TRAGEDY STRIKES TEENS AT TARARUA RANGES
TRAMPING SAFETY
What was supposed to be a cruisy overnight stay at a hut in the Tararua Ranges turned into a tragedy for ill-prepared teens Bevan Cole and Peter Smith, leading both into a state of hypothermia and taking the life of Smith.
The boys thought that a small trip to the ranges would be a breeze, but neither of them gave attention to the weather forecast or evaluated the risks involved correctly, leading to the pair being ill prepared to face off against the rugged mountain ranges.
The Tararua Ranges are located in the lower half of the North Island and run from East Cape to Wellington. They are a beautiful part of New Zealand and every year, just like Cole and Smith, travellers from all over …show more content…
The boys and Cole in particular did not heed his advice, later saying “I’ve never done first aid at school or anything… so I didn’t get what the guy was talking about”.
Hypothermia is a very severe condition and it occurs most of the time without people even knowing. The first warning signs of the symptom are shivering and loss of colour from the skin, which moves on to slurred speech, confusion, loss of mobility and impaired motor skills. Smith would have suffered all of these right under Cole’s nose, and later Cole reveals that he did did not understand how serious the situation was until after Smith collapsed and sat down in the snow, unable to walk.
As well as this lack of an appropriate response to the situation, both of the boys were very ill-prepared to face it in the first place, assuming they would be ‘fine’ because hundreds of others completed the walk easily before …show more content…
The last in a long line of errors was the boys’ mistakes in both the first and fourth steps to tramping safety. This happened when the lone tramper hurried past them, speaking up about Smith’s condition, and Cole did not grasp what the man was trying to say. Instead of erring on the side of caution and going back down the mountain to warmth and safety, the boys pressed on further into the storm, ultimately the final decision that sealed Smith’s fate.
The first tramping safety step “plan your trip” outlines listening to the advice and opinions of those more experienced or more familiar with the area. The man that passed the boys was both of these because he had already been up the mountain, familiarised himself with the area, and he was hurrying down. Given that he was clearly a more seasoned tramper, due to the amounts of gear he carried and his ability to identify a problem with Smith, this should have indicated to the boys that they too should head back down the mountain, following his
TRAMPING SAFETY
What was supposed to be a cruisy overnight stay at a hut in the Tararua Ranges turned into a tragedy for ill-prepared teens Bevan Cole and Peter Smith, leading both into a state of hypothermia and taking the life of Smith.
The boys thought that a small trip to the ranges would be a breeze, but neither of them gave attention to the weather forecast or evaluated the risks involved correctly, leading to the pair being ill prepared to face off against the rugged mountain ranges.
The Tararua Ranges are located in the lower half of the North Island and run from East Cape to Wellington. They are a beautiful part of New Zealand and every year, just like Cole and Smith, travellers from all over …show more content…
The boys and Cole in particular did not heed his advice, later saying “I’ve never done first aid at school or anything… so I didn’t get what the guy was talking about”.
Hypothermia is a very severe condition and it occurs most of the time without people even knowing. The first warning signs of the symptom are shivering and loss of colour from the skin, which moves on to slurred speech, confusion, loss of mobility and impaired motor skills. Smith would have suffered all of these right under Cole’s nose, and later Cole reveals that he did did not understand how serious the situation was until after Smith collapsed and sat down in the snow, unable to walk.
As well as this lack of an appropriate response to the situation, both of the boys were very ill-prepared to face it in the first place, assuming they would be ‘fine’ because hundreds of others completed the walk easily before …show more content…
The last in a long line of errors was the boys’ mistakes in both the first and fourth steps to tramping safety. This happened when the lone tramper hurried past them, speaking up about Smith’s condition, and Cole did not grasp what the man was trying to say. Instead of erring on the side of caution and going back down the mountain to warmth and safety, the boys pressed on further into the storm, ultimately the final decision that sealed Smith’s fate.
The first tramping safety step “plan your trip” outlines listening to the advice and opinions of those more experienced or more familiar with the area. The man that passed the boys was both of these because he had already been up the mountain, familiarised himself with the area, and he was hurrying down. Given that he was clearly a more seasoned tramper, due to the amounts of gear he carried and his ability to identify a problem with Smith, this should have indicated to the boys that they too should head back down the mountain, following his