Two Melbourne climbers who died in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand have been named as Stuart Jason Hollaway, 42, and Dale Amanda Thistlethwaite, 35.
The pair had been travelling and climbing in New Zealand since early   December 2015.
The couple were among the most experienced mountaineers in Australia and New Zealand and were honorary life members of the Melbourne University Mountaineering Club.  
Both were alpine and rock climbing guides and ran a company called Vertical World Mountain Guiding.
Mr Hollaway was a member of the International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations, taught avalanche awareness courses in New Zealand and was a specialist in ice-climbing. Mr Hollaway taught at Wesley College. 
The couple lived in East Brunswick.
The rescue effort
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 on Friday.
The couple had been missing since   December 28 in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park.
Four rescuers from the Aoraki/Mount Cook alpine rescue team left to recover the bodies of the climbers on Friday at 6pm and returned at 8.30pm.
Mid-South Canterbury area Commander Inspector Dave Gaskin said they were last heard from in a radio call on   December 28.
Enquiries indicated that the pair fell from near the top of the mountain early on   December 29.
The rescue team had to wait until late in the day on Friday to minimise the risk from melting ice.
"There is always an element of danger when operating below a helicopter in precarious conditions, but these guys train pretty hard and they do a lot of good work in minimising the risk and it's paid off," he said.
The rescue operation was carried out with a member of the rescue team attached on a long-line.
"He was taken to the scene, which was obviously incredibly steep, and he managed to excavate the bodies and attach them to the line and they flew them both out together," Commander Inspector Gaskin said. 
"The major difficulty was the amount of debris that was floating off the mountain."
The matter would now be referred to the coroner.
The pair were camping high in the mountain, and Commander Inspector Gaskin said it was clear that they had fallen "a considerable distance".
"They've fallen very close to the place they were camping.
"They were roped together, so one of them's come to grief and the other one has fallen with them."
Recovery was halted earlier in the day on Friday due to the amount of debris, rock, and ice falling off the mountain. The team had hoped that when the sun left the face of the mountain, a recovery operation could be attempted.
Commander Inspector Gaskin said it was a "typical accident" for high-altitude climbs, where the margin of error was very small.
"It's sad.
"The climbing community will be dismayed that this has happened."
'Our mountain brother'
New Zealand Mountain Guides Association vice president Jane Morris said Mr Hollaway would regularly take time out to share adventures with Ms Thistlethwaite.
"The care for her well-being in and out of the mountains was impeccable," she said.
"The guiding community is one large extended family and many of us will miss our mountain brother with his welcoming hug and quick humour."
She said Mr Hollaway was an outstanding guide and made sound decisions in the mountains.
"He was also an entertaining guide ... with an impressive story telling ability."
"His enthusiasm for coaching and mentoring younger climbers has long been appreciated by the Melbourne University Mountaineering Club and more recently he had begun assisting in the training process of new guides within the NZ Mountain Guides Association."
Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings released a statement offering condolences to the friends and families of the couple. 
"All Victorians are thinking of their families and love ones at this difficult time," Mr Jennings said. 
"We understand the Department of Foreign Affairs are providing assistance to the families."
A friend of the pair would have to formally identify the bodies.
The deaths mark the first of 2016 in the national park, but the third and fourth respectively since late   November.
Melbourne woman Nicola Anne Andrews, 29, fell 300 metres in the Aoraki-Mount Cook National Park, near the peak of the Footstool mountain, on   December 23.
A rescue helicopter was sent from Christchurch and airlifted her to the Aoraki-Mount Cook search and rescue base where she received medical treatment, but she later died of her injuries.
Stuff reporters