Friends, Family Of Missing Mt Cook Climbers Look For Closure

Saturday, 7 December 2024, 7:20 pm
Article: RNZ

A friend of two of three people missing on Aoraki Mount Cook says it would help bring closure if local climbers are able to find them.

On Friday, the police called off the search for Americans Kurt Blair and Carlos Romero and an unnamed Canadian national who have been missing since 2 December.

Police said they believe the men took a fall while climbing around the mountain.

Fellow US climber Patrick Ormond, who lived in Colorado, said knowing what happened would help put the families' and friends' minds at ease.

"These guys basically vanished into thin air... and it's hard to wrap your head around that."

Ormond said there was a slim to none chance the trio would be found after five days, but there was always hope.

"If they had shown up - popped out of a snow cave or something ... [we] didn't figure that was gonna happen.

"There's always a little thought back there, like 'Maybe?' "

The men flew into Plateau Hut at 3.30pm last Saturday, planning to summit the mountain via Zurbriggen Ridge, but failed to meet their flight out.

Police said they would resume the search, however, if the final three weeks of the climbing season turned up any clues.

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