Climbing tragedy: Two dead on the Remarkables

Two people have died after a climbing incident near Lake Alta, which is near Double Cone on The Remarkables mountain range. Video / James Allan

Attempts to recover the body of a second climber who died on the Remarkables today have been suspended for the night and will resume tomorrow morning..

Two people who were roped together died after an incident on steep mountain range this afternoon.

The climbers were in a group doing the Grand Traverse - a steep route for experienced trampers or rock climbers.

They were in a party led by Wanaka-based company Aspiring Guides, a staff member confirmed this afternoon.

The company said it could not give further details at this stage as police are investigating.

A police spokeswoman said police were alerted that two climbers had fallen from the side of a cliff face about 11.45am.

"The pair were climbing an area known as the Grand Traverse when they sadly fell," the spokeswoman said.

Police have recovered one of the bodies. The operation to recover the second body would resume at 6am tomorrow.

Police were still notifying the victims' next of kin, a spokesman said.

The climbers were near Lake Alta, which is near Double Cone on the mountain range.

L.ALTA

WorkSafe said it had been notified of the incident near Queenstown and was investigating.

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More details are still being gathered. The Rescue Coordination Centre had also been advised.

Aspiring Guides' website said the Grand Traverse was suitable for people with hiking experience and "a head for heights". It also offered alpine rock climbing direct to the summit of either Single or Double Cone.

Part of the trek required scrambling along an exposed rocky ridge, with a near-vertical 2km view down to Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu, the website said.

Queenstown Mountain Guides' website said the trek usually took eight to 10 hours to complete.