Helicopter Rescues in Tasmania "2"

[Mountain Rocket]

https://www.facebook.com/WestpacRescueT ... 5236146955
Interview with police.

Father has mild hypothermia, son is fine apparently. Building a rough shelter is what saved them according to one of the police interviewed.

[NickMonk]

So apparently they found a food drop around 9 mile Creek...... Anyone know who that would belong to and if they're already traversing the ranges?

[Lizzy]

I heard they found someone else's food drop- oops just saw this in the post above. Hope the owners aren't looking for it....

[matagi]

Well the father had sufficient nous to construct a temporary shelter, so more than luck at work there I would think.

[Strider]

I've never been fortunate enough to visit this part of the world, but would Nine Mile Creek suggest they were seriously aiming to take on the traverse?

[norts]

Nine Mile creek means they were heading along Huon Plains which runs parallel with the Western Arthurs. They were past the Moraine K turn off ie 7 Mile Ck.

[Lophophaps]

As far as PWS, SAR, BSAR etc - luck doesn't come into it, just good management of the situation. The intrepid walkers were the lucky ones.....

My comments refer to the luck of the lost ones. I agree about the good management.

[stepbystep]

There will be a fairly comprehensive package on the ABC news at 7:00....basically they are really ignorant with zero bush skills. The news story doesn't say that they thought they were on the "Scotts Peak Circuit", a track that doesn't exist. They were lucky to stumble upon 9 Mile Ck campsite complete with someone elses food drop, they built shelter there and kept each other warm. They never attempted to climb onto the range. Very, very lucky!

They did come across another walker who said they were on the right track. That's very interesting! If I saw those 2 on the Arthur Plains I'd be having a very frank discussion....

[Lizzy]

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-2 ... fmredir=sm
Interview with the young lad

[Rick]

I like to give people the benefit of the doubt but another walker telling them they were on the right track......hmmmm, plot thickens.
Unless of course that solo walker had no clue either.

[Strider]

That solo walker will be in for quite a shock when they return from their walk in a few days time and realise just how preventable this was.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Tortoise]

There will be a fairly comprehensive package on the ABC news at 7:00....basically they are really ignorant with zero bush skills. The news story doesn't say that they thought they were on the "Scotts Peak Circuit", a track that doesn't exist.

The dad says on the video Lizzy has linked to that 'we were doing the circuit around Scotts Peak'. No idea how he came to think that.

But in their defence, they did build a shelter, which was about the best thing they could have done once they were lost. it reminds me of a survival course I did decades ago. We were put into teams and given the brief to build a shelter. No other guidance. Bottom line was that we came up with all sorts of weird and wonderful structures, all of which were sufficient to protect us. We didn't need advanced bush skills. We just had to do something with what we had. And these guys, to their credit, had the sense to do that. And from reading between the lines, used their body heat to help keep each other warm. So in spite of the many apparent basic mistakes they made, they did enough to survive - till help reached them. That's worth a lot of brownie points in my book.

[Thylaseen]

A good result. From one of the video reports a search party of two heard them, they were just off the track.

I wouldn't blame the solo walker - presumably they were on McKays track at the time, I don't know of any 'Scotts Peak circuit track'. Depends on what question was asked of him.

Nine Mile Creek is just past Moraine K, potentially a food drop site? From memory the second creek crossing at that point is not as straight forward as the first - maybe they strayed here?

All speculation of course.

[lee737]

I hope someone replaces that food drop.....

[NickMonk]

I'm curious to know why they didn't just walk back the way they came in the next day. Clearly they were right next to the track and even hung a space blanket on a track marker.

[JohnR]

Fantastic that they were found and chapeau to the rescue crews.

I must admit to being in stitches watching the interview (the link to which Lizzy posted above). It's a bit like a Chris Lilley 'mockumentary'.

