The effort to retrieve the body of a climber who fell to his death in the Remarkables near Queenstown yesterday began at 6am on Thursday.
Two climbers died on Wednesday when they fell hundreds of metres off a cliff, in an area known as the Grand Traverse.
The body of one of the climbers was recovered last night.
The pair were part of a guided tour group Mountaineering instructor and alpine rescue specialist Chris Prudden was leading another alpine tour near the bottom of the ridge.
He was one of the first on the scene.
Mr Prudden spoke to RNZ reporter Katie Todd shortly after leaving the Remarkables on Wednesday.
