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The stranded climber who died on Aoraki/Mt Cook this morning succumbed to the cold just hours before rescuers managed to reach him and his companion, who survived.
Senior Constable Brent Swanson said guide Kiyoshi Ikenouchi, 49, had still been speaking as recently as 1am but died soon after.
Mr Ikenouchi and his client Hideaki Nara, 51, both from Tokyo, had been trapped on the mountain since last weekend.
The temperature in the area where the men were stranded was estimated to between - 20C and - 25C.
Bad weather had halted efforts to reach them but the extreme winds of recent days dropped enough for the rescue operation to take place today.
Mr Swanson said it was a harsh reality that rescuers could not get in sooner to save the second climber.
"It's the nature of the mountains and where they were is a very difficult place to rescue anyone from," he said.
"You expect optimum, conditions before you put staff at risk. We are comfortable with our decisions that we made during the week. The outcome isn't 100 per cent but it's 50 per cent."
It is believed the pair's tent was blown away in the wind some time on Wednesday. One of their sleeping bags had also been lost in the rough conditions.
The climbers were unaware of a pack of supplies and a radio which had been dropped from a helicopter to them.
"But it probably wouldn't have changed matters because we couldn't get in to get them anyway."
DOC area manager Richard MacNamara said it was "extremely hard" to know that Mr Ikenouchi died within hours of rescuers reaching him.
"The only good thing to come out of it is that at least there is some closure for the family."
Survivor traumatised
Mr Swanson said Mr Nara was suffering frostbite to his nose, face and ears and was extremely cold but not hypothermic.
"He's obviously pretty traumatised about what has happened. He's showing some spirit and he's obviously relatively traumatised when we first got him out, but he's sounding fine," Mr Swanson said.
He said Mr Nara was suffering dehydration as the pair had run out of water.
Christchurch hospital spokeswoman Rachel Solotti said Mr Nara had been admitted to hospital in a "comfortable condition".
She said his injuries were not life threatening.
Helicopter pilot Nigel Gee said the operation to retrieve the pair was "text book flying". He was able to partially land nearby.
"There was just a little bit of overhanging ice, I had to keep my eye on that, I didn't even really look at the ground at all, to tell you the truth."
The first operation to pick up Mr Nara was about 6am.
Rescuers said he was hunkered down in a hole in the fresh snow and was easy to spot.
"The guy basically got up and walked over and jumped in the helicopter, so that was all over in a minute," Mr Gee said.
"He was hunkered down. He wasn't really aware of our presence until we made a bit of noise. He gave us a wee wave and walked over and jumped in.
"He was walking pretty slowly. He needs a medal, actually. When he got in the machine he was fairly quiet and was just being given a little bit of TLC by the guys in the back."
Asked about the climber's expression when he was rescued, Mr Gee said: "He almost looked like he was smiling."
The helicopter ferried Mr Nara back to the Department of Conservation emergency services centre in Mt Cook village for a medical assessment before travelling back up the mountain about 6.50am.
Mr Gee said a straight-forward exercise to pick up Mr Ikenouchi's body and fly it back to the village.
The families of both men have been notified and Mr Swanson said they were making arrangements to travel to New Zealand.
Staff from the Japanese consulate arrived shortly after 6am at the rescue centre to assist.
Well equipped
The climbers had been attempting Mt Cook's Grand Traverse, climbing from the Hooker Valley to the South Peak, summiting from there, before heading down to Plateau Hut.
Police Inspector Dave Gaskin said the pair were very well equipped.
"Indications are that, if anything, they were over-equipped and that may have been one of the reasons why they were very slow in the first two days of their trip."
The slow progress meant they were caught out by a mountain storm and forced to bivouac at high altitude.
Mr Ikenouchi is the 69th climber known to have died on New Zealand's highest peak.
- With NZPA
