A male mountaineer has fallen to his death from the north-west ridge of Mt Aspiring.
The man fell from the ‘buttress’ area on to the Therma Glacier, a fall of several hundred metres.
A volunteer Wanaka Search and Rescue alpine rescue team located and recovered the male this afternoon in an operation lasting over three hours.
No details are currently available on the man’s age or nationality, but he is believed to be a visitor to New Zealand.
Wanaka Police Search and Rescue were alerted to the fall by satellite phone around midday from a guided climbing party, who met the victim’s climbing partner on the mountain. The climbing partner was uninjured.
The north-west ridge is the most commonly climbed route on the 3000m peak.
Wanaka Police Search and Rescue coordinator Sergeant Aaron Nicholson said the climber’s death was a tragedy following the successful rescue of two other fallen climbers in the last week.
“The very busy start to the summer outdoor season is a sobering reminder of the inherent risks in mountaineering. Our thoughts are with the man’s family,” Mr Nicholson said.
ENDS
Issued by the Police Media Centre