A weird story of survival out of New Zealand: Authorities say a woman survived for a month in a remote cabin after her partner was killed during a wintry hike in the mountains, reports the Guardian.
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The woman, Pavlina Pizova, and her boyfriend, Ondrej Petr, set out on July 26 to walk the 20-mile Routeburn Track on the South Island of New Zealand, she said at a news conference in Queenstown.
“I am aware we made a few mistakes, not leaving our intentions with somebody, not carrying a personal locator beacon and underestimating the winter conditions on the track”, she said. “In our attempt to reach the hut, the tragic accident happened”.
A police representative in Wellington, the capital, said that Petr’s death would be subject to an investigation by a coroner but that it had been ruled “nonsuspicious”.
She said she had been injured as well and spent two nights in the open with Mr Petr even after he died.
Ms Kennett said Ms Pizova had been resting and enjoyed a church service in Glenorchy today.
“During this time, I was extremely cold, exhausted and my feet were frozen”, she said. She rubbed her feet and tried to keep her blood circulating, and wore all the clothes and blankets she had with her.
Pizova would end up spending almost a month at the hut.
She used ash to fashion a letter “H” in the snow to signal for help.
Pizova urged other hikers not to repeat her mistakes.
“The recent heavy snows meant I was walking through waist-deep snow and because all track markers were covered, I had to find my own way”, she said. But Ms Kennett said she never made it more than a few hundred metres from the hut before turning back.
“She wasn’t confident to carry on but she didn’t give up trying”, Kennett said. “She tried everything she could, given the conditions”. He said police found the couple’s vehicle at the trailhead and sent a helicopter along the route.
She broke down in tears towards the end of her statement, when she thanked police, LandSAR and Doc for their efforts in bringing her to safety. After there were “numerous” avalanches around the hut, and with Pavlina too weak to walk far, she stayed put for more than four weeks.
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Kennett said she can barely understand how the hiker managed to survive her ordeal. I think she is a very strong woman.
