The death of a woman mountain climbing on Mt Ruapehu was a “freak accident” that happened during a friends’ trip, the chairman of the mountain clubs association says.

Former Tauranga woman Wednesday Davis died from a fall as she was climbing the central North Island mountain on Saturday.

Davis’ friends remembered the promising biologist as a lovely and warm person, passionate about the ocean and sea life.

The chairman of the Tukino Mountain Clubs Association, Nigel Seebeck, who was also the incident controller for Saturday’s emergency response, calls Wednesday's fall a freak accident.

He understands she was on a trip with her friends.

Nigel says the mountain was covered with ice when the incident happened. He says conditions on Ruapehu are challenging and necessitates a high level of skill to remain safe.

“I believe they [Davis and her friends] were on a southerly-facing slope, which based on our weather patterns at Tukino, would have been very hard and icy,” he says.

Wednesday Davis died in a climbing accident on Mt Ruapehu on June 29.

“Conditions on the mountain probably weren’t that great.”

The NZ Mountain Safety Council says it's devastating to hear of Wednesday's death and also extends its condolences to her loved ones.

Council chief executive Mike Daisley says they are still working with other authorities to understand the exact circumstances of her accident.

“Presently, early winter season conditions exist across our alpine areas. With these conditions come additional and varied challenges, compared with summertime,” says Mike.

“Currently, low (shallow) snow levels mean that rocks continue to protrude above/through the snow surface. These create a significant hazard in the case of a fall and increase the chances of traumatic injuries if someone was to slide uncontrolled down a slope.

“Our alpine areas frequently experience variable weather conditions, including severe winds and freezing temperatures, and these are common year-round. Specifically, on Mt Ruapehu, strong winds and below-freezing temperatures are commonplace, often creating very firm or icy snow surface conditions.

“These icy conditions create a significant hazard for users and mean most terrain becomes a high-consequence environment. Icy conditions make stopping (arresting) a fall or slip very difficult.”

Mike says hikers venturing into the alpine environment need to do careful planning, beware of the variable early season conditions and need the correct equipment.

Nigel agrees, saying people need to take into consideration if it has rained recently and to make sure individuals in a climbing group have adequate skill levels.

“For example, if you’re going into an area where the slopes are above 30 degrees and there is likely to be ice, you must be good with an ice pick and be very strong with your feet in crampons.”

Police say a group of people were climbing on the eastern side of Mt Ruapehu, near Whangaehu Hut about 11am on Saturday.

“During the climb, a woman in the group slipped and fell a significant distance, suffering serious injuries,” says a police spokesperson.

Wednesday Davis.

“Emergency services, the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter, members of the Ruapehu Alpine Rescue Organisation and Tukino Ski Field staff responded immediately.

“Sadly, despite their best efforts, the woman died at the scene.”

Police say Tukino skifield staff and local iwi Ngati Hikairo ke Tongariro are supporting the other group members.

“Our thoughts are with the woman’s family and climbing companions at this difficult time.

The University of Auckland Marine Science Society has also posted a tribute to the “wonderful” Wednesday on their Facebook page.

“Wednesday was our founder and the heart of the fire at UMSS.

“She completed her Undergraduate, PGDip and MSc within the University of Auckland and within the greater Auckland area had a multitude of jobs supporting the community.

“She was a beautiful person inside and out, and we are all greatly saddened by the loss of her far too soon.”

-NZ Herald.