Police say two climbers missing on Aoraki/Mount Cook are not believed to be alive after search teams found evidence they were caught in a large ice avalanche on the upper Linda Glacier.

The pair set off on Friday 12 December from the Tasman Valley car park to Plateau Hut, then left the hut on Saturday evening intending to climb via the Linda Glacier route. The Department of Conservation (DOC) was alerted on Monday morning when they had not returned.

Aoraki Area Commander Inspector Vicki Walker said search and rescue efforts ran over three days when weather allowed. The first aerial search took place late Tuesday, narrowing the search area because the men had recorded their intentions. On Wednesday, teams used a RECCO SAR detector suspended under a The Helicopter Line aircraft to scan the mountain, identify a key area of interest, and locate items of climbing equipment.

“A visual investigation of this area has led to the determination that the overdue climbers have been caught in a significant ice avalanche within a known icefall hazard zone on the upper Linda Glacier,” Inspector Walker said. “Because of the scale and volume of material involved, we don’t believe this avalanche was survivable.”

DOC Aoraki/Mount Cook Operations Manager Sally Jones said the area remains too unstable for ground crews to access or for a recovery operation to be attempted. “This is a tragic outcome, and our thoughts are with the climbers’ family and friends,” she said. “The Linda Glacier is an unforgiving alpine environment. Conditions can change rapidly, and even highly experienced climbers are exposed to unexpected hazards including icefall, crevasses, avalanches, and extreme weather.”

Inspector Walker said Police would consider a recovery operation if warmer weather allows. “Sadly, for now, we can’t reach them and they lie in rest on the maunga, and our sympathy is with their whānau.”

Police and DOC noted the RECCO SAR helicopter detector can scan large areas quickly to find people equipped with RECCO reflectors. Two such helicopter detectors are now available in New Zealand, including one in Canterbury. People heading into the outdoors are urged to carry a reliable way to communicate their location and intentions, such as a Personal Locator Beacon or an inReach device, with avalanche transceivers recommended for alpine travel.