Uncertainty Looms Over the Passing of Two Hikers in Victoria's Mountain Region

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Police are appealing for help to identify two hikers found dead near a remote alpine hut in Victoria’s high country.

The bodies of the women, believed to be aged in their 20s or 30s, were discovered by a pair of hikers near Cleve Cole Hut, close to Mount Bogong, just before 1pm on Friday.

Victoria Police inspector Paul Hargreaves said there had been blizzard conditions in recent days and the women likely died from severe hypothermia.

He said the bodies may have been there for two to three days before they were found and no missing persons reports had been filed, as he appealed to the public for help.

“If you have been up on top of the hill in the last two to three days, if you have been hiking in that area and you saw anybody that looked a little bit disoriented, maybe not dressed adequately for the conditions, we’d certainly be very, very keen to hear from [you],” he told reporters on Saturday.

A group of hikers standing atop a mountain

The bodies were discovered by other hikers on Friday afternoon. Source: Supplied / Victoria Police

Hargreaves said the conditions were “exceptionally hard”, noting the weather could quickly turn “dangerous and unfavourable”.

“The weather in the last two to three days has been down as low as minus 2.8 degrees, winds up around 83 kilometres an hour and snow falling,” he said.

Cleve Cole Hut is a popular stop for hikers heading to Victoria’s highest peak, Mount Bogong, and is usually surrounded by gums and alpine grassland in winter.

The location could be accessed only from tracks, Hargreaves said.

“The [tracks] are arduous to get to, and if you do not have the right conditions and certainly the right equipment, it becomes very dangerous,” he said.

“It is not unfamiliar for police to have to rescue people from these areas.”

It comes as the region’s snow season draws to a close, with Falls Creek and Mount Hotham ski resorts closing their lifts this weekend.

A police helicoper flying above a rocky area

The Victoria Police air wing was used to help recover the bodies. Credit: Victoria Police / Supplied

The tragedy follows a separate incident in Tasmania, where police recovered a large group from a remote part of the state’s southwest.

A rafting trip turned deadly when a raft flipped in the rapids of the Franklin River, resulting in the drowning of a 49-year-old woman.

Members of the party attempted CPR but she could not be revived.

The remaining members of the group were rescued by helicopter on Friday.

“This is a tragic incident in what was planned as an adventure for a group of friends who shared a passion for the Tasmanian wilderness,” acting inspector Russell Judges said.

— With additional reporting by Australian Associated Press.