Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand – On Saturday, September 30, 2017 rescuers located the body of a missing skier who had accidentally fallen into the Crater Lake on Mount Ruapehu on the North Island of New Zealand.
The victim was identified as Richard Ebbett, 39, of Taupo, New Zealand. Ebbett left home on Thursday to ski at Whakapapa ski field. On Friday he was reported missing and his car was found in the ski field parking area. Bad weather halted further search efforts that night. Helicopters and ground crews launched a search on Saturday morning and found the skier’s body in Crater Lake.
Ebbett’s body was found near a spot where people go to view Mount Ruapehu’s Crater Lake. It is believed that Ebbett accidentally fell into the lake. NZHerald.co.nz writes that “there are steep ice cliffs on the northern side of the lake, the side closest to the routes up to the summit area from Whakapapa skifield.” See a photo of the crater at NZHerald.co.nz. Find a photo/map of the Whakapapa Ski Field at MtRuapehu.com.
Mount Ruapehu is located in Tongariro National Park on the North Island of New Zealand. Ruapehu is the largest active stratovolcano in NZ. It has three major peaks: Tahurangi (2,797 m), Te Heuheu (2,755 m) and Paretetaitonga (2,751 m). A deep crater is located between the peaks and fills with Crater Lake between eruptions. There are two ski fields on the Mount Ruapehu: Whakapapa on the north side and Turoa on the south side (Wikipedia.org).
