Marty Schmidt, 53, and son Denali, 25, shared the same passion in mountain climbing. The father-and-son tandem had wanted to become the first father and son to reach the second highest peak of the world - K2.

However, the 8,611-metre-tall mountain, the highest peak in the Karakoam Range over Pakistan, India and China, became selfish for their goal.

Sadly, the father and son died of an avalanche on Tuesday, July 30, 2013.

Family members decided that K2 will be the most peaceful resting place for both of them. Their bodies will remain there, buried in snow.

In a report from The New Zealand Herald, friends talked about Mr Schmidt fondly.

According to friends and family, Mr Schmidt was so passionate about climbing and fond of scaling peaks. Hence, their deaths were a total shock for other climbers because of the experience and expertise that Mr Schmidt had. He was a professional guide and a very skilled climber. In fact, Mr Schmidt was the oldest New Zealander to reach the top of Mt Everest in 2012.

"With all his experience and skills, the rumours simply couldn't be true... We all know that mountaineering comes with risk, especially at high altitude, but somehow Marty seemed invincible," one of his closest friends said.

"He was an inspiration to many climbers and he had a unique, holistic view towards guiding," said New Zealand Alpine Club manager Sam Newton.

Mr Newton also shared that Mr Schmidt had always been proud of Denali who took after him when it comes to climbing dangerous peaks.

In a report from The Press, Mr Newton talked about Mr Schmidt's love for New Zealand.

"He loved New Zealand. It was really his adopted home. He was a highly sought after guide around the world and had long-distance relationship with clients - some more than 20 years... he was extremely physically gifted, very driven. He was really just a prolific successful high-altitude climber. His loss is a huge tragedy for the new Zealand community."

More colleagues spoke of the father-and-son tandem with regrets.

"The deaths of a father and son is a tragedy in itself but compounded even further by the fact that Marty and Denali ... were very well known, highly experienced and extremely strong mountaineers - the last people many would expect to be killed on a mountain," British mountaineer Adrian Hayes said. Mr Hayes was one among the mountaineers who joined the father and son in their climb of K2. Mr Hayes retreated when the danger of avalanche was apparent.

"I keep thinking, he's disappeared before ... he's going to reappear ... Denali had been just getting going in the field. He was just young, wondering what he was going to do with his life, and he was getting sucked in doing exciting things with Marty," aspiring guides director Whitney Thurlow said. Ms Thurlow had worked with Mr Schmidt for more than 10 years.

Ms Thurlow said that Denali was about to become a fully qualified New Zealand mountain guide with only an avalanche course to complete.

"He was full of energy, an amazing person, always very positive, very encouraging, able to relate to anybody no matter their background. He was ambitious, but you have to be ambitious to achieve all that he did. It's a huge loss. He's brilliant and a fantastic guide, the loss will be keenly felt." Anne Braun-Elwert, director of the Tekapo-based Alpine Recreation said of Mr Schmidt who guided the company freelance for more than 10 years.

Mr Schmidt was survived by his wife, Giannina Cantale, and daughter Sequoia.