John Bernard Pawson (48) died after he fell 800m from near the summit of Mt Aspiring, on Thursday morning.
He was climbing the mountain along the technically demanding southwest ridge with his Wanaka climbing companion Martin Hill, an award-winning photographer and writer.
Mr Hill was left stranded at the southwest couloir, about 200m from the summit.
The pair were not roped together.
A team from the Wanaka alpine cliff Search and Rescue team retrieved the body and Mr Hill by helicopter later that day.
About 20 other climbers were on the mountain in "excellent climbing conditions" and fine clear weather during the day of the accident.
Mr Pawson was a well-known community figure, businessman, farmer and advocate for the environment in Wanaka and Otago.
Mr Pawson's wife, Meg Taylor, said her husband was a man who had the talent and vision to achieve anything he wanted.
Born and raised in Upper Hutt, Mr Pawson was an experienced climber who had climbed Mt Aspiring earlier this year via the northwest ridge route.
A man of the outdoors, Mr Pawson climbed Mt Cook in his youth and was a keen skier and mountaineer, Ms Taylor said.
"John never headed into the mountains without being fully planned, prepared and ready to come back," she said.
The couple built Riverrun Lodge on their 182ha farm on the outskirts of Wanaka, near the confluence of the Clutha and Cardrona Rivers, after they moved to the resort in 1996.
Mr Pawson was vice-president of Otago Federated Farmers from 2006, chairman of the Upper Clutha Tracks Trust, founder of the Alp Sports label, and a co-founder of the multimillion-dollar alpine goods company Kathmandu.
Federated Farmers Otago president Richard Burdon said Mr Pawson's level-headedness and leadership skills enabled him to achieve many good outcomes "for all the organisations he was involved with".
"He was a particularly good farmer, loved the outdoors, and was an achiever in many walks of life."
Upper Clutha Tracks trustee John Wellington said Mr Pawson was a moderate voice for Federated Farmers, and through his farming connections, his enthusiasm for walking tracks and boundless energy, was a major asset to the trust.
His contribution would be sorely missed by many sections of the Wanaka community, he said.
