There are grave fears for the welfare of an Australian man missing on a New Zealand mountain.
The 29-year-old was reported missing on Monday after setting out for a solo climb of Mount Aspiring in the South Island on Friday.
For days, rescuers have been unable to reach the man's beacon, hampered by poor weather in the region.
Search teams on the ground have since found his car at a car park, and his heavier equipment at a hut, a Rescue Co-ordination Centre spokesman said.
"He's gone quite lightly equipped for climbing, it's quite standard practice: climbers will be lightly equipped, and just take some food and water so they move quickly, climb fast, get to the top and come back to the hut," he said.
"Unfortunately he seems to have been caught by the weather."
The man's beacon had stopped moving on Tuesday afternoon, but this was expected, given the weather conditions which had also forced ground teams to stop moving, the spokesman said.
"It's fair to say we have grave concerns."
A helicopter is on stand-by for a break in the weather.
While the forecast for coming days was poor, rescue teams were hopeful about a possible flying window on Wednesday afternoon.
