A ground expedition to retrieve the bodies of five climbers in the Indian Himalayas could begin as early as Friday after an aerial mission was postponed for a second day due to inclement weather.
The bodies were spotted 500m below where their eight-member international team, including an Australian, was hit by an avalanche.
Sydney mountaineer Ruth McCance is missing presumed dead on Nanda Devi East along with British team leader Martin Moran, three other UK climbers, two men from the United States and an Indian liaison officer.
High-resolution photographs taken during an aerial mission has identified five bodies as well as a number of other personal effects such as rucksacks.
It's feared the three other climbers could be buried beneath the avalanche.
A helicopter mission to recover the bodies was postponed for a second day on Thursday due to inclement weather in the upper region of the eastern Nanda Devi area, the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) has been told.
Mountaineer Ruth McCance, from Sydney, was on an expedition that was hit by an avalanche. Source: Facebook
It's forecast the weather will remain inclement for another three or four days.
At this point, it doesn't look possible for helicopters to be involved in the retrieval of the bodies, IMF spokesman Amit Chowdhury said.
Authorities have a window of 10 to 15 days to conduct the retrieval, depending on when the monsoon season reaches the Himalayas.
"It would make it more difficult and dangerous, therefore if we were not able to retrieve them before the monsoon hits then we'll have to wait for at least two months before we can go into that area again," Mr Chowdhury told AAP on Thursday.
However, if an IMF ground expedition is approved it could begin on Friday or Saturday.
Personnel and resources would then be moved from the current station in the Pithoragarh district to the Bageshwar district.
The ground team would then attempt to reach the climbers from the Pindari Glacier, which would take at least four days.
The further three missing climbers have not been sighted, Mr Chowdhury said.
