Coroner says novice mountaineer Wednesday Davis should not have been on Mt Ruapehu ice slope before fatal fall

“[Arresting the slide] would have required a high-level of experience and skill to accomplish in the prevailing conditions,” said the findings by Coroner Matthew Bates.

“It would be very unlikely that even an experienced mountaineer who lost their footing on that section of ice, as it presented at the time, could arrest their slide.

“I find that, as a beginner mountaineer with no experience in a slide or with attempting self-arrest, Ms Davis had no chance to regain control once she slipped or tripped on the ice slope,” the coroner said.

“There was no safe run out area below. She simply should not have been there.”

Davis’ group was led by her partner, Guy Pryor, who was the most experienced of the four.

Pryor told NZME that losing Davis had left a void that he could not describe.

“Not a day passes where I don’t think of her or miss her deeply,” he said.

“My thoughts, too, remain with her family and friends, whose grief I cannot begin to measure.”

According to findings, on June 29, 2024, Pryor and Davis’ group were attempting a climb to the Whangaehu Hut, which sits high on the eastern side of Mt Ruapehu at an altitude of 2080m.

An experienced mountaineer with no connection to Davis’ group had stayed in the hut the night before and said the surface conditions around it were hard, icy and slick.

He told the coroner that the ice was “nearly impenetrable” to crampons and he would have been “very unlikely” to arrest his slide with his ice axe had he lost his footing on the slope.

Davis, 26, sometimes known as Clem, was a fit and active lover of the outdoors who had a degree in marine science. She worked as a marine technician and was an experienced diver.

The Auckland woman was also a tramper who had completed several multi-day hikes, but had no alpine experience and had never used mountaineering equipment before the weekend she died.

Davis had known Pryor for five years, and had been in a relationship with him for eight months.

Pryor was an experienced rock climber and abseiler, and an instructor with the Auckland University Rock and Alpine Club.

He had completed an advanced alpine climbing course in 2022 and an instructor’s development course, but had never taught an alpine or snow course.

Pryor told the coroner his alpine mountaineering experience at the time was “above novice level, tending towards intermediate, but certainly not advanced”.

The day before the expedition to the hut, Davis’ group did a practice hike from the Tūkino Alpine Sports Club facility.

The practice session took several hours and included a “very easy” two-hour return walk to a waterfall named Margaret’s Leap.

It was the first time that Davis had used crampons or an ice axe.

Although Pryor said he had intended to instruct Davis that day on how to use an ice axe to arrest a slide, the ice underfoot was too hard to make it work and the lesson did not take place.

Coroner Bates said the general feeling among Davis’ group was that the journey to Whangaehu Hut the next day would be “fairly easy”.

Pryor believed it would be of a “similar difficulty” to the hike to Margaret’s Leap, but longer.

“In the event, Mr Pryor was mistaken, particularly in relation to the latter part of the climb,” the coroner said.

Coroner Bates said the group had done “very limited” planning, with no evidence they had evaluated hazards for specific terrain and how these would be managed.

There was no evidence that they were aware of a Mountain Safety Council forecast of widespread hard ice crust conditions above 1700m on Mount Ruapehu that weekend.

The coroner’s report said that a “pivotal moment” in the climb came when the group reached a ridgeline above the hut and encountered “unexpected” hard ice surface conditions for the descent from the ridge to the hut.

“I expect that had the actual level of risk which lay ahead been appreciated by any of them, their descent to the hut would not have been attempted,” Coroner Bates said.

Pryor, at this point, considered “pulling back” but elected instead to scout ahead to find a suitable route to the hut 200 to 300m away and 30m below them.

Having identified what he thought was a safe route, he began to descend towards the hut and the others followed, starting with Davis.

They were not using ropes.

“With the benefit of hindsight, Mr Pryor considers that, as a group leader, others had placed a level of trust in him, and that his assessment that the group would be able to safely navigate from the ridgeline down to the Whangaehu Hut was wrong,” the coroner said.

“The alternative was for the group to turn back, which I consider would have been the prudent choice.

“Mr Pryor has clearly spent considerable time reflecting upon his decision to lead the group from the ridgeline down to the hut in unexpectedly difficult climbing conditions, and I have no doubt that he carries a heavy personal burden as a result of the tragedy that unfolded.”

Another member of the group said they were “caught out” by the sudden change in surface conditions.

The fourth said the slope they were on descending to the hut was steeper than others they had been on, and had firm ice which made Davis feel her crampons were unable to dig into it.

The four members of the group were spaced out and Davis was 20m behind Pryor when she slipped or tripped.

Davis slid down the slope feet-first and on her stomach, rapidly picking up speed.

As Pryor yelled out “arrest, arrest”, she tried to stop herself with her ice axe but, the coroner said, she had “absolutely no experience” in doing this.

Davis slid and fell a distance of about 250m over rocks and ice, descending about 100m in altitude before coming to rest in the valley below.

She was seen to hit a large rock on the way down, which turned her round into an uncontrolled backwards slide towards more rocks and over two significant bluffs.

Davis’ helmet came off during the fall and she suffered a head injury.

Her ice axe was never found.

The coroner said that her flexible-soled three-season boots were unsuitable for the conditions, and for use with her borrowed crampons, which were relatively blunt.

“Negotiating an ice slope requires correct front-pointing crampon technique in appropriate boots and crampons and the use of an ice axe.

“It involves a degree of experience, ability, and confidence beyond that to be reasonably expected of complete beginner and most novice climbers,” the coroner said.

After Davis’ fall, Pryor searched for Davis but could not find her.

The others moved to a safe position on the ridge and emergency services were called about 11am.

A helicopter with an alpine rescue specialist and a critical care paramedic found and evacuated Davis about 90 minutes later but she could not be saved.

She was airlifted to Tūkino Ski Field base, where, despite medical intervention, she was declared dead at 1pm.

The cause of death was later determined to be a head injury sustained in the fall.

The coroner recommended that all aspiring alpine mountaineers should complete a basic snowcraft course “as an absolute minimum”.

He also endorsed recommendations to the mountaineering community made earlier by the NZ Mountain Safety Council, specifically about Mt Ruapehu.

“New Zealand’s beautiful alpine regions are there to be experienced by all who seek their rewards,” Coroner Bates said.

“However, as so tragically illustrated in the present case, they also present risks which demand utmost care and respect.”

In an emailed statement, Pryor said his partner was “one of the brightest, most passionate people I’ve ever known, with a smile that could light up any room”.

“She loved the world deeply. She loved the ocean and the natural environment she cared about, and just wanted to make the world a better place,” Pryor said.

“She approached life with extraordinary courage and curiosity, and she was loved by everyone who met her.”

“Wednesday’s loss is carried by so many: her family, her friends, and everyone whose life she touched. What I hope for now is that her memory brings love and warmth to those who knew her.”

Pryor said he supported the safety recommendations made by the coroner and the Mountain Safety Council, and the broader message that alpine environments demand the utmost care and respect.

“My sincere hope is that these recommendations avoid similar tragedies in the future.”

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay.