Update to the press release below – Unfortunately, one person has been confirmed to have died in the avalanche on a Heli ski trip in the Southern Alps.
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Adventure in the Southern Alps took a dramatic turn today as a search and rescue team launched a mission in response to an avalanche near Mt Arrowsmith, nestled in the rugged Ashburton Lakes District. The call for help came in at 12:25 PM, sending the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue helicopter racing to the scene.
The location? Just south of the imposing Mt Arrowsmith, roughly 46 kilometers west of Mt Hutt and a good 130 kilometers from Christchurch. This is no small slip—this is the unforgiving Arrowsmith Range, where avalanches can be as unpredictable as they are dangerous.
Interestingly, this area doesn’t fall under the New Zealand Avalanche Advisory’s watchful eye, which might leave some adventurers feeling a bit too confident. But don’t be fooled—Mother Nature doesn’t care about borders.
The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council has been sounding the alarm for weeks, urging skiers, snowboarders, and climbers to check avalanche warnings before venturing out. Just this past week, Wanaka saw its share of trouble with backcountry avalanches, though, thankfully, no one was caught in the snow’s grip.
The first week of September brought a fresh blanket of snow across the South Island, and with it, a heightened risk of avalanches. There were issues in Wanaka earier this week as repoted on the Adventure wesbite. The Mountain Safety Council issued stern warnings for several regions, including Ōhau in the Mackenzie Basin, Arthur’s Pass, Aoraki Mt Cook, and Queenstown, to name a few. In these places, the message is clear: “very dangerous avalanche conditions” and “travel in avalanche terrain not recommended.”
Mike Daisley, CEO of the Mountain Safety Council, emphasized the need for caution, particularly for those outside the safety net of ski fields. “Be sure you have the skills and knowledge to navigate avalanche terrain,” he urged. The council’s warnings aren’t meant to keep you off the snow; they’re there to keep you safe.
This late in the season, you might think the worst is behind us, but the South Island’s recent snow dumps have proved otherwise. In Daisley’s words, “things normally slow down at this time of year,” but as we’ve seen over the past few winters, nature has a way of rewriting the rulebook. So, for all the thrill-seekers out there, it’s a reminder that when it comes to the mountains, the adventure doesn’t stop—and neither should your vigilance.