On a serious note, it would be good if the media use the public interest in this event in a positive way by creating some awareness on how someone prepares themself to safely enter and enjoy these areas. This should be done in a sensitive way. It should not be in the form of public critisim of the father and son, who seem to be very genuine chaps.

While the whole episode created significant danger for both the rescued and rescuers, I commend the father on spending time with his son in the outdoors (even though perhaps a little more time than what he first intended). These adventures give a sense of achievement and build resilience and self worth in our young.

No doubt there are other dads out there that spent Anzac Day at the pub.

[lee737]

I'm curious to know why they didn't just walk back the way they came in the next day. Clearly they were right next to the track and even hung a space blanket on a track marker.

I would say they were thoroughly lost and disoriented by then, and maybe they did something right - they stopped moving.
How even a cheap GPS would have changed their experience......

[stepbystep]

On a serious note, it would be good if the media use the public interest in this event in a positive way by creating some awareness on how someone prepares themself to safely enter and enjoy these areas. This should be done in a sensitive way. It should not be in the form of public critisim of the father and son, who seem to be very genuine chaps.

ABC have done this ... basic, but a start on that. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-27/w ... lk/8475976

[devoswitch]

I'm curious to know why they didn't just walk back the way they came in the next day. Clearly they were right next to the track and even hung a space blanket on a track marker.

I would say they were thoroughly lost and disoriented by then, and maybe they did something right - they stopped moving.
How even a cheap GPS would have changed their experience......

Yeah staying on the track /still is definitely the safest thing to do!
Very true .... But I wouldn't have had half the fun I've had if I owned a GPS!!

[Azza]

I think this episode kind of raises a bit of an issue with public perception of bushwalking in Tassie.
We heavily promote walks like the Overland, Freycinet, 3 Capes, Frenchmans etc. which pretty tame in comparison to the Arthurs.
The jump in difficulty between those walks and say the Arthurs / SW is significant.
But we have this policy of pretty much denying the existence of the tracks such as the Western Arthurs.
I would say virtually no one outside of bushwalking/hiking circles would have heard of the Arthurs in Tasmania.

So the inexperienced faced with an area like the SW probably don't know what they're getting themselves into.
If all you know is Cradle Mt, Freycinet etc. there are "tracks", "sign posts etc." then how hard can it be?

[Rick]

Another one but no Helicopter required.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... 5189081723

[Nuts]

Great bonding experience, good ES training, nobody hurt. Exciting news fodder.
I'd guess the usual walks warning signs are in place at SP trailhead? (haven't been down recently).
Ok (sorry Rick) next

[tastrax]

Are you from Tassie Azza (just curious)?

In Tassie we certainly don't deny the existence of these tracks (such as Western Arthurs), however PROMOTION of walks is generally centred around the ones more suitable for the general tourists. Things like the Great Short Walks etc assist users to build confidence in walking in a range of environments, on different track surfaces, different trip lengths etc.

In the case of the Southwest I reckon a normal person would understand they are heading into a lesser managed area as they turn off the main road onto the dirt, see fewer cars and facilities, see the warnings etc in registration booths, note the less developed tracks and fewer signs. A person with basic map reading skills could tell the Western Arthurs was not a day walk but there is certainly not a restriction on a person going to the area and using their own knowledge and skill to try out something new. Unfortunately in this case it seems more preparation and information gathering would have been advisable.

The Western Arthurs is one of those 'iconic places' and there must be thousands of images and posters out there showing the range on a lovely sunny day. Alas, its seldom like that but a wind swept, sleeting version of the same image has less appeal for tourism promotion.

Western arthurs walk tasmania - https://www.google.com.au/search?q=west ... k+tasmania
Images - https://www.google.com.au/search?q=west ... 20&bih=950

http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=3809

[Azza]

Are you from Tassie Azza (just curious)?

Yup... Walked the Western/Eastern Arthurs, Eldons, Southern Ranges, South Coast, Prince of Wales Range, Franklands. etc.. I know the area fairly well.

