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Hikers rescued from Mt. Doom!
A Dutch tourist, along with two kiwi hiking partners, were rescued from Mount Ngauruhoe in New Zealand over the Easter weekend after they set out on a hike to the summit too late in the day and without the proper gear. The mountain, which stands 7516 feet in height, served as the basis for the fiery Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings films, and the three trekkers are described as avid fans of the blockbuster trilogy. It seems that Violet Onderwater of the Netherlands met Ryan Hattle and Sam MacDonald on the popular travel site CouchSurfing.com and soon made plans to travel to New Zealand to meet her new friends in person. The trio made plans to make the Lord of the Rings inspired hike to the summit of Mt. Doom, the location of the climactic final scene of the films.
On Saturday, April 3rd, Onderwater and her companions made the road trip to Mount Ngauruhoe, arriving around 1 PM, and setting out for the top in bright sunshine. They reportedly reached the top of the active volcano around 5:30 PM, but on the descent, Onderwater turned her ankle, injuring it in the process. With their progress down the mountain slowed, and foul weather moving in, one of the kiwis used his cell phone to call for help, which resulted in no less than six search and rescue teams being sent out to find the hikers, who were now caught out in the cold rain and wind, with very light clothing on.
Fortunately, the SAR teams found the trekkers fairly quickly, and aside from a sprained ankle, no one was in any great danger. It seems that tax payers may have suffered the most damage, as early estimates put the cost of the rescue operation at a whopping $10,000.
Perhaps they should send the bill to Peter Jackson.
Filed under: Climbing, Hiking, Oceania, New Zealand
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
caroleAnn Apr 8th 2010 12:03PM
It says nothing about them being fined $10,000. It says the cost to the taxpayers is around $10,000. But I agree, people should be responsible for their own stupid actions and be fined.
moeelmore Apr 8th 2010 12:27PM
I hate it when people have to risk their lives and resources to recover/rescue people that are ignorant or ignore of the risks involved in their actions. Fine them is one answer. Let them exit the gene pool is another. In the really undeveloped or under resourced parts of the world, there is no one to do a rescue and such people end up dead. I figure its part of nature's way of removing the mentally weak from the herd.
Its one thing when bad luck hits you, its another when you do stupid things.
Jessica Apr 8th 2010 1:14PM
If we are going to fine stupidity then we need to do it across the board. I'd rather pay for a search and rescue effort more so then I want to pay for welfare programs and sheer stupidity of people having kids they can't afford.
Chris Apr 8th 2010 2:05PM
You cannot imagine how much the tax payers in Oregon pay to rescue people that get lost on Mt. Hood every year! Time to show proof of insurance prior to the climbs and let their insurance pay!
Joe Nov 19th 2010 9:24PM
Tolkien never wrote anything about anyplace called Mount Doom. I think it was Orodruin, the Mountain of Fire... As I recall Mt. Doom was in Conan the Barbarian, but I could be wrong about that...