New Zealand Avalanche Claims Life of Australian Businessman

QUEENSTOWN, NEW ZEALAND The avalanche death toll is rising in New Zealand’s 2015 winter season. On Monday, an avalanche claimed the life of 58-year-old Roger Greville at 2:38 p.m. Greville, an Australian national and businessman from Sydney, was on a guided heli-ski trip with Southern Lakes Heliski in the Hector Mountains of the Loch Linnhe region when the accident occurred.

An experienced skier, Greville was under the supervision of a guided operation, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Monday. He was recovered from the debris but suffered injuries that resulted in his death. Greville was reportedly skiing in a group of five on a southern-facing aspect when the avalanche occured, and while four skiers were caught, Greville was the only fatality. Julian Field, director of Southern Lakes Heliski, told The Guardian that it was a “tough day.”

“We take our responsibilities very seriously which is reflected in the fact that this is the first incident of this kind for our company and its predecessors in over 30 years of operations,” Field said. Southern Lakes Heliski has suspended their operations so that they may aid in the investigation of the avalanche.

The New Zealand Avalanche Centre reported Moderate avy danger for the day of the accident, warning skiers of “heightened avalanche conditions on specific terrain features.” Between 30 and 80cm of snow fell on August 7, the report stated, with strong winds creating wind slabs primarily on southern-facing slopes.

Greville’s is the third avalanche death in New Zealand this season. On July 28, The Southland Times reported that New Zealand Police had found the bodies of Canadian hikers Louis-Vincent Lessard and Etienne Lemieux. The pair were hiking in the Fiordland region of New Zealand near Queenstown when an avalanche occurred. The families of the two men alerted police when Lessard and Lemieux missed flights home to Montreal and according to The Southland Times, police believe the deaths happened on July 9, a day after they were last seen at the Moturau Hut.

This season’s avalanche deaths mark New Zealand’s first since 2013, and the country has now recorded just seven avalanche fatalities since 2005.