Climber 'Exceptionally Lucky to Be Alive' After 2,000-Foot Fall from New Zealand Mountain

Mount Taranaki in New Zealand.Photo:Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty

Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty

A climber in New Zealand is “exceptionally lucky to be alive” after falling close to 2,000 feet down a mountain.

On Saturday, the man was discovered approximately 1,968 feet from where he had previously been climbing on Mount Taranaki in New Zealand’s North Island, perNew Zealand Police.

The pair found the climber with “minor injuries,” and he was then assisted down the mountain after losing an ice axe and crampons during the fall.

“Thanks to recent spring weather, the ice had softened, and the snow caught the climber’s fall,” the release from the New Zealand Police added. “He is exceptionally lucky to be alive.”

A Taranaki Alpine Rescue spokesperson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further information on the rescue.

Mount Taranaki in New Zealand.Lu Huaiqian/Xinhua via Getty

Lu Huaiqian/Xinhua via Getty

“Climbing on Mount Taranaki requires experience, knowledge and properly fitted and correct equipment,” New Zealand Police added in its release. “Failing to be properly equipped could result in a very different ending to Saturday’s story.”

According to New Zealand’s1news, two experienced climbers died on the same mountain in May 2021, where they were found around 1,000 feet below their last known climbing location.

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Local Coroner Ian Telford told the outlet that the men died from injuries sustained in an accidental fall, as the Mountain Safety Council noted conditions were dark, snowy and icy.

“Taranaki Maunga is considered an advanced tramp or hike in the summer months. In the winter, it should be considered a mountaineering trip. The assessors consider that the pair approached the climb as a day walk, rather than a mountaineering trip,” the council’s report noted.

source: people.com