The body of a man believed to be a young English climber was recovered from the east face of Carrauntoohil, Ireland's highest mountain, yesterday morning.
Kerry Mountain Rescue began a search of the Macgillycuddy's Reeks shortly after first light.
Searchers found the body at the bottom of the east face of Carrauntoohil, overlooking the Hags Glen. The climber was last seen on Tuesday morning.
The man, in his early 20s, would appear to have fallen some 350m down a series of ledges. The search team believes that he may have made a navigational error.
"It's not a route we would have expected him to take given the position of his car on the western side," said Gerry Christie, one of the search party and a spokesman for the rescue service.
The rescue team believes the climber may have got to the summit, but rather than heading west he went east and hit steep terrain.
Mr Christie said the weather on Tuesday was wet and overcast, and this would not have helped navigation.
The man had set out alone to tackle the mountain from the western side.
He was last seen alive by a local farmer shortly before 11am on Tuesday.
Late on Wednesday night, when the climber failed to arrive as expected at the home of a relative in Co Waterford, rescue services were alerted.
The mountain search began yesterday, and a total of 30 members of the rescue team were involved.
Several attempts were made on Wednesday night to contact the missing man by mobile phone but to no avail.
Mr Christie said that the man's car was still in the Lough Acoose area from where he had set out. He had not returned to his accommodation in Killarney.
He said the man was well equipped, and had undertaken a mountain skills course.
However, he was alone, and one of the drawbacks of being alone was that there was no one to advise you if you made a navigational error.
Mr Christie warned climbers of the hazards of winter climbing.
These included short daylight, slippery conditions and rapidly changing weather conditions, particularly on higher ground.
Altitude also brought colder temperatures, and those setting out should be properly clad and equipped with navigational devices.
Relatives were travelling to Killarney from the UK last night, and are expected to formally identify the man.