Australian climbers killed after South Island mountain fall

Two Australian climbers have fallen to their deaths in New Zealand’s Aoraki/Mount Cook national park.

The pair, named as Australians Stuart Jason Hollaway, 42, and his partner Dale Amanda Thistlethwaite, 35, had been travelling and climbing in New Zealand since early December 2015.

The experienced mountaineers, who were last heard from via a radio call on 28th December, were found on New Year’s Day at the bottom of a steep face on the eastern slopes of the 3,300 metre high Mount Silberhorn.

Police said the pair had been camping high up the mountain, the seventh-highest in New Zealand, but failed to return from their climb, sparking a search.

Having discovered the bodies, Mid/South Canterbury Police Area Commander Dave Gaskin said it was clear they had fallen a considerable distance, adding that Hollaway was a highly respected and experienced mountain guide while Thistlethwaite was an experienced climber.

He stated “his (Holloway’s) name was well-known in climbing circles and he's done a lot of climbing throughout New Zealand."

It took four rescuers over two hours to recover the bodies of the two climbers, from the bottom of a steep face on the eastern slopes of Mount Silberhorn.

Image: Mount Silberhorn

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