Victorian Minister LOst on Mt Feathertop

[Astrobserver99]

This caught my eye today. One of our ministers here in Victoria went for a hike on his own on Mt Feathertop - one of our most dangerous mountains in the middle of winter :doh:. Somehow he lost his way and there is still no sign of him unfortunately. I feel sorry for his family. Lets hope he is found soon.

[dannat]

i heard the news - i just thought Wan&er :help:

apparently he went by himself - stupid thing todo even if you're a good climber- whats slightly amusing is he's the water minister lost in the snow:violin::eek::rain:

[jjjnettie]

I hope he was properly prepared for his hike. If so he has a good chance of being found safe and well tomorrow.

[CometGuy]

Hope he is properly prepared to spend a night in alpine conditions (if he had any sense he should be). Looking at the automated weather station on nearby Mt Hotham it still looks like its snowing but luckily with very little wind:

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDV60801/IDV60801.94906.shtml

T

[pgc hunter]

Actually the wind instrument on Mt Hotham has been malfunctioning for some time now.

Falls creek is recording wind properly:
http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDV60801/IDV60801.94903.shtml

[Hagar]

Living in the area for some time now I can assure you it is snowing quite hard at the moment and did so last night as well. The whole area above the snowline has suffered a total whiteout for 2 days now. By all reports he was quite well prepared for some time in the snow and with luck he has dug in for an extended stay until the weather clears. May be tomorrow by all reports. Our staff who work above the snow line are finding the going quite dificult and only go out in pairs when the weather turns like this.

[GeoffW1]

Hi,

Sympathies to his family from me also.

I was talking about it to a friend today and he reckoned it was very a appropriate place to get lost like that, hiking alone.

A feathertop lost on Mt Feathertop.

I told my friend he was a heartless cynic. Apparently this chap is very well equipped though. It is to be hoped he is holed up in a snow cave or something.

Cheers

[Alchemy]

i heard he was seen by another party prior to the loss, but in icy conditions, if hes stuck (lost or twisted an ankle) and well prepared he should be OK ,i have done overnighters in tents in the snow and well prepared its easy, we take GPS and good maps in case of poor conditions, (i say we as in those conditions 2 is much better), i wouldnt head out if i knew it was going to be whiteout type stuff.

if he has slipped in the icy conditions and knocked out or a really serious injury, being alone it could be a tragic outcome.

Walking alone can be a great experience, it just may prove fatal though under such conditions..... i hope not for all involved

[stephenb]

I am amazed at the immediate, wide-spread coverage this is getting in the media. Army personnel being used, AC of VicPol taking control over the search. mmm...

[pgc hunter]

last nite channel 10 news spent about half an hour on this, if a 747 went down with 300 souls it wouldn't have attracted so much attention :rolleyes:

if it was a "regular" person, I'm sure it would've gotten no more than 2 minutes in the news, with a search party consisting of 5 SES personal :rolleyes:

[matt]

Bloody media! Boo ....hiss!!!!!

And you know what? I bet they pushed him over a ledge just so they'd have a story.

Evil. Pure evil, I tells ya!!:rofl::rofl:

[jjjnettie]

These media peeps will do anything for a story.
Matt, I hear you've just returned from your trip down to Mt Feathertop.......

[matt]

Yeah...JJJ....

And I can tell ya I'm pretty happy with the way things are panning out.

After the necessary shove was given, the media is now well and truly dictating terms. It's forced the Army into the frame, and it's given the Victorian Police a real shake-up. The Acting Commissioner kindly obliged their onerous terms, and the media's now looking to see if it can put together a 1-hour special on the event anchored by Barack Obama and featuring the Maggie Thatcher Rockettes!

Should be quite a show. Hopefully it'll generate plenty of ratings. Maybe they could put it on right after Dancing With the Stars or Idol?:D

[jjjnettie]

And the sponsors? I imagine Anaconda, BFC and Mars are fighting it out for the prime spots?

[matt]

JJJ - They're fighting them off with a stick, I'm told. Which they'll hopefully also find a naming rights sponsor for: "This stick...proudly brought to you by...."

Bloody media!

[jjjnettie]

Anyways, I do hope they find him soon. Safe.

[astroron]

One pollie getting lost and one pollie resigning for for indiscretions:rolleyes:
takes the spotlight of more pressing matters:(

[matt]

Yes...but not too soon. Gotta milk it for all it's worth...

Dirty rascal media!

[matt]

One pollie getting lost....and potentially dead...is possibly of interest to a broad range of people, certainly his family, friends and his constituents?

One resigning for indiscretions. Again, maybe of some news value to those who vote for that individual and those with an interest in justice being seen to be done?

I dunno....just guessing. Who can tell what drives those wacky folk in the media?

[taminga16]

10.05am 1.9.09

Tim Holding found alive on mountain.

Greg.

