Strong winds in a mountainous region...
Isn't a problem if you know what you are doing. (From someone who does this on a daily basis around mountains - come on the Ureweras are barely 5000' high, they're foot-hills!! Plus I do it with paying passengers!!).
It is tragic that a young life has ended, and my thoughts go out to all those who worked with and knew this person. But lets not make this out to be another "lets guess the cause because I have read the newspaper/TV/it came to me in a dream!" or "I know everything about flying so this is what happened".
Wait for the facts to come out in the accident report, learn from it and move on. Sorry but I think this is the worst thing about this industry, someone has an accident, lives are lost, and everybody starts coming out with their theories over causes and reasons, without knowing any facts.
Sorry But Rant Over!