I guess my point was the lack of official information is what I meant by denying - e.g.. this is a really hard walk for experts only isn't really clearly presented on the parks website.
http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=3809
One vague mention of the Arthurs.. and some comments about weather and being prepared.
I actually don't think from a safety perspective the presentation on the official website is up to standard compared to what the DOC in New Zealand provides.
e.g.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recrea ... ses-route/

So the general tourist gets a sniff of the Western Arthurs - no offical information for them to base any decisions on.
You don't know what you don't know.. and if there is no information, will that lead to a better outcome? reliant on people working out they're out of their depth? Possibly a bit too late.
I must admit I'm also not good at reading the warning signs at the start of tracks, so I really don't know if they convey the right information or if they all look the same and get ignored.

[Thornbill]

...there must be thousands of images and posters out there showing the range on a lovely sunny day. Alas, its seldom like that but a wind swept, sleeting version of the same image has less appeal for tourism promotion.

I had this very discussion with my partner last night, with particular regards to social media. The official Instagram account of Tourism Tasmania is full of spectacular images from wild places that aren't easily accessible. Is there a risk that people see an image of sunrise somewhere on the Western Arthurs and think "Hey, I've got to go there when I'm in Tassie". From experience, yes. I ran into two Taiwanese walkers at the Lake Rhona car park a couple of years ago. They had just landed in Tassie that morning and headed straight there. The guy told me he had seen a photo of Lake Rhona and wanted to go. First ever walk in Tassie. We left the carpark while they were getting ready and I said to them "See you up there". We didn't. Presumably they had no idea how far/muddy it was and turned around.

To give Tourism Tasmania credit, they do state the difficulty of walks and how much experience is needed for such images, but there are undoubtedly other accounts that do not do this. Heck, I'm probably guilty of it.

[Strider]

Heck, I'm probably guilty of it.

Indeed you are mate! Have you forgotten about the time you talked a French exchange student into accompanying us on a trip to Frenchmans Cap!

[Thornbill]

Heck, I'm probably guilty of it.

Indeed you are mate! Have you forgotten about the time you talked a French exchange student into accompanying us on a trip to Frenchmans Cap!

Ah yes, you've got me there

[AndyR]

This keeps being reported, and to some extent discussed as though they were actually on the range but it's still not clear to me that's what they really intended to do, despite what seems to be an erroneous entry in the log book? they keep referring to the Scotts Peak circuit which no-one else seems to know about so I'd be interested to know where they got the notion that such a walk exists. If they really thought they were on some sort of circuit then that might explain why, after 20km, they got concerned and thought they'd missed the track somehow and decided not to just turn around and walk out the way they'd come? Hopefully at some point there's a more lengthy report/debrief

Andy

[north-north-west]

Thing is, they apparently signed in with their intentions - one presumes that was at the walker registration booth at the carpark. And there's a *&%$#! big map there, large as life, telling you what your options are for tracked walks.
So how did they get - and keep - the idea of this mythical 'Scotts Peak circuit' track?

I can understand them getting confused past 7 Mile Creek, as there are multiple crossing that aren't always clearly marked, plus some overgrown sections of track (and all tangled with tree falls and masses of bauera last time I was there). As for the walker who said they were on the right track, it depends exactly what they asked, doesn't it?

[tastrax]

...they keep referring to the Scotts Peak circuit which no-one else seems to know about so I'd be interested to know where they got the notion that such a walk exists.

I reckon this comes from the registration booth at Huon campsite. It has a map with all the common walks from that departure point and would show Arthur Plains, A - K, Eastern Arthurs, Port Davey track etc and each has a designation (cant remember route A, B, C, D etc). on the map. This makes its easy for folks to spell out there intentions in a simple way. There is an 'obvious circuit' along McKays, up A, along the range, down K, back along the plains. I reckon that is the "Scotts Peak Circuit" they are defining.

I will see if I can find an old image of the rego booth