A brief break in cloud cover around Mt Aspiring this morning has allowed an unsuccessful helicopter search of the slopes for a missing Australian climber.
Weather conditions soon worsened again and the helicopter was required to return to its Wanaka base shortly after 9am today.
A 29-year-old Australian man activated a locater beacon just after midday Tuesday, July 31, on Mount Aspiring National Park, after he was 24 hours overdue from a climb.
Now two days later, poor weather conditions continue to hamper the search, with alpine cliff rescue crews and helicopters remaining on standby.
Two search crew members remain on Mt Aspiring - one at Mt Aspiring Hutt and one at French Ridge Hutt, where the man's belongings were found.
Southern Lakes rescue helicopter team said there are grave concerns for the climber's safety after today's aborted helicopter search effort.
"As well as the poor weather conditions, there is a high risk of avalanches that is hampering the search assets from reaching the climber’s position," search and rescue officer Geoff Lunt said.
On Tuesday night temperatures dropped to -9 degrees on the mountain, and search crews discovered the man's sleeping bag, wet weather gear and cooker at a hut called French Ridge, along a difficult path on the mountain.
The weather forecast for today is heavy rain, some thunderstorms, northerly winds of 50-60 km an hour and the temperature at 1800m on the mountain is between -2 and 0 degrees.
An update on the search effort is expected sometime this afternoon.
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