PLB Rescue After Fall on Remote Mountain Pass

What happened?

We had climbed up and over Steele Creek Pass and were carefully making our way down the other side along a steep scree slope. During the descent, Dayle slipped and fell backwards onto the loose rock. As I turned to her, she suddenly went pale and lost consciousness.

I immediately grabbed the Ocean Signal PLB1 from the outside of my pack and activated it. Within a short time, the rescue response was already underway. Not knowing exactly what to do next, I stayed with her and kept trying to rouse her. If I’d thought about a similar situation beforehand, I’d have expected to panic because I generally do, but the beacon was easy to activate, and I managed to stay calm throughout the whole process! After about five to six minutes, she regained consciousness and said she was feeling much better.

She was able to put some weight on her knee, and with a lot of support, we carefully moved about 50 metres downhill to a flatter area at the top of the bushline, making ourselves as visible as possible.

The rescue helicopter arrived quickly and began searching the area. To assist with pinpointing our exact position, we reactivated the beacon when requested, helping guide the crew directly to us.

Once overhead, a medic was lowered down, assessed Dayle, and prepared her for winching. The entire operation was carried out quickly and professionally, with clear coordination from the rescue team throughout.

After she was safely evacuated, I was able to continue on to the next hut for the night before trekking out to the car the following day, incredibly grateful for the speed and effectiveness of the rescue response made possible by the PLB.

Words of wisdom

Always have an emergency beacon. Always wear bright clothing to signal the rescuers.

Thank you note to the Ocean Signal team

I slipped on snow grass, severely damaging my knee, and passed out from the pain. Fortunately my companion set off her PLB and when found, was winched to the helicopter and flown to Lakes Hospital in Queenstown. Am extremely grateful for the rescue, because even though I came around, the rest of the trip out would have been painfully slow (overnight) and damaged the knee a lot more.