Senior Search and Rescue officer and Rescue Coordination Centre mission coordinator Neville Blakemore said Lt Harch's next-of-kin had arrived in the country and were waiting for him at Dunedin Hospital.
"Police are handling that on our behalf."
He was in a "bit of pain" and his condition was "quite severe".
The team could not really relax until everyone was off the mountain, and he thought helicopters would have to make a return trip to collect equipment.
Four members of the Wanaka Alpine Cliff Rescue team have been with the 29-year-old man since late yesterday afternoon when a helicopter managed to take advantage of a brief break in the weather.
The wind has since been too strong to allow the helicopter to winch the climber off the mountain, but the rescue team with a paramedic managed to get onto the snow elsewhere and trek to the climber's location near Quarterdeck Pass.
There is heavy rain and low cloud in Wanaka today.
However a break in the weather allowed a "snatch and grab" of the stricken climber about 4pm today.
Blakemore said the four Wanaka Alpine Cliff Rescue team members, plus two Mount Cook Alpine Cliff Rescue team members who were on their way to Quarterdeck Pass to assist, were also being extracted by two Aspiring Helicopter machines and taken back to Wanaka.
It had been a very difficult day with the wind, cloud and snow conditions preventing the helicopters from reaching the climber until a weather window suddenly opened up this afternoon.
"It's a great result as we did not want the climber spending another night on the mountain. The aim now is to get him to hospital for immediate treatment."
'Wouldn't have lasted another night'
The Australian man would likely not have lasted another night say those who found him.
He is believed to have dug a snow cave and is said to have mild frostbite on his hands.
Southern Lakes Helicopters pilot Sean Mullally said when they flew up the mountain yesterday evening they initially could not see him.
Conditions were too poor to attempt to winch the climber off the mountain, so they dropped four Wanaka Alpine Rescue crew members who skied across the mountain to where his beacon was last located.
They had warm clothing, tents and food to look after him for the night.
"We flew around to see if we could spot him, and on about the fourth round the paramedic saw an arm waving," Mullally said.
The climber was lucky they spotted him.
"He is very lucky to be alive. I don't think he would have lasted another night. It was very cold and windy. There was a lot of fresh snow.
"We were in the area for 27 minutes, and by the time we left it had clouded over and started snowing again."
The man had mild frostbite on his hands, and it was important they got him off the mountain today, Mullally said.
"Conditions are due to deteriorate further, so we are very keen to get them off the mountain.
"We will make another attempt today from the West Coast, go in via Haast Pass.
"At this stage it will be a winch job, unless we can get onto a flatter area and snatch and grab them."
The search and rescue operation began on Tuesday, but poor weather meant rescuers could not reach the climber until last night.
An 'experienced climber'
Rescue Co-ordination Centre NZ watch leader Neville Blakemore said it appeared the man was an experienced climber.
"One of the teams found his heavy equipment at one of the huts, so we assume he got there, and made a push for an assent of the mountain, but the weather caught him out.
"We believe he made a snow cave to stay warm. He's an experienced climber, an Australian army captain so has probably done a lot of survival training.
"It he hadn't had that experience, we probably wouldn't have this outcome."
It was an "extremely dangerous" rescue mission, Blakemore said.
"For the person in trouble and for the rescuers it is extremely dangerous. There is high avalanche risk at the moment, and the weather is not ideal for flying. It takes high skill from all involved."
Conditions promising for rescue today
Senior search and rescue officer Geoff Lunt said the plan today was to send in the Southern Lakes and Aspiring helicopters as soon as the weather allowed it and remove the five men from Quarterdeck Pass.
There were another two Alpine Rescue Crew to pick up from the nearby French Ridge hut.
"The climber has been sheltering for the past two nights at the pass and he has clearly made some good decisions to be able to survive the bad weather, heavy snow and high winds," Lunt said.
The weather conditions were promising for the rescue later today. There were 10km/h southeast winds which were expected to rise to 30km/h in the middle of the day. The wind chill is -16C with scattered rain easing. Snow was at 1200m and the party was currently about 2300m up Mt Aspiring.
Mountaineering a high risk activity
Mountain Safety Council chief executive Mike Daisley said winter mountaineering was a high-risk activity and was "certainly not for the faint of heart".
"However, there's a degree of common sense that's got to come into the planning of trips like this, especially if you're solo.
"I think he's probably sat there going over where he went wrong for many hours, wondering if this would be the end for him. It would have been a bloody scary situation to be in."
Daisley said a lot of people were hoping for the best but feared the worst.
"Worryingly, we knew from our insights that 25 per cent of mountaineering fatalities in New Zealand are from Australia, so we're very glad he's been found okay," he said.
"It's an amazing outcome; The rescue agencies that co-ordinated and responded to this tricky situation deserve a huge thanks for their skill and tenacity."
Daisley's message to those who head into the mountains above the snowline, especially those on their own, was one of prudence and caution.
"There's been a lot of snow in the last couple of days. The NZ Avalanche Advisory for the region was on high when he set out and the winds have been a factor as well."
He advised visiting climbers to pay attention to local knowledge and to do their homework on the risks involved.
"It's a good example of where the right call was probably not to go. I know he's come a long way to tick this one off, but it's just not worth the ultimate price. If the locals aren't keen on going up, you can be sure there's a good reason why."
There's an average of 37 Search and Rescue missions for mountaineers each year and around 25,500 participants per annum.
- additional reporting Otago Daily Times
