In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the families of Ms Slater and Mr Newton said: “We are extremely grateful to members of the emergency services and search and rescue personnel who are searching for Rachel and Tim”.
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“Both are in a serious condition”.
He was airlifted to Belford Hospital in Fort William while his climbing companion was able to climb down the route in Staghorn Gully and walk, with help from rescuers, from the mountain.
The avalanche risk for the area was designated to be “considerable” on Wednesday.
Police have not confirmed which of the men has died.
A search was launched when they failed to return but efforts were thwarted by driving rain and strong winds.
Mountain Rescue Teams in the area have been conducting a search for the pair, and today brought in the assistance of the Coastguard helicopter. “It’s a bit unsafe in groups of twos or threes, so we’re really going to need to try and get a squad out tomorrow”.
Rachel Slater, 24, and Tim Newton, 27, who grew up in Stapleton, failed to return from a trek on Ben Nevis last weekend and treacherous conditions have hindered efforts to locate them.
The men were later found more than two miles east of the village of Durisdeer and airlifted to hospital. It is very possible.
A helicopter eventually managed to take off on Wednesday afternoon despite worsening conditions, but was instead diverted to the avalanche in North Lochaber.
“We’d also like to appeal to anyone planning to climb or hike in the area this weekend to be aware of the ongoing search activity and to report anything they feel may be relevant – even if it appears insignificant – to police on 101”.
Meanwhile, Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team was unable to resume its search for the couple after being forced to abandon the hunt on Tuesday because of the threat of avalanches.
A post on the Facebook page of Moffat mountain rescue team described the weather conditions overnight as “very wet and windy, very little visibility”.
John Stevenson, leader of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team, said the “most likely” explanation for the couple’s disappearance was that they had been caught up in an avalanche.
One man died when an avalanche hit Creag Meagaidh, a mountain south of Loch Ness in the Highlands, police said.
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The frustration of the Ben Nevis search concludes a hard week for Scotland’s mountain rescue services.
