Wellington  - A Japanese climber stranded for a week on Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest peak in its Southern Alps, was airlifted to safety by a helicopter early Friday morning, police said.

The man, who was not identifed, was described as "sick but able to walk." After the rescue, the helicopter returned to search for his climbing companion.

An officer said there was "considerable hope" the other man was still alive, though the tent the pair had sheltered in, 3,700-metres up the mountain, had been strafed by storms and gale force winds and was reportedly blown away during the night.

The storms had stopped earlier rescue attempts. Police inspector Dave Gaskin told Radio New Zealand that the helicopter took advantage of improved conditions at dawn to fly to the top of the mountain, where it found one of the climbers.

Kiyoshi Ikenouchi, 49, a mountain guide, and Hideaki Nara, 51, both from Tokyo, began their climb on November 26. The alarm was raised when they failed to return to the Mount Cook village on Saturday. (dpa)