Thread: WHEN THINGs GO WRONG AND YOU END UP PUTTING YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE

Damn... I've near done that a couple of times, minus the leg in the hole trick that does up the anti a touch. But had several occasions where I've taken the wrong ridge and it's turned a half hour walk into a bloody multi-hour jungle bash up and down cliffs etc. Never needed PLB but was rooted at the end of them and needed a few days licking the pride and recovering. Nowadays it's a GPS with hansel and gretel feature engaged and waypoints pinged at pertinent places. Worth the hassle.

Wow
Much of what I would contribute has already been said. I will point out that last night I watched a movie called ‘Fall’. It is about climbing and the title is self explanatory.

To the OP, after your experience, you may find yourself second guessing yourself. You should not doubt your story telling skills. Your post had me squirming in my seat more than the movie. Even the all caps title didn’t prepare me for what I just read. This has been a stark reminder of how easily it can suddenly go wrong. I thank you for your post and wish you a good recovery.



I also wish to float an idea and see how everyone feels about the idea.

As the OP has stated there is ~2k worth of equipment out there in the bush. The OP cannot go and get it. I can’t help but feel for the guy especially considering it could so easily be me. I would be happy to pledge say $20-50 reward to the person (or a charity of their choice) who does find it and returns it to the OP. If enough of us pitch in it would be a worthwhile exercise for the finder.
The key would be keeping it honest and making sure the location of the gear wasn’t disseminated to anyone who might just keep it for themselves. What say you all?.

if I read story right....he dragged himself short distance to nearby scrape...and again to where chopper picked him up...there will be significant drag marks still there and the location of slip and fall should be easy enough to work out from there...... MOST LANDsar personal SHOULD be able to backtrack that with ease...if I wasnt so far away would be keen to go myself. if its a fly in jobbie HOPEFULLY the company concerned would help out with drop off and pick up...worth a crack contacting them...they SHOULD be able to put you right on the spot too.

Rescue heli will have pickup waypoint ….

Bro thats hardcore

Goes to show there is no 100% best place to keep your gear.
I went away from a bum bag for the same reason and now keep it in my pack as chances are it will stay with me longer and if i do take a good tumble at least its a little more protected.

Good luck with recovery and enjoy spending time on google earth and planning future adventures.

As stated in a post earlier I carry an epithet in a secure pocket of hunting top along with a lighter that works, something to start a fire, knife, cord and emergency buggy bag. Other gear goes in bumbag, easier to negotiate tight scrub with than backpack, although I do use bp from time to time. I’ve taken some good tumbles over 40+ years of hunting and haven’t lost a bumbag yet, touch wood. I hunt a minimum of 3 days most weeks so the system works for me. Just my 2c. Again good luck with leg recovery, from experience it’s not fun and takes a while.

Just noticed flipping spell check corrected some words in previous post. Epirb and bumbag.

That story had me wincing... good lesson to keep the PLB in a secure top pocket.

In relation to finding the OP's gear I went to the horses mouth. Had a yarn with the chief pilot, know him reasonably well. He was flying HS's machine when searching. To give everyone a rough idea of the state of the country it took Land SAR an hour to cover 400 metres. The scrub is storm damaged manuka. The SAR guys searched for the gear up from where the OP fell. The site is in a gully towards the head of the block. Not pretty. If you've been in that shit you'll know what I'm talking about. If you haven't been, don't. The bum bag could have been seperated anywhere in that vegetation, and you not know it. The OP did extremely well to survive. Big ups to the team involved too.

Originally Posted by RugerM77

In relation to finding the OP's gear I went to the horses mouth. Had a yarn with the chief pilot, know him reasonably well. He was flying HS's machine when searching. To give everyone a rough idea of the state of the country it took Land SAR an hour to cover 400 metres. The scrub is storm damaged manuka. The SAR guys searched for the gear up from where the OP fell. The site is in a gully towards the head of the block. Not pretty. If you've been in that shit you'll know what I'm talking about. If you haven't been, don't. The bum bag could have been seperated anywhere in that vegetation, and you not know it. The OP did extremely well to survive. Big ups to the team involved too.

yep got myself in deep shit trying to take a short cut I should have known better ABIG THANKS TO THE GUY WHO RESCUED ME

I never thought this medicine could be useful in NZ before read this thread since here do `t have wolfs, leopards and snakes., but I have ordered three today, just in case since I may a lone hunter for sometimes.
The red pellet is to give me longer time to rescue, say two hours, maybe three f I got internal bleeding or extreme pain might cause me pass out. the powders is to stop bleeding, but it will cause more pain, more pains.... if use it on wounds, no matter how tough you are, you will feel it. You may find similar one in NZ, do `t buy it, it `s all fake.

Hope you have a speedy recovery , and thanks for sharing that experience.

It’s so easy to misjudge the weather when it’s nice and sunny but shit can happen so quickly out there . I remember when I was in my early 20s going out on a sunny day in a dinghy only to have the wind turning super cold and had bad hypothermia. Luckily my mate was there and got us back safely.

mate... what a shocker! Glad You're 'ok' - you got yourself through quite an ordeal & with the help of some awesome people you get to tell your story. I'm a solo bush hunter & reading this makes me realise how inadequate my own emergency preparations are & how lucky i've been to date. i hope your recovery goes well ..you know the drill already eh, & i hope you find something to help pass the time. cheers for the wake up call & Safe hunting everyone.

Thanks for sharing your story. Always good to reflect and learn from mistakes.

Speedy recovery mate!

Oh man, that's nightmare material.
I recently lost a pouch that I had on the waist belt of my day pack. Didn't notice until I started making my way home.
Despite retracing my steps and checking where I had taken my daypack off for a rest/drink etc, didn't find it.
Went back a week later with my son. Got to the first river and sat down after crossing it to have a quick rest before the next climb.
Looked across at my boy, He was damn near sitting on it.
Camo gear lying in the open on a river bed, I had literally walked over it twice without seeing it despite actively looking for it.
Claim insurance (if you can)

Get well soon.