A man has fallen to his death from the north-west ridge of Mt Aspiring.
The Czech man in his mid-20s fell during a decent of the ‘buttress’ area on to the Therma Glacier, a fall of several hundred metres.
He was climbing with an Australian man who was not injured.
The pair had only recently met for the purposes of climbing the mountain.
A volunteer Wanaka Search and Rescue alpine rescue team found and recovered the man and his climbing partner this afternoon in an operation lasting over three hours.
Wanaka Police Search and Rescue were alerted to the fall by satellite phone around midday from a guided climbing party, who met the victim’s climbing partner on the mountain. The climbing partner was uninjured.
A helicopter from Aspiring Helicopters was also used in the operation.
The north-west ridge is the most commonly climbed route on the 3000m peak.
Wanaka Police Search and Rescue coordinator Sergeant Aaron Nicholson said the climber’s death was a tragedy following the successful rescue of two other fallen climbers in the last week.
“The very busy start to the summer outdoor season is a sobering reminder of the inherent risks in mountaineering.
"Our thoughts are with the man’s family,” Mr Nicholson said.
Conditions on the mountain were fine through out the day, he said.
