A 19 year old American woman has been rescued off Mt Ngauruhoe today after becoming trapped by steep terrain off trail on her descent from the summit.
She reached the top of the mountain around 9am today having found her way there by an unorthodox route from the Mangatepopo Valley. Her descent took her down a similar route but she lost her nerve a third of the way down and called Police for help. Some of her gear tumbled down the mountain ahead of her and she ripped the seat out of her pants while sliding down the scree slope.
Taupo Police dispatched the Youthtown Rescue Helicopter to Ngauruhoe and she was found after a short search. A LandSAR RARO rescuer was put out on rocks adjacent to her and he managed to coax her to a suitable spot where they were hover loaded for the flight to lower ground.