German tramper unprepared for conditions - expert

Mt Aspiring National Park.

The 23-year-old German whose body was found in Mt Aspiring National Park on Sunday was tragically unprepared, says a Wanaka mountaineer and search-and-rescue expert.

Julian Stukenborg had been missing for 10 days when his body was found on Sunday afternoon 250m down a steep cliff face below the Cascade Saddle route in Mt Aspiring National Park.

He had been travelling without an ice axe and crampons and in normal tramping gear when he slipped, The Southland Times reported.

Wanaka Land Search and Rescue adviser Geoff Wayatt said he probably fell on June 16 or 17.

Proper alpine skills and the right gear were needed when climbing in the area, Mr Wayatt said.

Mr Stukenborg should have also declared his intentions with authorities in Wanaka rather than just writing them in an entry in a Mt Aspiring logbook which he did on June 16.

- NZPA