"I walked past David but only because there were far more experienced and effective people than myself to help him."

He said he was in front of Sharp for only a few seconds but his discovery prompted a lot of debate and radio traffic with the base camp about what could be done to help him.

He said Mt Everest was one of the harshest environments in the world.

"It was a phenomenally extreme environment. It was an incredibly cold day. When we stood on the top at 7am it was minus 38 (degrees Celsius)."

He said the cold hard facts of life were that there was little they could do.

It would have killed Sharp to warm him, he said.

Inglis said they had been in contact with Sharp's family and they now wanted to give them some privacy.

His father John Sharp, of Glendale, Guisborough in England was reported to have said David was "a great son, a very able climber and we loved him."

His mother Linda Sharp said Russell Brice, who led Inglis' expedition, and a sherpa had tried to help David but it was too late.

"One of Russell's sherpas checked on him and there was still life there. He tried to give him oxygen but it was too late.

"Your responsibility is to save yourself ¨C not to try and save anybody else," she told the north east of England newspaper the Northern Echo.

"I can't say how grateful I am to the sherpa and to Russell," she said.

Inglis said at that height it was impossible to rescue a climber.

The mountain was littered with bodies.

"You have to step over so many. You have to physically step over so many."

Inglis said there were at least nine bodies on the route he took to the summit.

"Part of the route is called Rainbow Valley because when you look down it all you can see is the colouration of people's suits," he said.

He would not talk about what Sir Edmund had said and said he was not sure if it would achieve anything to discuss the situation with him.

However, he said he was very happy with what his team did on the mountain.

"We were the unofficial search and rescue team for the whole of Everest this season. We have been asked not to speak about the people we rescued because it is their own business.

"At times our medic's tent looked like a MASH unit" (the American medical team made famous by the television series about the Korean war).

Inglis said an expert had told him he needed to expend about 60 per cent more effort to climb than an able bodied person.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said it was "a very complex tragedy"

"I note that the family of the climber has not said that others should have stopped for him.

"From my personal point of view, I have considerable sympathy for what Sir Edmund Hillary has said."

Despite that, it was hard to see what Inglis himself could have done, she said.

"What Sir Ed has said is something many people relate to, but he's probably also reflecting the fact that ethics around mountaineering may well change over time.

"It's a complex tragedy with a lot of issues you have to weigh up when life is in the balance."