[matt]

Good news.

Now how quickly can we get 60 Minutes to do the full 'exclusive'?:whistle::lol:

Surely, it's worth 4 pages in Woman's Day?

[jjjnettie]

Good news!
The media will drop this like a hot potato. Good news is no news.

[matt]

Tsk Tsk...jjj

Surely ye jest?

[jjjnettie]

Ugh, don't get me started on the womens glossy's.
I wouldn't buy one to wipe pig swill off my hands.
And we call ourselves an educated nation. Sad, so sad. No wonder I don't play well with others females, if that's the sort of tripe they fill their head with.

[jjjnettie]

Am I too young to be called an old Cynic? :lol:

[stephenb]

Now that Tim holding has been found, he MUST be taken to task regarding his actions.

The media are now talking abour how this will help his career, resiliant, tough blah, blah blah... Crap, this shows how stupid this imbecile is.

Also, as a minister of the Crown, I would expect he cannot accept payment for his story, but any monies received from this incident should be automatically directed, and evenly split between the LOCAL SES units and other volunteer organisations involved. NOT given to the STATE HQ of the SES - to the LOCAL units.

He is an idiot and must be made to answer for his stupidity.

[jjjnettie]

:clap::clap::clap:
Here here !!
Couldn't agree with you more.

[matt]

Which media? Let's get specific here?

I agree his actions were foolish...perhaps reckless... and he shouldn't benefit financially from his story. I doubt he'll be offered payment anyway and he'd certainly be an 'idiot' to accept it. He'd be hung out to dry in double time!

[taminga16]

I am sorry Stephen but perfectly sane people jump out of fully functioning airplanes everyday of the week, ride motorcycles, hang-glide, bungy jump etc etc, I don't beleive that we would consider those people to be idiots.

"Better to be shot from a cannon than squeezed from a tube"

Hunter S. Thompson.

Greg.

[dannat]

I'm fine with people taking risks - its the cost of the search they need to cover...maybe he could donate the today tonight/book release money ot the emergency services ;):thumbsup:

[matt]

Nice quote, Greg.

A pleasure to discover another fan of King Gonzo!!:D

[taminga16]

Thanks Matt,

Daniel,
I am sure that you will have noticed that I edited Stephen's reply, and if there is a book, mag or crap television thing then I agree that any renumeration should go to the relevant bodies.

Greg.

[dpastern]

it's actually hear hear :P

personally, I think he should pay all rescue costs. Like any normal person would have to.

I'm a bit sad that mother nature didn't do the job right.

Dave

[taminga16]

Dave,

Tim Holding wasn't the only person walking Mt Feathertop on the week-end and I would hazard a guess that he would not have been the only solo hiker. Early on in this thread someone suggested that the response would have been different if it was a 'normal' person, I feel that they were correct.

Everybody dies....Some people never live.

Greg.

[stephenb]

Being in another state you may not hear it, but 3AW/Fairfax media have been discussing this all this morning, including a political reporter, a media commentator, Mr. David Galbally QC, have been asked for their opinion of this exact question since it was broken at 1005.

[taminga16]

I'm a bit sad that mother nature didn't do the job right.

Dave[/QUOTE]

The possibility of Tim Holding being run down by a car whilst stepping off the steps at Spring St would be far greater than his dying on a mountain!

Greg.

[stephenb]

It's simple - you take risks - you need rescuing - you pay for the rescue. It cannot be any simpler.

As far as calling him an idiot, that is my opinion, and my opinion on anyone who takes unnecessary risk which endanger not only their life, but the lives of emergency serve workers.

1. "sane people jump out of fully functioning airplanes everyday of the week" - yep, and when they hit the ground when their equipment fails, they die - no rescue needed there - only a waste of police and coroner's time.

2. "ride motorcycles" - yep, well when they are involved in a collison on their 2-wheeled coffins, the poor emergency service workers have to scrap them off the road - been there, done that.

3. "hang-glide, bungy jump" - see point 1.

My point is, I don't mind people taking calculated risks in their pursuits, just don't expect me to pay for it.

[Rob_K]

Well said Greg! :thumbsup:

My, my, my, how this thread has degenerated. Perhaps we could title it "Spot the Liberal Voter". I for one am rejoicing in his survival, and as a local very familiar with the territory am somewhat amazed given the time that had elapsed. To demand his head for getting lost & ‘wasting’ search resources (or whatever the story ends up being) misses the point. People head up to the Alps in all weathers, for all sorts of reasons – snow fun, wilderness experience, exercise etc etc. Some, like myself and I suspect Tim, enjoy the solitude. Sure there are lessons to be learnt – better judgement with the weather conditions, carrying a beacon etc – but whatever, when people interact with the environment there will always be mistakes. We also have people whose job or inclination is to help people in need, and once again these people have done a stirling job. No more or less than any other search-&-rescue, just a massively larger entourage for obvious reasons.

