Yesterday, a helicopter managed to get close enough to drop a pack of emergency provisions and a radio to the pair, but was unable to land, Constable Brent Swanson said.
During the drop, one of the climbers emerged from their red tent and waved, easing rescue team concerns about a lack of life on the mountain.
"There was a speculation in the media that there was a dark spot beside the tent, and it may have been a body, we've now confirmed that this is a gear stash from the climbers," Mr Swanson told Radio NZ.
"Without speculating we assume that they are both ok and hunkering down out of the weather.
The 70 litre pack contained emergency rations, a cooker and fuel and a radio with instructions in Japanese, landed right by the tent.
A Japanese speaking Department of Conservation officer has tried to make radio contact with the pair but there has so far been no response.
Inspector Dave Gaskin of Timaru said yesterday police were not too worried by the lack of radio contact from the climbers as the pack had been dropped from 10m and could have been damaged.
It was also possible the men were stranded in an area with bad reception.
Mr Gaskin said the climbers were in an unpleasant situation and it was likely to get worse tomorrow, but they "had tucked their tent into a nice little area which gives them a little bit of shelter".
Winds are still high in the rescue area where the two men have been trapped above 3700m since last week, and Mr Gaskin said it could be Saturday before the pair was rescued.
The two men, named as Kiyoshi Ikenouchi, 49, from Tokyo, the guide, and Hideaki Nara, 51, also from Tokyo, were due back at Mt Cook Village on Saturday.
They were last seen on Friday when they were on the upper Empress Plateau.
