Mount Everest guides have been accused of secretly drugging foreign climbers to trigger expensive aerial evacuations as part of a $NZ35m insurance fraud scheme, according to an investigation by the Nepali police.

The scale of the scam appears to be vast, affecting 4782 international climbers between 2022 and 2025 with more than 300 cases of alleged fake rescues uncovered.

Also in this week’s outdoor news: DOC closes Nelson visitor centre at Millers Acre - mayor says decision is 'short-sighted', border collie rescued after a week waiting for injured owner, now’s your chance to run a 100-year-old chateau and more!

Missed yesterday’s feature? See what's in adventurer and author Dunc Wilson's pack.

Take a look at this week's most read articles at wildernessmag.co.nz.

A member of the Facebook group Tramping in New Zealand recently posted a message saying they had met a DOC ranger who claimed the department is phasing out the dark green intention book. The post received almost 90 comments.

But DOC has dismissed this as a rumour. The books are vital tools for search and rescue teams and will continue to be replaced as they become full or worn out.

The historic, 12-bunk, Red Hut is set on a fan of the Hopkins River with surrounding beech forest.

It was built in 1916 for commercial guiding to the Barron Saddle by the Government Tourist Department. However, the venture was unsuccessful. The hut was used mainly as a mustering hut by the Huxley Gorge Station until 1956, when the station gave the hut to the NZFS.

In 1977, the hut received a major overhaul by NZFS carpenters. Around 2007, DOC restored the hut to its original state.

Hazel Phillips recently visited the hut and described it as, “built as part of a madcap tourist venture that now it provides an easy overnighter for the decrepit and the young.”

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