Death & survival on the Routeburn Track - 10 years on
A warning about paying attention to the weather conditions
It’s been a decade since one of New Zealand’s most extraordinary wilderness survival stories took place.
In July 2016, Czech couple Pavlina Pizova and Ondrej Petr set out to walk New Zealand’s famous Routeburn Track, a 32km alpine route through Fiordland National Park and Mount Aspiring National Park.
They began their hike on 26 July, despite warnings about severe winter conditions.
Heavy snowfall, low cloud and poor visibility soon made the route extremely difficult, and the pair became disorientated.
After spending a night in the open without a tent, both were soaked, exhausted and showing signs of hypothermia.
While attempting to find their way back to the track, they moved above the bush line.
Petr, 27, fell down a steep slope – later reported as around seven metres – and became trapped among rocks and branches.
Pizova reached him but was unable to free him. He eventually stopped breathing.
A later coroner’s inquiry concluded that Petr died from hypothermia in the circumstances of an alpine mishap, with his fall and exposure contributing to his death. His body was recovered on 26 August, about 2km from Lake Mackenzie Hut.
Pizova then spent two nights in the open before reaching the locked Department of Conservation (DOC) warden’s hut at Lake Mackenzie.
She broke into the hut and survived there for 24 days, living on limited supplies of food, gas and firewood left by DOC workers.
She suffered severe frostbite to her hands and feet and made several attempts to devise equipment that would allow her to escape through the deep snow, including makeshift snowshoes and walking sticks.
She also tried to attract attention, waving clothing at aircraft and arranging ashes outside the hut in the shape of an “H”, the recognised distress signal.
After relatives raised concerns, Pizova was reported missing on 24 August. A rescue helicopter located her at the hut that day, bringing an end to one of New Zealand’s most extraordinary wilderness survival stories.
