The police say a lost snowboarder spotted on Mount Egmont as light faded on Tuesday night is lucky to be alive.
The 30-year-old man had gone off alone, become disorientated and found himself on the eastern side of the mountain unable to find a route down.
He contacted police by cellphone and the Taranaki Alpine Cliff Rescue Squad was deployed.
Senior Constable Jeff McGrath, from the New Plymouth Police, says the man is extremely lucky to have been found.
He says the snow made it difficult to reach the man and he was eventually airlifted off the mountain at about 10pm by a Royal New Zealand Air Force Iroquois.
