A Mount Aspiring climber trapped on the New Zealand pass for nearly a week and forced to endure sub-zero temperatures and high winds was recovered in a "snatch-and-grab" helicopter rescue Friday. He is now on his way to a local hospital, Maritime New Zealand reported.
Terry Harch went out for a solo climb up the mountain on July 27 but, when he failed to return three days later, a concerned friend notified police and a search and rescue operation was launched.
Over the next few days, the 29-year-old Australian army officer and climber endured freezing temperatures, heavy snow, and strong winds so, when rescue teams finally found him "in good spirits" and with minor frostbite, they were astonished.
"He has clearly made some good decisions to be able to survive the bad weather, heavy snow, and high winds," said Rescue Co-ordination Centre NZ's senior search and rescue officer, Geoff Lunt, in a statement.
It helped that Harch had a locator on him, which allowed rescue teams to keep tabs of his movements, the Daily Mail reported.
Severe weather conditions dragged out the rescue operations and initally prohibited helicopters from reaching him, but emergency crews were sent down to provide him with hot food and drinks while they waited for an opportunity to perform an emergency evacuation.
That moment came Friday afternoon.
Harch is an experienced climber who has previously tackled New Zealand’s Mt. Cook to raise money for the charity Soldier On, The Herald Sun noted.
"Terry is an extraordinary Australian and his previous efforts to raise much needed funds for Soldier On by climbing Mount Cook will never be forgotten," the organization tweeted upon hearing of his rescue.
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