Mountaineering Tragedy Feared as 3 Climbers Go Missing on New Zealand’s Mount Cook

2 American and one Canadian climbers failed to report for their flight home. The search for the three individuals continues

Peak of Mount Cook / Photoholgic on Unsplash

While attempting to scale the tallest mountain in New Zealand, three experienced climbers have tragically gone missing. 56-year-old Kurt Blair from Colorado and 50-year-old Carlos Romero from California were joined by a fellow Canadian climber whose name is not available to the public as of now.

According to the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), both American climbers are certified alpine guides with several years of experience. The trio flew to a hut that stood partway up the mounatin on Saturday and were reported missing on Monday after missing the deadline of the rendesvous point with their prearranged mode of transportation.

After having been reported missing, searchers found several items of climbing gear believed to belong to the men, but nothing else.

Dubbed the tallest mountain in New Zealand, Aoraki Mount Cook stands at 12,218 feet (3,724 meters) and is part of the Southern Alps, a mountain range that runs along the entire length of New Zealand's South Island. The peak is a popular destination for experienced climbers due to the challenge that the terrain brings. The deep crevasses, and avalanche risk along with flighty weather does make it a true challenge, albeit a risky one. Since the start of the 20th century more than 240 deaths have been recorded on the mountain as well as in the surrounding national park.

All this to now know that these experienced climbers have gone missing makes the situation even more daunting. Search parties spent all of Monday looking for any sign of Blair, Romero or the unnamed collegue, but to no avail. The search was called off on Tuesday due to worsening weather conditions, but will continue once the rain and snow let up.

"Weather conditions are likely to prevent any further search activity until Thursday this week, however police will continue to moniter and assess the conditions," Aoraki Area Commander, Vicki Walker reported in a statement.

Although the search will continue, the outlook is bleak. The Silverton Avalanche School, based in Colorado, posted on their Facebook account with a statement regarding the news and the memory of their colleague.

"We received notification from NZ authorities that the climbers appear to have taken a fatal fall from high upon the peak," reads the post. "Gear and equipment found from the party has helped SAR piece together the tragedy although remote, technical and heavily glaciated terrain coupled with deteriorating weather has prevented a recovery of the climbers."

The post continued to share the qualities that Blair exhibited both on the mountain and in every day life. The comment section is filled with students and colleagues alike praising the talent of the climber.

"Anyone who shared time with Kurt in the mountains knows that his calm demeanor and positive presence ran counter to the rough edges and sharp tongues so often exemplified by the hard scrabble ranks of mountain guides. He was the nicest guy you’d ever share a rope or trail or skin track with, and his humility, competence and polite nature made him a client and student favorite."

The investigation of these three men is ongoing and the police wil continue to work with the U.S. and Canadian embassies to support the families of the climbers with the hope that they will be found and brought home to their loved ones.