An Australian climber is dead after falling more than 1000m down Aoraki-Mt Cook yesterday.
The 22-year-old was one of a party of four men - two Australians, a Swede and a Briton - who were attempting to climb the east face of the mountain.
They were standing above the Summit Rocks about
8.30am discussing their climb to the summit 300m above when the man either tripped or slipped, said Constable Brett Simon of Twizel police.
They were not roped together.
"It was one of those tragedies of climbing," Mr Simon said. "They had a good level of experience and were not pushing it."
The trio intended climbing down to the man, but were advised by police not to do so as it was too dangerous.
A search and rescue team flew into the area and located the body about 10.45am.
Wind and cloud, as well as the altitude, meant the helicopter could not pick up the survivors from where the accident occurred.
The three climbed down the Linda Glacier until weather conditions improved enough for them to be airlifted out mid-afternoon.
The Australian's death is the 10th in the national park in four months.
A 27-year-old Romanian man died on Mt Cook last month after falling 200m from the Upper Linda Glacier.
Two New Zealanders and two Australians died in an avalanche on Mt Tasman on December 31.
Four Latvian climbers were killed on Mt Cook on December 10.
Yesterday, the coroner reviewing the Latvians' deaths said that had the group been wearing helmets some of them might have survived.
The four, including a father and his daughter, perished after they plunged 300m while climbing down the Linda Glacier.
Timaru coroner Edgar Bradley said there were two accidents that afternoon, the first when one of the Latvians, who was climbing alone, fell and slid down the shelf.
The second happened when one of the other three climbers was struck by failing rock or ice and pulled the others, who were roped to him, off the mountain.
- NZPA
