Two mountain climbers have died after falling near the summit of Aoraki Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest peak, authorities said. The bodies of the two climbers were found and specialist searchers are working to recover them in a challenging alpine environment, police area commander Inspector Vicki Walker said on Tuesday. The climbers have not been publicly identified.
The pair were connected by a rope when they fell near the summit, Sergeant Kevin McErlain told the Timaru Herald. The alarm was raised late on Monday night local time when four climbers were reported in need of help on the mountain, which is on New Zealand's South Island. Two climbers were rescued by helicopter in the early hours of Tuesday and were uninjured. Searchers in two helicopters looked throughout the night for the other two, who were found dead hours later.
Aoraki Mount Cook stands at 3,724 metres (12,218 feet) and is part of the Southern Alps, a scenic and icy mountain range running the length of the South Island. The peak is popular among experienced climbers but its terrain is technically difficult due to crevasses, avalanche risk, changeable weather and glacier movement. More than 240 deaths have been recorded on the mountain and in the surrounding national park since the start of the 20th century, with dozens of victims never found.
This incident follows the deaths of three climbers in December 2024, including two Americans and one Canadian, who are believed to have died on Aoraki. The Americans, Kurt Blair, 56, from Colorado, and Carlos Romero, 50, of California, were certified alpine guides. Their search was called off after five days when belongings suggested they had fallen to their deaths.
