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Bad weather has put a halt to the search for a climber missing on Mt Aspiring.
Wanaka police search and rescue coordinator Sergeant Aaron Nicholson said the search was being put on hold until Wednesday or Thursday.
He said given the weather and safety factors around continuing the search, there was diminishing hope of finding the man alive.
Alan Leslie Beck, 49, a New Zealander living in Melbourne, is believed to have fallen on the mountain on Saturday while he and three others were on a climbing expedition.
The group had been camping at Bevan Col on the mountain for two days because of the bad weather when Mr Beck disappeared.
One of the climbers Cameron Mulvey, who runs a Canterbury Mountaineering Club lodge, said he believed poor visibility might have caused Mr Beck to take a wrong turn.
"It was just a very bizarre experience. He just vanished," Mr Mulvey told The Press.
"He wouldn't do anything reckless."
Mr Mulvey, 32, and his climbing partner, Anna Ruotsi met Mr Beck and a friend called Andy at Colin Todd Hut on Monday last week and continued climbing together over the following week.
The group planned to descend on Friday but were hit by a blizzard, forcing them to camp out in the Bevan Col area.
On Sunday morning, Mr Mulvey said, Mr Beck left the tent to stretch his legs and scout the descent.
However, when he failed to return after a few hours, the party went looking for him.
"I descended the majority of the route," Mr Mulvey said.
"I found his crampon tracks on the way down but couldn't locate any fresh tracks in the scree of the rocks."
Mr Mulvey said he and Andy searched for about four hours and were preparing to climb to Todd Hut to call for help when search and rescue staff, concerned the group was overdue, arrived.
Two helicopters and eight ground searches scoured the mountain on Sunday, but police said the poor weather conditions had cut short yesterday's search and searchers might not get back to the area until Wednesday.
- NZPA
