Wānaka-based mountain guide Thomas Vialletet has been remembered as a devoted father, husband and respected member of New Zealand’s guiding community after he died alongside an American client while attempting to summit Aoraki Mt Cook on Monday night.
The pair, part of a four-person traverse team, fell near the summit and were later recovered after extensive overnight searches.
Tributes on a Givealittle page describe Vialletet, originally from the French Alps and a highly qualified IFMGA guide, as a kind and influential mentor whose loss leaves his partner Danielle and their two young children facing both profound grief and financial hardship. A Givealittle page seeking community donations for the family has been set up.
Police and the New Zealand Mountain Guides Association have confirmed an investigation will take place, with support now focused on the affected families.
My heart goes out to the two little people without a daddy tonight. Utterly f*ckin terrible 😞