Two bushwalkers stranded in extreme freezing weather have been rescued following a dramatic operation in Kosciuszko National Park on Saturday night.
Emergency services were alerted around 7.30am on Saturday after the man, 31, and woman, 28, reported being stranded on the Kosciuszko Walking Trail, below Mount Carruthers.
A command post was quickly set up, and rescue teams were deployed.
Rescue crews pushed to within 1.2km of the pair by 12.15pm but were forced to retreat due to white-out conditions and dangerously strong winds.
At about 10.40pm, trained alpine officers from the NSW Police Force and the NSW State Emergency Service hiked on foot to the stranded hiker’s location.
Other operators established a forward staging area and campsite due to the conditions.
At about 12.25am on Sunday, the hikers were escorted to the staging post campsite, where they remained for a period of time due to rising Snowy River levels, strong winds and heavy snowfall.
About 4.00am, the hikers were successfully extracted, with no injuries reported.
Alpine officers from the NSW Police Force and SES hiked on foot toward stranded hikers on Saturday
Rescue crews pushed to within 1.2km of the stranded pair by 12.15pm on Saturday but adverse conditions stalled their progress
Acting Monaro Police District Inspector Andrew Woods urged visitors to the Kosciuszko National Park to be prepared for all conditions.
‘It’s highly recommended that park users monitor weather forecasts closely and continually as conditions change quickly,’ Insp Woods said.
‘The use of the online National Parks and Wildlife Service trip intention forms and personal locator beacon is strongly encouraged.
Rescue mission leader Flynn Medson posted a statement on social media, saying the missing hikers were struck by the blizzard with minimal protection.
‘They were safe, but their tent was starting to break in the severe winds and were very underprepared for any inclement weather,’ he wrote.
‘No snowshoes, no hot food and minimal layers. A team tried to reach them during the day but was turned around due to zero (visibility) and vertigo.’
Mr Medson then said he led the second rescue effort utilising an ATV then snowshoes and a Splitboard, a snowboard designed to split into skis for climbing hills.
‘The going was slow and tough with 80-100km/h winds and constant, heavy snow beating us around the entire time,’ Mr Medson wrote.
About 4am on Sunday, the two hikers were returned to safety without any injuries
‘We would arrive at rock bands and cliffs tracking a set of GPS coordinates with terrain navigation being extremely tough and disorientating us many times, vision hardly further than the tips of my Splitboard.’
The arrived to the broken tent and supplies the couple with ‘food, lighting, layers, and snowshoes,’ before setting off again.
He said it had been a ‘huge undertaking’ by all emergency services workers meant they could action the rescue in the ‘harshest of conditions’.
‘Easily the hardest backcountry trip I’ve ever undertaken, but one of the most satisfying,’ he said.
‘Check the forecast seems to be the message here. Many lives were endangered in rescuing some poor decision makers.’
