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A New Zealand woman has been found frozen to death in the French Alps after rescuers were unable to respond to her climbing group's desperate calls for help.
She died trying to scale Mont Blanc with her partner - a British man - and two women from France
and Chile.
A statement issued by Ms Jerram's uncle Jim Jerram today said Jane was keen on outdoor sports.
"Jane had become an accomplished climber during her time living next to the French Alps. She was well trained, meticulous in her planning, including selection of equipment, and was very fit," Mr Jerram said.
He said details of the accident were not yet known but it appears the climbers were caught on the summit ridge at over 4000m by a sudden storm.
"Jane eventually called by phone for search and rescue assistance, but because of the conditions, a helicopter was unable to reach the four climbers who were found together," Mr Jerram said.
The climbers were not lost, he said.
The family is travelling to France tomorrow.
"The family members are obviously very distressed and attempting to come to terms with the loss of their middle child and elder daughter and sister," Mr Jerram said.
Ms Jerram grew up in Blenheim and studied at Canterbury University.
She completed her undergraduate degree in 2002 at the University of Canterbury before moving to Grenoble in France.
In the past four years Ms Jerram completed her Master's degree in civil engineering where she topped her class.
The French Government had offered her funding for a doctorate in the geotechnical civil engineering, Mr Jerram said.
French police have said the group were ill-prepared for the climb, both in terms of equipment and clothing.
The four dead climbers were found at the Bionnassay crest, on the French side of Mont Blanc, Chamonix police said.
Two other climbers died in separate accidents.
A Belgian man in his 50s died in the Italian Alps in northeastern Italy and a 49-year-old German woman died about 40km east of Mont Blanc, police officials said.
Most climbing guides recommend that Mont Blanc should not be attempted without a guide.
The group of four were students in the French city of Grenoble and between 20 and 25 years old, Italian newspapers said.
French authorities could not confirm their ages.
"The group had no tent and failed to dig a hole to protect themselves from 120km/h winds and falling snow," Olivier Kim from the regional police force has been quoted as saying.
A woman from the Mont Blanc Information Office told the Herald last night the group set out several days ago, despite forecasters predicting bad weather including snow storms and temperatures to -15C.
The group are understood to have got into difficulty on the Bionnassay Ridge where they made their first attempt to get help.
"The French girl called by phone to say 'we have a problem' but the weather was very bad."
The woman said the weather was so atrocious that rescuers were unable to go to their aid straight away.
Yesterday, after the weather had cleared enough a search was started, and the group were found dead at an altitude of 4000m.
It is believed they died from cold and exhaustion.
More than 30,000 people each year climb 4808m Mont Blanc between June and September, with an average of 200 "summitting" each day.
The popular Miage-Bionnassay-Mont Blanc crossing is usually done in three days, with climbers sleeping in a hut on the second night and then climbing to the summit on the third day.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said last night that staff were liaising with French police and authorities.
"We are working on the case."
A member of Chamonix Mountain Rescue added: "They were inexperienced and had a poor level of equipment and clothing.
"Unfortunately they did not even have a snow shovel so they could dig a hole when the snowstorm came.
"By the time rescuers got to them they were all dead."
