Bad weather has again hampered the search for a climber stranded on Mount Aspiring near Wanaka.
The Australian man set off a distress beacon high up on the mountain at lunchtime on Tuesday and a rescue operation was launched.
Thick cloud has shrouded the upper reaches of the Matukituki Valley and Mount Aspiring for much of the day, frustrating rescuers who are describing the conditions there as horrible.
"There's very strong winds, there's heavy rain or snow," says Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) search coordinator Mike Roberts.
"One of the helicopters has made multiple attempts to get to the beacon location, but because of the weather he's been unsuccessful."
The climber is a 29-year-old Army captain who left his car at Raspberry Flat on Friday and walked into the area. He planned to summit the 3000m-high mountain solo and be back by Sunday.
"We know he's fairly lightly equipped because his heavier gear was left at a hut whilst he attempted the climb," says Mr Roberts. "That's quite usual."
He says since the initial transmission from the distress beacon, they've been able to track the climber who they suspect has been trying to move around the exposed mountain to find shelter.
"They stopped for a period of 24 hours, and about 2:30pm on Wednesday we got an updated position, which suggests he's still moving."
Erik Bradshaw has climbed Mount Aspiring 12 times, and says whilst it's not unheard of to tackle a summit at this time of year, the dangers can be far greater.
"You have the additional risks of avalanche, of short days and the very cold temperatures - you really need to know your stuff to be doing anything in the high alpine at this time of year."
A rescue helicopter from Te Anau equipped with night vision equipment has been brought in to aid in the search in case a clear weather window opens up on Wednesday night and a rescue can be carried out.
Newshub.
