Two climbers have died on New Zealand’s highest mountain, Aoraki. Late on Monday night, a party of four climbers in trouble contacted the authorities. Early the following morning, a helicopter successfully evacuated two climbers, who were uninjured. Another helicopter arrived, and both helicopters began searching for the other two climbers.
At around 7 am local time, searchers from the Department of Conservation Aoraki SAR team found the bodies of the two missing people. During an attempted summit of Aoraki, the pair, connected by the rope, had fallen to their deaths from the west ridge of the mountain.
Conditions on the mountain were calm and clear, but the helicopters initially struggled to retrieve the bodies, which, still connected, were not easily accessible. The climbers’ remains have since been recovered.
The group of four was close to the summit when two of them fell. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
No margin for error
The New Zealand Mountain Guides Association (NZMGA) has shared that one of the deceased was Thomas Vialletet, an internationally recognized guide who had been guiding in New Zealand for over a decade. He was leading a U.S. client at the time.
NZMGA president Anna Keeling described Vialletet as “careful and diligent,” with plenty of experience on Aoraki. But as Keeling told Radio New Zealand, Aoraki is considered the most difficult climb in the country, with “no margin for error.”
For Keeling, the news was shocking; Vialletet had just summited Aoraki two weeks earlier. He “knew the route well, and knew the conditions well this year.”
Also known as Mount Cook, Aoraki is a 3,724m peak in the South Island’s Southern Alps. It has a long mountaineering history, including a 1948 ascent by Sir Edmund Hillary. But it’s considered a challenging climb, especially with its frequently changing weather.
In addition, parties often climb in the dark on the snow and ice. This ensures firm snow but reduces visibility. This was the case with the four climbers, who were attempting to summit on Monday night.
With at least one fatality nearly every season, Aoraki is New Zealand’s deadliest mountain, as well as its highest.
Though searchers were able to find and recover the bodies in this case, conditions on Aoraki don’t always make this possible. In 2024, three climbers who went missing on Aoraki were eventually declared dead after an extensive search. As in this most recent incident, a fatal fall was the suspected cause.
