Climber died trying to find shelter

Mr Hensen was alone on the mountain range

A West Yorkshire climber died on a mountain range in New Zealand trying to find shelter, police have said.

Iain Hjalmar Hansen, 26, of Shipley, fell and died from multiple injuries while climbing in an area of the Southern Alps known as the Copland Ridge in the Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park.

A police spokesman in New Zealand said Mr Hansen fell on his first day climbing, as he was trying to get to a night shelter.

His body was recovered by helicopter on Monday and taken to the nearby city of Timaru on the South Island where a postmortem was carried out.

It appears that Mr Hansen actually missed the ridge that he should have gone up to get to the shelter

New Zealand police spokesman

A search and rescue operation was launched on 12 May when Mr Hansen failed to return to the flat he shared with friends in Queenstown, New Zealand.

His parents, who live in Shipley, were informed and arrangements have been made to fly the body home to the UK.

The New Zealand police spokesman said Mr Hansen's parents were "very distraught".

Mr Hansen, an outdoor pursuits instructor who was on a working holiday, had set out alone on the three to four day climbing trip in the icy mountains, 418 miles south of the capital, Wellington.

The spokesman said: "It appears that Mr Hansen actually missed the ridge that he should have gone up to get to the shelter.

"He was either still going up or trying to traverse across the top of the ridge when he fell.

'Experienced climber'

"Though anyone venturing out on such an expedition would need climbing experience it is not a difficult route and not uncommon for people to attempt it alone."

Mr Hansen, who had been in the country for four months, was considered a reasonably experienced climber and had the right equipment with him, including ice axes, crampons and a climbing helmet.

His mother Liz said her son had vowed to live life to the limit after his close friend Jenson Marriott died of cancer in 1998. The pair had been climbing partners.

She said: "He was deeply affected by Jenson's death. From that point on he decided he was going to live his life to the limit.

"He told us, `Right, I am going to live every day to the full'. And he died doing what he loved most."