The media may beat this up (sorry Matt ;) ) and create a legend or destroy a career, but all I see is a man who might have erred, but who survived because he was prepared. I might see it differently if it was some turkey who wandered up the track in T-shirt & thongs though. :lol:

The other alternative that seems to spring from some posts here is that we regulate man’s interaction with the environment. Make it law to take a buddy, make it necessary to obtain a clearance from the Bureau of Meteorology, compulsory overloading of packs with safety and survival gear… And leave any poor sod (= idiot??) who makes a mistake to rot in the bush. Nice one! Make people pay? Ah yes, rescue becomes the preserve of the rich! Wait on, let’s bring in hiking insurance! :doh: :P


Cheers -

[taminga16]

1. "sane people jump out of fully functioning airplanes everyday of the week" - yep, and when they hit the ground when their equipment fails, they die - no rescue needed there - only a waste of police and coroner's time.

2. "ride motorcycles" - yep, well when they are involved in a collison on their 2-wheeled coffins, the poor emergency service workers have to scrap them off the road - been there, done that.

3. "hang-glide, bungy jump" - see point 1.



"NEVER ARGUE WITH A FOOL, HE WILL ONLY DRAG YOU DOWN TO HIS LEVEL AND THEN BEAT YOU WITH EXPERIENCE"

[astroron]

I just Hope when you make a mistake in life, hopefully not on the road:(
I hope you will except the bill.
Humans have been taking risks since we have been around on this earth,it is part of our nature:)
You would not be here now if it wasn't for someone taking a risk in the past:thumbsup:

[dugnsuz]

Ouch, that's nasty!!
:(

[taminga16]

Rob,

My apologies for not acknowledging your post, frustration got the better of me.

Thanks,

Greg.

[dpastern]

I have no time for the leeches of society. I do not hide my extreme dislike of politicians (and a few other so called occupations). Nor do I make any apologies for my feelings about these leeches. If that had been an ordinary person...

Furthermore, having done Mt Bogong a few times (higher than Mt Feathertop I might add, although by only 70m), both in Summer, I appreciate the risks involved. My father and me first attempted Mt Bogong when I was 18 or 19 or thereabouts. We got to the hut (around 1820 ASL) when heavy fog came in from nowhere. Having been told by locals that snow can fall at ANY time of the year, we made the decision to return back down the mountain pronto. That's called common sense. Heavy snow hit the mountain that afternoon/night and it would have been deadly if we'd been caught up in it all making an attempt on the summit.

I've done a lot of bushwalking in my younger days, and always used common sense. It's something that's sadly lacking amongst the majority of our populace today I feel.

Dave

[taminga16]

Do you vote Dave?

[dugnsuz]

Wishing death on someone (albeit jokingly I hope) regardless of occupation and/or foolhardiness is still damn nasty whichever way try to spin it Dave.
Poor form mate.

[dpastern]

Yes, only because it's illegal not to. I made the mistake or enrolling on the voting register as a teenager. If I hadn't, then I'd never have needed to vote. Again, I feel that voting should not be made legally compulsary, and having it rammed down my throat is not appreciated. Furthermore, we do not live in a real democracy. Politicians, from my experience, rarely have our best interests at heart.

Dave

[dpastern]

Darwin awards. Read them. If you're stupid enough to do something life threatening, then you only have yourself to blame, and you won't get any pity from me. You can call it poor form, I'll call it natural selection.

Dave

[taminga16]

The wonderful thing about our democracy is the secret ballot, and informal voting, but if people did that then they wouldn't be able to *****.

Greg.

[dugnsuz]

You're a hard man Dave!!!!:lol:

[dpastern]

I am indeed. Politicians do not deserve any sympathy or kindness. Where were they when they made decisions to send troops to Afghanisatan, Iraq or Vietnam where many innocents lost their lives? Did they feel sorrow or remorse? These guys don't care about innocent lives one iota. Let's consider the growing issue of mental illness in the western community, and the lack of action from our politicians to help people with these issues. What about homeless people? Politicians don't care, and are only too happy to sweep the too hard subjects under the carpet. They are a waste of space imho.

Dave

PS I do not believe that nature intended man to live in such super societies and this is why society tends to break down with larger societies.

[Satchmo]

You sound like a politician to me ;)

[matt]

Wow

[iceman]

This thread isn't a soapbox for people to go off with their own political thoughts/agendas.

I think enough has been said about that, thanks.

[dpastern]

Mike - with all due respect - politician does something stupid, wastes tax payers money, probably doesn't have to pay for it like a normal person would have to, and people find that OK? If that was a normal person, I'm sure most people would be saying what an idiot. But it seems that being a politician seems to give them some protection from criticism. Double standards mate.

Maybe I shouldn't have said my original comments, but imho, a missing politician is no loss on our society.

Dave