrest, a normal climbing technique.

"He had one go at it and then, boom - you're going terminal velocity just about within a couple of seconds," said Mr Halstead.

A Japanese mountain guide who witnessed the fall radioed the rescue team for help but Mr Halstead said they were unable to understand him.

But mountain guide Marty Beare was in a helicopter in the area and was able to report back to the rescue team, who then responded quickly to the drama.

Mr Halstead said if Mr Hateley had not been slowed by the temporary ice ledge, he may have gone over the Gun Barrels - cliffs that are 700m high.

Mr Halstead said Mr Hateley not only had the fortune of landing on the tiny ledge but also had exquisite timing as the ledge he rolled over was almost never there. "If he'd fallen off that same spot two months earlier, he would have kept going."

In March 2004, another Australian climber, Phil Toms, fell in almost exactly the same spot.

However, with no ledge to stop him, he fell 1000m and was killed.

Mr Halstead said Mt Cook - which has claimed more than 200 lives - could be dangerous. But 7000 people reach its summit every year and the vast majority do so without incident. "There isn't a lot of room for error - you can't afford to be lazy and switch off. You have to be focused all the time.

"Mountaineering is inherently risky and it's a calculated risk - having judgment to weigh up the conditions and your ability at the time. In the wrong conditions, it can be a dangerous mountain but it's all relative."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY