Woman dies at Federation Peak

[Mountain Rocket]

Just saw this on the Tas Police Facebook:

Sadly, a woman has died while bushwalking at Federation Peak in the Southwest National Park.
Tasmania Police are this morning working to recover her body.
It is understood the woman, aged 32 from Launceston, fell from height at about 3.45pm yesterday.
Her bushwalking companion raised the alarm using her mobile phone when she was unable to locate her friend and feared she had fallen.
The Westpac Police Rescue Helicopter flew to the incident site late yesterday afternoon but it was not possible to deploy the rescue team to the ground due to the weather and poor visibility.
The helicopter winched a team of three police searchers and a paramedic close to the area in the early hours of this morning and they walked about an hour into the location.
The crew located the woman’s body at about 5am and she was confirmed deceased.
The helicopter was able to access the area upon daylight this morning and the body recovery operation is currently underway.
Our thoughts are with the woman's family at this sad time.

A solemn reminder of the dangers of summiting the peak. I'll certainly be a lot more cautious when I'm out there next month...
Sad times for all involved, my thoughts go out to them.

[stoffy]

Sad news indeed, RIP.

[Walk_fat boy_walk]

Yes very sad indeed.

ABC News are running it as well (complete with photo of the Hippo captioned as Feder ): http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-24/bushwalker-dies-in-fall-from-tasmanias-federation-peak/7273526?section=tas

[Azza]

Very sad.

This is very unfortunate and timely reminder of why the Lake Geeves proposal could be a bad idea.
Upgrade the track, but making access too easy and touting it as the new great walk is going to bring a large number of visitors into the area and increase the frequency of events like this occurring.

[Osik]

Very sad news.

She was a close friend of my partner, and stayed with us for a couple of days around Boxing day last year. She had prior tassie experience too (WA's and Southern Ranges/South Coast Track from memory + others) and like many of us, became very animated when recalling scoparia.

[eggs]

Very sad indeed.
Would be interesting to know exactly where, as there are a lot of "interesting" spots around Federation Peak.

Not sure why the ABC site would post a photo of the Hippo and call it Federation peak?

[Strider]

Terrible news. Sorry for your loss Osik

[rohjoe]

Not sure why the ABC site would post a photo of the Hippo and call it Federation peak?

The photo has been corrected now, possibly after a few emails (including mine)....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-24/b ... ection=tas

[Overlandman]

Very sad, sorry Osik and partner for your loss.
May she Rest in Peace.

OLM

[L_Cham_67]

Very sad.

This is very unfortunate and timely reminder of why the Lake Geeves proposal could be a bad idea.
Upgrade the track, but making access too easy and touting it as the new great walk is going to bring a large number of visitors into the area and increase the frequency of events like this occurring.

I wrote a comment about this exact issue on 'The Mercury' article about it yesterday, and was told that the developer of this new track was not to blame, as people are responsible for their own actions. Yes this is true, but you're still going to see an increase in these events because there are MORE people, meaning a higher risk of accidents.

My thoughts are with those affected.

[DanShell]

Very sad to read to this. My condolences to her family and friends. We also need to consider the poor rescue people and everyone else involved

[johnk1]

Very sad indeed. RIP

[bushwalker zane]

I was up there just the other day...

Rest in Peace dear bushwalker - may you tread the path less trodden and encounter no scrub on your way <3

[dazintaz]

For those of us who haven't been there, does anyone have a photo of where this happened. Condolences to family and friends of the deceased, truly sad.

[Channas]

I climbed it a week before her. Considering it was my first time in Tasmania, I'm realizing now how respectful I am that I made it solo with no beacon and other companion. I'm having a big respect to Tasmania wilderness after this trip.

[bushwalker zane]

For those of us who haven't been there, does anyone have a photo of where this happened. Condolences to family and friends of the deceased, truly sad.

Could've been in many places where she fell...

[NickMonk]

I have it on reasonable authority that the fall was in Geeves Gully.

[tastrax]

For those of us who haven't been there, does anyone have a photo of where this happened. Condolences to family and friends of the deceased, truly sad.

Shot of Geeves Gully - https://www.flickr.com/photos/garratt3/8038581284

[Overlandman]

RIP Mellissa, sympathy to family and friends
OLM

From the Examiner

http://www.examiner.com.au/story/381143 ... tim/?cs=95

Launceston woman dies after falling at South-West National ParkMarch 25, 2016, 9 a.m.

A former Launceston woman has fallen to her death while bushwalking in the South-West National Park on Wednesday.

Thirty-two year old Melissa Fisher was a nurse and had previously worked at the Launceston General Hospital.

The experienced bushwalker was originally from Launceston but had been living in Melbourne, Tasmania Police Inspector Scott Flude said.

Police said two women were hiking and the pair became separated about 3:30pm.

