Bay Area mountain climber/guide among 3 missing after climb on New Zealand's tallest mountain

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The whereabouts of Livermore mountain climber/guide Carlos Romero, known as Kique, are unknown after him and two others went missing on New Zealand's highest mountain.

Search efforts are not happening right now because of the bad weather conditions including strong rain, wind, and wind chill. New Zealand is a day ahead of California. They weren't able to search Tuesday or Wednesday because of the conditions but are hoping to get back on the mountain Thursday.

Kique Romero lives in Livermore and has been climbing mountains his entire life. He's a tour guide with SWS Mountain Guides. He was not on a guided tour during this trip.

Kique grew up in Venezuela but has studied at UC Berkeley and previously worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab for many years, according to his online bio.

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As to what happened, it is unclear. Romero and two others were supposed to leave on Monday morning after climbing to the summit of Aoraki/Mount Cook, but they never showed. Several climbing-related items, believed to belong to the three men, were found Monday during the limited time that authorities were able to search by helicopter. A nearby avalanche school posted on Facebook that authorities told them, "The climbers appear to have taken a fatal fall from high upon the peak." Authorities have not confirmed that.

ABC7 News talked with mountain climber/guide Caleb Burns, who has worked with Kique for the last eight years.

"Hearing the news definitely, I'm still processing. He's run trips in Japan, run trips over in Europe, South America... you know, all over the world. He's a very experienced climber and very experienced guide. The world, really the guiding community, has really lost someone special. One of my business partners, I think he put it so eloquently when he said the sun came up today but it's not quite shining as bright. It's a little bit dimmer today," said Burns.

ABC7 News reporter J.R. Stone messaged with several people who know Kique Tuesday night. One of whom said that Romero guided them last summer, saying, "He is a highly trained guide who I am forever grateful for spending time with in the mountains."