Daniel Marsden and David Afele have been awarded the Commissioner’s Commendation for Courage, which is the highest bravery award SES members can receive.

SES Commissioner Murray Kear travelled to Jindabyne to present the awards at a special ceremony. The award acknowledges the mens’ “courageous actions and demonstrating great leadership, skill and initiative under the most dangerous conditions.”

Commissioner Kear also presented Les Threlfo with a long service medal for 10 years of service as the Controller of the Snowy River Unit. Mr Threlfo has previously received the Commissioner’s Commendation Award for excellence and foresight in growing the unit from three to 50 members and vastly improving its rescue capabilities.

The search and rescue presented an extremely high risk to all those involved and demonstrated the physical courage, skill and experience of all the Emergency Service personnel involved.

On the night in question they experienced blizzard conditions, extreme cold, and virtual “whiteout” in the middle of the night. Yet they managed to complete the rescue successfully.

It was on August 2 that Snowy River SES was requested to assist the NSW police in locating two cross country skiers who were in difficulties in a blizzard near Blue Lake in Kosciuszko National Park.

Although the skiers were well equipped, their tent had blown away in the strong winds, exposing them to the elements. Fortunately, they were able to make a call from their mobile phone, alerting authorities to their situation.

Several hours later the search team of six men – NSW police, SES and NSW ambulance personnel – reached the search area. They began a detailed search in poor visibility as conditions worsened.

Eventually, after hours in temperatures reaching a wind chill factor of minus 30 degrees, the two skiers were located and helped back to a rescue vehicle.

They were treated for the early stages of hypothermia and returned to Perisher.

The SES advise that conditions change quickly in the alpine regions. When people travel the back country it is advisable to let authorities and others know of their plans, including when they expect to return. Mobile phone conditions are patchy at best, so they should take a distress radio beacon (EPIRB) which can be hired at the NSW Parks office in Jindabyne for a low rental fee.