New Zealand police confirmed Ms Leman's identity late yesterday morning, a few hours after her family spoke to media in Alaska about their loss.
Ms Leman was the youngest daughter of a former Lieutenant Governor of the state, Loren Leman and his wife Carolyn.
Mr Leman told the Alaska Dispatch News his daughter was a "cheerful and daring baby'' and he was heartbroken at losing her.
He said Ms Leman travelled to New Zealand to pursue her love of mountains and mountaineering.
"She needed to climb in a wonderful space.
"It is lovely right here too, however she needed to experience that in a unique place.''
Ms Leman died after falling about 300m while climbing the dangerous waterfall face on the north side of Rabbit Pass, between the Wilkin and East Matukituki Valleys.
Various tributes spoke of Ms Leman's love of the outdoors and her high level of experience in difficult terrain.
A North American journalist, who preferred not to be named, told the Otago Daily Times of the similarities between the terrain of the Mt Aspiring National Park and the area in Alaska where Ms Leman grew up.
"... steep, often covered in loose rock, a lot of glaciers.
"In Alaska, we don't have a lot of people, so we only have a few developed trails.
"Almost any multiday trek in Alaska would have a person navigating lots of unmarked routes, with difficult footing, avalanche danger, bear danger, hypothermia risk, etc.''
"[Ms Leman] wasn't accustomed to easy hiking.''
A friend on Facebook, Kenton Curtis, said he had lost the closest friend.
"One week ago she used the last of her [air] miles and bought a plane ticket back to Alaska for February 15, after having spent 13 months backpacking and woofing in New Zealand.
"She had me vow not to tell anyone about her return dates, so that she could surprise her family and friends.''
Mr Curtis said Ms Leman had stayed in more than 200 huts in New Zealand, and ‘‘hit almost every single trail in both the North and South Islands''.
"She was telling me how excited she was to come back, and how amazed she was that she only had a handful of trails in the entire country she hadn't done.''
Ms Leman was "having the time of her life in New Zealand, and had no regrets''.
"She died in one of the prettiest places in the world, in a place we ourselves can only wish we could die.''
Ms Leman's hometown was Anchorage where she attended Grace Christian School and excelled at athletics and basketball.
She was due to turn 25 on December 28.
