The search for three missing climbers on Aoraki/Mt Cook remains on hold and Sevu Reece has been discharged without conviction following an incident at a Cup Day party last year.
Three foreign climbers, including Americans Kurt Blair and Carlos Romero, are missing on Aoraki Mt Cook.
Police say they have grave concerns for the trio and search efforts have been paused due to bad weather and will not continue until tomorrow.
Blair, an internationally certified mountain guide, is being remembered as humble and compassionate by friends and family.
A long-time friend and colleague of one of the three climbers missing on Aoraki Mt Cook says his family is “absolutely shattered” about his disappearance and has paid tribute to a “genuine, authentic human”.
The three climbers were visiting New Zealand before being reported overdue to return from their planned ascent of Aoraki Mt Cook on Monday.
They flew into Plateau Hut at 3.30pm on Saturday, planning to summit Aoraki Mt Cook via Zurbriggen Ridge, but they did not make their flight out planned for 8.30am on Monday and were subsequently reported overdue.
A tribute on social media by Colorado’s Silverton Avalanche School for Blair, a father of two, said the party was presumed deceased while climbing the mountain.
The school’s executive director Michael Ackerman told the Herald that Blair’s family and the climbing community were “shattered” by the news.
Ackerman said he had been contacted by the lead of the search and rescue efforts, in a bid to possibly leverage emergency communication plans used in Colorado.
Kurt Blair, of Durango, Colorado, is one of three tourists missing on Aoraki Mt Cook.
“They wanted to know if I could send a message to Kurt’s satellite device and see if he had real-time tracking enabled. The team there on the ground were trying to get a location on this climbing party,” he said.
But as days passed, Ackerman said authorities in New Zealand believed the group had suffered a fatal fall in terrain.
“It’s confusing to us because nobody wants to give up hope here, but we’re also trying to balance out with a bit of pragmatism of what we’ve been told,” he said.
Ackerman said the Durango, Colorado, community was “shattered” and Blair’s family were trying to circle close and get their arms around each other.
“He’s got two beautiful, young men who are his sons that he loved more than anything in the world. They’re absolutely shattered... what do you do with news like this? They had a super strong relationship with their dad and now there’s this mystery.”
Ackerman described Blair, who he had known as a friend and colleague for almost 20 years, as “both personally and professionally accomplished”.
“What I can say about him as a human being is that he was the most humble, compassionate and patient person. He was a gentle soul, he was ever the teacher. A real genuine, authentic human.”
He added that Blair was an internationally certified mountain guide who was a favourite in the mountain guiding community.
Kurt Blair, pictured on Kyjo Ri in Nepal in March 2023, is presumed deceased after going missing on Aoraki Mt Cook on December 2.
Ackerman said he ran into Blair in October, when he shared news about his trip to New Zealand.
“One thing is for sure with Kurt, if he said he was going to a country, it probably involved a grand adventure and most definitely involved mountain climbing.”
Another friend of Blair’s, Laura Lisowski, told the Herald she had climbed many places with many people around the world, but never had a guide or person in general made such an impression on her as Blair.
“He was an extremely dynamic individual. Quiet at times, unassuming, full of wisdom – you would wait with bated breath for how he would respond, or for a witty remark.
“But most of all, he was incredibly balanced and kind. Ego didn’t exist in the mountains with Kurt in the same way it does with so many other mountain folks. He just genuinely wanted people to become the best climbers they could be and explore every corner of the earth,” Lisowski said.
She said Blair had pursued many avenues in life, but only became an officially certified International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA) guide in his 50s.
“Passion, adventure and stoke know no age. His life was truly just beginning, which was why it was such an enormous loss.”
A police spokesperson told the Herald this morning the search remains on pause as “the weather is still not co-operating”.
The three men, who were attempting to summit, were due to complete their climb at 8.30am on Monday but did not meet their prearranged transport, police said.
“Police search and rescue and Department of Conservation search and rescue are working together to locate the three men,” police said.
Aoraki area commander Inspector Vicki Walker said a helicopter and specialist search and rescue personnel searched on the mountain throughout the afternoon and into the evening until “weather conditions deteriorated”.
Walker said they would be working with DoC to assess the weather and determine whether search efforts were able to continue.
Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.
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