There is a bit of breaking news today about a group of six hikers who are missing on Mt. Cook in New Zealand. They set out to traverse a section of the mountain from Barron Saddle to Mueller Hut and were expected to return sometime today, but a blizzard has struck the area, and the activation of an emergency beacon has search and rescue teams concerned for safety of the hikers.
Earlier today, a helicopter set off in an attempt to reach the location of the emergency beacon, but it was forced to turn back due to the storms. To make matters worse, their are other climbers on the mountain as well, and rescuers were unsure at this time, who had sent out the signal for help.
At this time, SAR teams are hoping for a break in the weather so they can mount a proper rescue attempt, but with heavy snow falling over the past day and a half, conditions on the Mt. Cook have deteriorated substantially. Rescuers now fear avalanches and high winds at high altitude will hamper their efforts moving forward.
Lets keep our fingers crossed for a happy ending to this one. We've had enough problems with losing people in the mountains lately. A big thanks to Jo Adams for sending this my way. She's written a more thorough story for RacingAndSports.com.
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