Photo / SuppliedTwo promising mountaineers who died in a fall in Fiordland National Park in 2017 were not climbing beyond their abilities, a coroner has found. The pair's deaths, to which there were no witnesses, was the subject of a three-day inquest in Queenstown in January last year. The pair had been members, since 2015, of the New Zealand Alpine Team, which is made up of promising young climbers who are mentored by experienced older climbers. Robinson said he considered whether the team's culture had contributed to the pair's deaths, partly because of media articles at the time in which experienced climbers had voiced concerns it was instilling "outsized confidence" in its mentees. Photo / SuppliedThe articles pointed out that five of the team's members had died in climbing accidents in a five-year period.

Source: New Zealand Herald April 06, 2021 19:18 UTC