Walker said when emergency services were alerted to trouble on the mountain on Monday night, a helicopter from Queenstown flew to Wanaka and picked up the Wanaka Alpine Cliff Rescue team, while a helicopter from Dunedin flew straight to the mountain and began searching.
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The helicopter from Dunedin located two climbers in the group, who were airlifted from the mountain about 2.15am on Tuesday (local time).
The two helicopters completed extensive searches through the early morning for the remaining two climbers, as conditions on the mountain were calm and clear, but were unsuccessful.
However, the two missing climbers were found dead about 7am and the Rescue Co-ordination Centre was tasked with recovering their bodies in what Walker called “a challenging alpine environment”.
A climber who didn’t want to be named said multiple climbing parties were on the mountain on Monday, and he was still waiting to hear from some of them.
“I’m praying they are OK,” the climber said.
A boardwalk on the way to Mount Cook.Credit: Getty Images
The climber said being on the summit at that time of night was unusual but “it sometimes happens due to slow going on more committing routes like the East Ridge, South Face or Sheila Face”.
According to a climber based at Mount Cook Village, conditions on the mountain had been “very good” recently, although conditions could change “all the time”.
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“I think the summit ridge is very icy, which can be typical, meaning any slip would have dire consequences,” the climber said.
The mountain has a fierce reputation globally and is known as New Zealand’s deadliest peak.
Stuff.co.nz
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