THEY were a Sydney couple on an adventure of a lifetime - quitting their jobs and selling nearly everything to traverse the mountains of the world. But Brad Skinner and Melissa Martin's three-year trip across 18 countries has ended in tragedy just one month in, when the couple plunged down the side of a slippery glacier in New Zealand's Fiordland National Park yesterday.
Ms Martin, 38, died in the accident, while her long-term partner and fiance sustained a fractured wrist, facial injuries and, according to the man who rescued him, a broken heart. "It was absolutely devastating for him," said Lloyd Matheson, operations manager Southern Lakes Helicopters, who was tasked with breaking the news of Ms Martin's death soon after the accident at 1.30pm (11.30am AEDT).
"It was just awful, as you could imagine, telling him that his (partner) was gone, especially when he thought she was going to be OK."
The intrepid adventurers were descending from Karako Glacier in the central Darran Mountains when Ms Martin lost her footing, sliding 40m before hitting her partner. The pair, who were roped together, fell another 40m together. Ms Martin never regained consciousness.
Mr Skinner was taken to Te Anau medical centre and then travelled to the southern city of Invercargill, where his partner's body will undergo examination. It was the second Australian death in the area in just three months. Tasmanian father-of-four James Poland fell 100 metres to his death in January a few kilometres away.
The couple met 15 years ago while working at a small technology company in Sydney, and have spent many holidays since trekking through the Europe and South America on mountaineering adventures. But this time it was the big one, a three-year trip that was to take in 18 countries so they could do their beloved "adventure-neering", as Mr Skinner calls it on his Facebook page.
An online profile by the University of Technology of Sydney, where Mr Skinner worked, quotes the couple talking excitedly about the joys of a long alpine traverse. "You feel so great after you've been out walking for weeks; you really feel like Superman. It's awesome," Ms Martin told UTS. She joked usually she packed modestly but "this time, because we'll be away for three years, I'm going a little 'all out'.
"I'm taking a pair of jeans and a pair of heels!" Ms Martin, a part-time nutritionist, talked of the lengthy preparations involved in such a trip, from detailed mapping and medical supplies and dietary supplements. Mr Skinner said "We've made some monumental sacrifices - quitting our jobs, renting out our house, selling nearly everything we have."
The couple arrived in New Zealand in early February for the first three months of their adventure, with their blog telling of their excitement: "I can't wait," Ms Martin said. A video shot on March 17 shows the pair resting on "glorious day" after descending from the summit of Mount Talbot. Wearing hard hats and dark sunglasses, they look relaxed and happy as they "enjoy the view".
It was not far from here, on the last day of their next four-day trek and just a few days' before Ms Martin's 39th birthday, that their brave adventure ended. Mr Matheson said that while the pair were clearly experienced, they had chosen to climb in an area covered in dangerously slippery rime ice.
"They had crampons and everything but that ice at this time of year is just treacherous. It's like a sheet of glass," Mr Matheson said. "It's quite a strange place to be and, to be honest, I don't know why they chose it. "There were other people around but they were climbing on the rock terrain. Why pick the ice?"
Sergeant Tod Hollebon, who leads the investigation into the death, said it appeared the couple had just had "some bad luck".
"It's always a risk up there and what's happen here is very unfortunate," the officer said. Gary Dickson, president of the New Zealand Alpine Guides Association, said mountaineering of this kind always involves risk. "It's like an outdoor chess game and a very exciting one. Without that risk we wouldn't have the excitement but obviously with that comes tragedies like this one."
He warned Australian hikers to beware of New Zealand's rugged terrain, changeable weather and harsher conditions. "We know Aussies love it here but please take heed of dangers," he said.
Adelaide Now
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