Ms Fisher’s walking partner feared for her friend when she was unable to locate her.

The friend made her way to higher ground and contacted police about 3:45pm.

The Westpac Police Rescue Helicopter was unable to deploy the rescue team on arrival due to poor visibility and weather, Inspector Lee Renshaw said.

Ms Fisher fell about 150 metres, making it impossible for the helicopter to access the area.

“We flew to the area but we could not get in so we returned and put together a search party,” Inspector Renshaw said.

“That southern face at Federation Peak is very unforgiving, the track is very narrow there, there is no escape."
- Inspector Lee Renshaw

The helicopter flew a team of three police searches and a paramedic as close to the area as possible, late on Wednesday night.

“We flew them into the nearest possible point in pretty difficult circumstances in the dark last night,” Inspector Renshaw said.

The rescue crew proceeded on foot to find Ms Fisher. The friend who raised the alarm was found by the team but the search continued.

“That southern face at Federation Peak is very unforgiving, the track is very narrow there, there is no escape.”

“Unfortunately, on this occasion tragedy has taken its toll.”

Ms Fisher was found about 5am Thursday morning with crews spending the majority of the day recovering her body.

“The search parties on the ground had to get to that point and then remove the young lady to a point where the helicopter was able to winch her,” Inspector Renshaw said.

South-West National Park is a popular destination for hikers but the tracks can be dangerous, he said.

It is understood both women were experienced hikers.

Ms Fisher’s family asked for privacy during this time of grief.

[Shehikes172]

My deepest sympathies to Melissa's family and loved ones. My worse fears were confirmed this morning reading the thread here. She was a very experienced bushwalker and was happiest on the trails. We had the pleasure of her company on the Rees Dart track in New Zealand and you could tell she'd was a very experienced bushwalker. RIP my fellow hiker.

[Paul]

It is a difficult climb.

So very very sad.

Paul.

Attachments

Route up Federation Peak.jpg (133.82 KiB) Viewed 31333 times

[eggs]

The attached photo was an early attempt to estimate the route.
Since then, I have actually climbed it, and though I wish I had taken a few more notes and shots, I posted an updated climbing route estimate at:
http://new.bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1512&p=279276&hilit=Well+I+have+done+the+climb+now#p279276

The yellow line marking the Southern Traverse is mostly correct - though the LHS entry is probably in front of the rocks.
Geeves Gully is the RHS uptick on the yellow line.
It is hard to imagine that a slip along this section would have generated the quoted fall height [it is a series of small cliffs]. But there is a tendency for folk coming down the chockstone gully to miss the turn to the route up and continue going down.
That would end in higher drops and being "off track" would mean it would be harder to locate anyone.
The lower end of the Chockstone Gully is also a very narrow little section with a very large drop next to it.

[silvereye]

For those of us who haven't been there, does anyone have a photo of where this happened. Condolences to family and friends of the deceased, truly sad.

Attached photo may give a better idea of the terrain involved in that section (Geeves Gully). Shot taken a few years back on the way to the summit.
For mine, descending Geeves Gully was one of the hairiest sections of the summit climb. Not sheer cliffs, but very steep scree slopes and an almost direct view down to the bottom.
A fall anywhere in this area would be very serious indeed.

Very sad to hear of this incident. I hope she rests peacefully in the mountains.

Also, I take my hat off to all involved in the recovery operation. Must've been an extremely arduous task in very difficult terrain.

Attachments

descending Geeves Gully

[bibman-02]

Deepest condolences to the family and friends of the young woman killed in this tragic accident.
It made me reflect on our ascent in Jan 1999 with the late great Bob McMahon and his skill in managing to guide a group of novice students and teachers safely up and down and then to complete the traverse. Now many years older, this news has made me reflect on how much I have to thank Bob for guiding us on that adventure that could so easily have been a lot more dangerous without his superb skills as a guide and leader. A tragic reminder of the challenges of this pristine part of Australia.

[Overlandman]

Coroners report released.

The death of an experienced bushwalker who fell while attempting to climb a notoriously dangerous Tasmanian mountain was a "tragic accident", a coroner has found.

Melissa Fisher, 32, a nurse, fell about 50 metres to her death while attempting to summit Federation Peak in Tasmania's Southwest National Park in March last year.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-10/f ... es/8513698

[tastrax]

http://www.magistratescourt.tas.gov.au/ ... elissa.pdf

[Mountain Rocket]

Thanks for the update Overlandman and the link tastrax. I find it interesting that they had a PLB, but it was with the women that fell and thus useless.
Having successfully summited Federation in fine conditions less than a month after her fall, I can certainly appreciate the very real risks involved in summiting this wonderful mountain.

"It is notorious that Federation Peak is a dangerous and extremely challenging mountain to climb. A number of deaths have occurred as a result of falls from the mountain over the last few years"

Certainly not one to underestimate.