Mount Cook Claims 69th Climbing Fatality

Mountain guide Kiyoshi Ikenouchi died on Mount Cook in the early hours 5th December whilst his client Hideaki Nara, 51 was rescued several hours later.

The pair had been trapped by 130km winds in a storm near the summit of New Zealand's highest mountain (3754m) with temperatures as low as -20c.

It was 6 days before the weather was good enough to dispatch a helicopter to rescue them.

Ikenouchi is the 69th climber and the 7th Japanese national to have died on the peak.

In total over 200 people have died in climbing accidents in the Mount Cook National Park since 1907.

Link: Courier Mail