THE Sydney man who died after being buried in an avalanche while skiing in New Zealand has been named as Roger Greville.
THE 58-year-old initially recovered after being pulled from avalanche debris near Queenstown on Monday afternoon, but died a short time later.
He was one of a party of five on a guided heli-skiing trip run by Southern Lakes Heliski, near the Devil's Staircase on the Hector Mountains.
The company's director Julian Field said it was "a tough day" and the company had suspended its operations while the tragedy is investigated.
"Heli-skiing is not dangerous however, like any adventure activity, it carries inherent risk.
"We take our responsibilities very seriously which is reflected in the fact that this is the first incident of this kind for our company and its predecessors in over 30-years of operations," he said in a statement.
"Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of the deceased, Mr Roger Greville."
Mr Field said a Southern Lakes Heliski pilot had called the operations team at 2.38pm on Monday to raise the alarm, saying a group of skiers had been caught in an avalanche on the Hector Mountains.
He said one skier had been buried in snow and emergency response procedures were activated.
"At 2.48pm, we received confirmation that the skier had been located," he said.
"However, despite the considerable efforts of guides and paramedics the skier was pronounced dead at the scene some time later."
The trip was "part of our normal operations".
The cause of his death is still unknown and police have referred it to the coroner.
A post-mortem examination will be carried out on Tuesday.
Several of Mr Greville's relatives are flying to Queenstown on Tuesday and have requested privacy.
Regional avalanche forecaster Chris Cochrane said strong southerly winds had caused "wind slab" conditions, where there was very stiff snow, causing tension in the snow pack.