The family of a young Canberra man who police believe died while skiing in a remote area in the Snowy Mountains are devastated, police say.
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A body believed to be that of a missing Canberra man has been retrieved from a remote area in the Snowy Mountains after he vanished on Saturday.
The 23-year-old skier was identified as Andrew Seton. He is believed to have died after he was missing for three nights in Kosciusko National Park.
The head of the NSW Monaro police district, Superintendent John Klepczarek, said the skier's body had been retrieved and was being conveyed back to Canberra for a post mortem examination.
He had spent much of Tuesday afternoon with the man's family, who he said were "devastated" by the news and were requesting privacy.
Superintendent Klepczarek was unwilling to speculate as to what may have happened.
"Whether he [the deceased] has slipped and fallen, or tried to ski his way out of a situation, it's very hard to tell," he said.
"However, he was up in a pretty extreme part of the mountains."
The senior officer said that retrieving the body had been a very difficult task given the mountainous terrain, the height and weather conditions at the remote Watsons Crags - a back country skiing area.
"Any time you are putting a helicopter into those sorts of conditions, it requires considerable planning and risk assessment," he said.
"As good as our pilots are, it was a tricky retrieval."
Police announced on Tuesday afternoon that they had discovered a body while searching for Mr Seton in the Snowy Mountains.
NSW Police said officers aboard a PolAir helicopter spotted a person in a remote area of Watsons Crags on Monday afternoon, however, due to steep terrain and hazardous weather conditions helicopters were unable to land or use winching capabilities.
The operation was suspended for the day and resumed on Tuesday, with the arrival of PolAir carrying specialist police trained in alpine rescue.
The officers were winched down to the ground, where the body of a man was located. On Tuesday evening, the body was formally identified as that of Mr Senton.
Mr Seton last made contact with his family on Saturday morning at about 10am, sending photos of himself in the show and "showing him in good spirits".
He told them he planned to ski the back country of Kosciuszko National Park.
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The alarm was raised when he failed to return. Police found Mr Seton's car at a carpark in Guthega late on Saturday.
The experienced cross-country skier was believed to be carrying a personal locator beacon, limited day supplies and adequate equipment for back-country conditions.
