Industry News
Andreas Fransson’s Swedish ski mountaineering partner, Magnus Kastengren, fell to his death on Saturday while extreme skiing on 12,316-foot Mt. Cook in New Zealand.
32-year-old Magnus was skiing on Mt. Cook’s summit ridge near its lower summit at around 12,200 feet when he slipped while on a ridge line and fell 2,000-vertical feet on Saturday morning.  Magnus did not survive the fall.
What Andreas and Magnus had been skiing on Mt. Cook was clearly extreme terrain. Â There was no room for error.
4 days before Saturday’s accident Magnus and Andreas accomplished what is being called the first ever complete descent of Mt. Cook’s east face. Â
“One minute his [Andreas’] partner was skiing behind him, and next minute he’s looked back and he’s gone.  Basically he’s slipped off and we don’t know why.” – Senior Constable Brent Swanson of Lake Tekapo Police
“A Department of Conservation alpine rescue team was dispatched after the survivor [Andreas] called emergency services about 8.30am yesterday. A rescuer, dangling on a strop from a Helicopter Line helicopter, picked him [Andreas] up shortly before midday. Mr Kastengren’s body was recovered about half an hour later.” – NZ Herald
There have been 7 deaths in the past 3 months in New Zealand’s high mountains:
August 12:Â Jamie Vinton-Boot, 30, died in an avalanche while climbing along the western face of The Remarkables. He was the 2012 NZ Mountaineer of the Year.
August 31:Â British-born Caroline Johnstone, 44, slipped on ice while retrieving her snowboard on Mt Ruapehu.
September 13:Â Duncan Rait, 36, fell 150m off a ridge near the Tasman Glacier at Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park.
September 14:Â Englishman Robert Buckley, 31, died after falling 700m near Mt Sefton Bivvy, at Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park.
October 28:Â Hiroki Ogawa, 31, and Nicole Sutton, 29, died after spending two nights in a snow trench after bad weather set in on Mt Taranaki.
November 3:Â Magnus Kastengren, 31, falls 600m to his death from Aoraki-Mt Cook while taking part in extreme skiing.
Andreas Fransson is an very accomplished freeskier who is the only person to have every skied the South Face of 20,320-foot Denali in Alaska.
Our condolences to Andreas and all the friends & family of Magnus.
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Were stunned to hear of this accident. We knew Magnus from Stockholm and enjoyed some climbs with him, as well as his weird chocolate brownie type thing at a dinner in our place.
We will miss knowing that he is somewhere out there enjoying his life…
Thinking of you Magnus…enjoy your home-brew in Mountain Heaven
Hoppas du har det bra i klättrarhimlen Magnus!
RIP!
Great life, great death.
These guys push it so far. Must be so fun when they nail it. Quite sad when they miss.
rip
Wow, very sad news.