Start of the Trip

My friend, Peter, and I set out to walk a 140 km hike through the Richmond Ranges at the top of the South Island in New Zealand. The Richmond Ranges is an Alpine Route that is known to be challenging. Both Peter and I are in our early 70’s with many years of hiking experience under our belts.

We had completed about 90 km of the hike when I lost my balance crossing a loose boulder field and landed heavily on my chest on top of the handle of one my hiking poles. My chest was very sore and I had trouble breathing and using my walking poles. We carried on hiking for another three days. This included some very steep climbs, descents, and traverses over mountainous terrain.

It Goes from Bad to Worse

On the third day the weather turned nasty (heavy rain, strong winds) and was expected to be worse the next day, so we decided to drop off the main ridge to Old Man Hut at a lower elevation to wait out the storm.

That night, and particularly the following night, Peter and Scott (another hiker who had also descended to the hut to wait out the storm) became very concerned about my breathing. Fluid was building up in my lungs and I was disorientated when they woke me. When I tried standing, I had trouble maintaining my balance.

Hiker’s Rescue Ahead

Two more days of hiking through challenging terrain was required to reach our planned exit point from the trail. Peter did not think I could safely make it, given my balance problems and breathing difficulties, and was concerned that I might end up with pneumonia if we stayed longer in the hut.

We decided to press the button on my ACR ResQLink 400 personal locator beacon at about 630 am. The Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter arrived about 45 minutes later. I was assessed by the helicopter medics. Peter and I were then flown direct to Nelson hospital.