A Victorian bushwalker dies in fall from “dangerous” peak

The tragic death of a Victorian man marked the third fatality in a week in Tasmania’s wilderness, this time involving a “dangerous walk” on a 1224m-high peak.

Federation Peak Picture: ROB BLAKERS, GRANT DIXON

• ‘Most challenging walks’: Man died after falling near summit

Two bushwalkers watched on helplessly as a Victorian man fell to his death from the summit of Federation Peak on Monday, early police investigations have revealed.

Tasmania Police on Tuesday confirmed the death of the man in his 30s after a 22-hour delay in retrieving his body.

Tasmania Police Kingston Division Inspector Colin Riley said the man fell from a height close to the summit of Federation Peak at around 11am on Monday, with weather hampering search and rescue operations.

“On Monday, a Personal Locator Beacon was activated at the climb to the summit of Federation Peak,” he said.

Tasmania Police Kingston Division Inspector Colin Riley. Picture: Genevieve Holding

“As a result of that, police aerial assets were deployed to help the walkers and ground crews were also dispatched.

“What appears to have happened is one of the three walkers has fallen, and the other two walkers went through, where they then met up with police, search and rescue and also wilderness paramedics, where they stayed overnight.

“At first light on Tuesday, our air assets were brought in to recover the two bushwalkers, and then the search continued for the walker who’d fallen, who was located midmorning.”

The walker’s body was then flown to the Royal Hobart Hospital, with his walking partner – a Victorian woman also in her 30s – also travelling to Hobart to “be with family” police confirmed.

Inspector Riley described the 1224m-high Federation Peak as “one of the most challenging walks in Tasmania”, but said the trio of bushwalkers appeared adequately prepared for the walk.

“I would describe the walkers as reasonably experienced walkers and they’ve done multi-day walks previously,” he said.

“They certainly appeared to have the correct equipment as well, which they activated at the earliest opportunity.”

Federation Peak walk: Starting the descent into Geeves Gully.

Federation Peak walk: A walker on the ledge above the drop off

For Hobart Walking Club members, Federation Peak has gained a ‘cult-like’ image for its difficulty and danger comparable to the international climbs of Everest and the Matterhorn.

Club member Katherine Munday said the walk was not for the faint-hearted.

“The route used by bushwalkers is very exposed and not for the faint-hearted as the near vertical final ascent crosses the boundary between bushwalking and rock climbing,” she wrote in a January column on Federation Peak.

Inspector Riley confirmed the Peak has a history of rescues and death, with the latest in July this year of a New Zealand man.

“The messaging for anyone who’s going into our wilderness, which is a beautiful place, but it is dangerous, is to take a personal locator beacon,” he said.

“Take all the right equipment and if the conditions change and you do not feel confident, withdraw and don’t persist with the walk.

“The bottom line is, people get out to enjoy the environment and they accept the risks in these parts of the world.”

Monday’s incident marks the third death of a bushwalker in Tasmanian in under a fortnight, with the body of a 54-year-old Queensland man recovered on Sunday and a man in his 60s found dead in Cradle Mountain National Park on Christmas Day.

A report will be prepared for the Coroner.