A teenager who fell 100m down Mt Ruapehu might have died if not for his quick thinking - and shoe laces.

A ill-equipped German tourist wearing street shoes had to drag himself to fetch help after a fall on Mt Ruapehu today left him with a bleeding, broken leg.

A paraponter spent about four hours perched precariously on a ridge with suspected spinal injuries after crashing in a remote Canterbury alpine range this afternoon.

A huge avalanche crashed frighteningly close to a rescue party as they treated a woman who had fallen some 300 metres down a Canterbury glacier after her snow anchor apparently detached.

An overseas climber has died after falling 600m on Aoraki Mount Cook this morning.

The two mountaineers who died on Mt Taranaki had little chance of surviving for two nights and a day in their shallow hole in the hard snow and freezing wind, says a leading local guide.

One of two climbers who died after being trapped on Mt Taranaki this weekend had texted her father saying she didn't expect to survive.

Search and rescue crews are scouring the Kahurangi National Park in "atrocious" weather for a French tramper who has been missing for three days.

A teenager who was rescued by two police officers from rough surf at a Hawkes Bay beach has paid tribute to his heroes.

The Taranaki Outdoor Pursuits Centre has escaped a fine for the tragedy on Paritutu Rock last year, but will still pay out $72,000 in reparations to families of victims and survivors.

Two police officers who dived into rough surf and formed a human chain to save a 12-year-old boy from drowning are set to receive the force's highest bravery award today.

A pair of US tourists had to be rescued by a police search and rescue team after becoming stranded on the banks of the Haast River yesterday afternoon.

A Japanese student spent a cold night in the Kaimai Ranges where she got lost yesterday.

A man has died after the boat he was in capsized in the sea off Northland today.

The canine heroes and victims of Christchurch’s earthquakes are immortalised in a new book by Laura Sessions and Craig Bullock.

A Chinese backpacker who survived three days without food or equipment, as poor weather closed in, didn't know bushes were dangerous.

A Chinese backpacker missing at National Park, Ruapehu since Sunday has been found alive, police said.

A rescue helicopter has been scrambled to search for two hunters lost in the snow in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park.

Emergency workers deal with life-and-death situations every day but there are some call-outs they will never forget. Three such heroes tell their stories to Veronica Schmidt.

A hunter has described how he and a mate spent an icy night in the bush huddled with their dogs for warmth after losing their way back to their ute.

Frederick "Rick" Hayward was last seen leaving his Hamilton home in Thames Street about 5pm on Monday night.

When the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter flies out, it's not just for high-drama rescues and critically injured patients.

A hunter who fell down a ridge and broke his leg has been found after a freezing night on a South Island mountain.

It appears missing Karamea man Andrew Ross White, 58, had almost reached the end of his Heaphy Track trek - an adventure on his bucket list - before he was swept away.