Rescuers had known that Ms Sutton was suffering from hypothermia since 9.45pm on Saturday, but by the time these messages came through -- about three hours later -- it appeared Dr Ogawa was also succumbing to the cold.
It is believed he attempted to dig a snow cave to protect them both, but with ice, fatigue and poor weather conditions, managed only a ledge which they lay on.
Rescuers described how they found them huddled on the ledge which covered their legs but not their bodies, leaving them still mostly exposed to the freezing conditions.
Dr Ogawa was already dead. Ms Sutton was alive, but she lost consciousness shortly afterwards and died before she could be winched off the mountain.
Earlier at the inquest, lawyer for the Sutton and Ogawa families, Hanne Janes, almost broke down as she questioned a senior police officer about decision making during the rescue operation.
She said members of the Ruapehu Alpine Rescue Organisation (RARO) had been contacted at 3am on Sunday and were expected on the ground at Mt Taranaki by dawn to assist with the rescue.
However, the communication method used was an e-text system, which only three RARO members responded to. The trio were airlifted by the Royal New Zealand Air Force to New Plymouth arriving around 7am. One lacked the expertise to be of assistance.
Eight other RARO members were forced to drive the four hours from National Park to New Plymouth as poor weather later in the day meant they could not be flown. They arrived between 4 and 7pm.
The local Taranaki Rescue Helicopter was also deemed out of action due to a mechanical fault, leaving the RNZAF Iroquois the only chopper available, which Ms Janes implied was slower and less "agile" for this type of rescue.
"One of the abiding sorrows [for the families] was that if they had known, they would have been able to call a commercial helicopter or use one of their contacts in the area to transport people," Ms Janes said.
The families were also concerned that they had been told Ms Sutton and Dr Ogawa were sheltering in a snow cave, and this -- combined with the information that RARO would be on the ground at dawn -- led them to believe the couple had a good chance of survival, Ms Janes said.
Sergeant Jeff McGrath, who lead the incident management team (IMT), defended the decision to not fly the extra RARO teams to the mountain, saying all information provided to them was that weather conditions were not suitable.
A bus charter to take all eight members together and allow them to rest during the drive was offered to them, he said, but was declined, and the members chose to drive themselves in two car loads.
He also said he stood by a decision not to source a 'squirrel'-type helicopter from elsewhere in the North Island to replace the unavailable rescue chopper.
"I didn't want to deprive other areas of the North Island potential rescue platforms should other incidents arise," he said.
He was confident the Iroquois was suitable for the job, he said.
Earlier in the day the inquest was told how the team of rescuers who reached Ms Sutton and Dr Ogawa had heard a woman's voice calling for help.
The climbing team used her voice to find the couple, but were unable to save her. They said a prayer over their bodies, before "preserving their dignity" and making their way back down the mountain.
The inquest continues.
