A memorial service is planned next week for Sydney mountaineer Ruth McCance, whose body is believed to be among those of seven climbers retrieved from the Indian Himalayas.
Ms McCance was part of an eight-member international mountaineering team that went missing during an expedition on Nanda Devi East, after being hit by an avalanche.
Paramilitary soldiers on Sunday located the bodies of seven of the eight climbers at an altitude of more than 5000 metres on the mountain.
While the bodies have not yet been identified, it's believed Ms McCance's body is among the seven.
Her husband Trent Goldsack said he had initially concluded he would never get his wife's remains back, given the difficulty Indian authorities had experienced with inclement weather and the remote location.
He had expected his wife would be "resting in the beautiful wild places that she needed to be in", Mr Goldsack said.
"When they found the bodies, at least, as sad as that was, we had an answer," he said.
His wife wasn't seeking an adrenaline rush by being in the Himalayas but was being "true to herself", Mr Goldsack said.
He said he will "always be married to her".
While it's unknown how long the process of bringing Ms McCance's body back to Australia will be, a memorial service will be held next week.
"A lot of people need something," Mr Goldsack said.
Veteran British mountaineer Martin Moran was leading the team, which included three other UK climbers, two men from the US and an Indian liaison officer as well as Ms McCance.
The plan for retrieving the bodies of the mountaineers is "a bit sketchy", Mr Goldsack said.
Once they have been brought down off the mountain, they will then be identified formally and autopsies will be conducted, he said.
Australian Associated Press
