Updated on: November 25, 2025 / 4:05 PM EST / CBS/AP
Two climbers from the same party have died on Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest peak, while two others were rescued, authorities said. Police said one of the deceased was a U.S. citizen; the other was an internationally recognized guide and member of the New Zealand Mountain Guides Association.
Police Area Commander Inspector Vicki Walker said rescue specialists and government teams recovered the bodies late Tuesday local time. Officials are coordinating with the U.S. consulate, and a New Zealand coroner will conduct an investigation.
Sgt. Kevin McErlain told The Timaru Herald the two had been roped together when they fell near the summit. Authorities were alerted late Monday night local time that four climbers required assistance on the South Island peak. Two members of the group were airlifted by helicopter in the early hours of Tuesday and were uninjured, Walker said. Search helicopters continued through the night and located the two deceased climbers hours later.
Aoraki rises to 12,218 feet and is part of the Southern Alps, the glaciated range that spans New Zealand’s South Island. The village of Mount Cook at the mountain’s base is a popular spot for domestic and international visitors. The ascent is technically demanding and hazardous because of crevasses, avalanches, rapidly changing weather and moving glaciers.
More than 240 deaths have been recorded on Aoraki and in the surrounding national park since the early 20th century; dozens of people who vanished on the mountain have never been found. In December 2024, New Zealand authorities concluded a search for three climbers believed to have died on Aoraki — two Americans, Kurt Blair, 56, of Colorado, and Carlos Romero, 50, of California, both certified alpine guides, and a Canadian — after personal items suggested they had fallen.
The latest fatalities follow a string of recent deaths on major peaks worldwide. Earlier this month, an avalanche struck a camp on Mount Yalung Ri in Nepal, killing five foreign climbers and two guides at roughly 16,070 feet. In recent weeks and months, climbers have also died in incidents on El Capitan in Yosemite, Kyrgyzstan’s highest mountain, K2, and elsewhere, underscoring the persistent risks of high-altitude and technical mountaineering.