A Wanaka search and rescue team has retrieved human remains from Mt Aspiring, believed to be those of a climber missing for more than 40 years.
The remains, found by trampers, are thought to be of Australian climber Terry Jordan, 30, who went missing with companion Marc Weinstein while climbing the mountain in 1978.
A newspaper report from that year said that on December 17 one body and two backpacks were found by searchers at the base of the south-west ridge of Mt Aspiring.
Search and rescue teams had been alerted that the two experienced climbers were a week overdue in Wanaka after having last been seen at French Ridge Hut.
At the time, avalanche debris was found in the area. High winds and snow showers hampered efforts to retrieve the body.
On December 26, 1978, it was reported that the body of Weinstein had been recovered.
Police said then they held no hopes for Jordan’s survival and that it was likely he had fallen down a crevice or been covered by avalanche debris.
Police have declined to comment on the recent retrieval or remains.
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In a report in The Canberra Times in 1978 friend Fritz Schaumberg said that both men had been “very good bushwalkers, and very determined, but I think anyone who goes over there to climb should first get some experience with a climbing course”.
Jordan was a former geologist turned librarian and was employed by the Australian National University at the time.
Weinstein, an American living in Australia, had just completed the first year of a geology course at the same university.
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