Climber Survives With Minor Injuries After 2,000 Foot Fall From New Zealand Mountain

A climber who fell 2,000 feet down from Mount Taranaki, one of New Zealand’s most dangerous mountains, was “exceptionally lucky” to survive.

The man was part of a group of climbers who were approaching Mount Taranaki’s summit. The man fell by losing his footing and slipping. He lost his ice axe and crampons during the fall.

Senior Constable Vaughan Smith credits the climate with saving the unidentified man.

“Thanks to recent spring weather, the ice had softened, and the snow caught the climber’s fall. He is exceptionally lucky to be alive. These are challenging areas and when things go wrong there are often serious consequences,” Smith told CBS News.

Measured by deaths, Taranaki is often considered the second most dangerous mountain to climb after New Zealand’s tallest mountain, Mount Cook. According to the New Zealand Conservation Department, climbing Mount Taranaki requires “mountaineering experience and equipment” in the months between May to November/December. The New Zealand police said that if the mountaineer was not properly equipped, he could’ve had “a very different ending.”