A world-famous climber who was caught up in an avalanche with his girlfriend killed himself after he was unable to save her, his parents have said.

Hayden Kennedy, 27, was skiing alongside 23-year-old partner Inge Perkins in Montana on Saturday when the pair triggered an avalanche, leaving him partially buried and her fully submerged in now.

Kennedy searched for Inge in vain, but was forced to abandon his rescue attempts and hike six miles to get help.

Hayden Kennedy, 27, killed himself after getting caught up in an avalanche alongside partner Inge Perkins, 23 (pictured together), who died after being buried

Kennedy was skiing Imp Peak, in Montana, with Perkins on Saturday when they pair triggered an avalanche in this narrow gully

Rescuers eventually found Inge's body underneath the snow the following day. Kennedy took his own life as they were preparing to pull her remains free.

Father Michael Kennedy, himself a seasoned climber, broke the news on Facebook.

'Hayden survived the avalanche but not the unbearable loss of his partner in life,' Michael wrote. 'He chose to end his life. Myself and his mother Julie sorrowfully respect his decision.'

They described their son as 'an uncensored soul whose accomplishments as a mountaineer were always secondary to his deep friendships and mindfulness.'

The avalanche happened on Imp Peak, in the southern Madison Range, in a steep, narrow gulley about 10,000ft (3,048m) above sea level.

Perkins, also an accomplished mountain climber, was buried by the 150ft-wide (46m-wide) slide.

The area had received a foot (0.3m) of snow since Oct. 1, which was on top of about 4ft (1.2m) of dense snow that had fallen over the previous two weeks, according to the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center.

Kennedy, who had recently moved to Bozeman, was found dead in his home Sunday as search teams prepared to recover Perkins' body.

Kennedy, who grew up in Carbondale, Colorado, had been working on his EMT certification while Perkins completed her bachelor's degree in mathematics and education at Montana State University.

Just two weeks before his death, he wrote on the climbing blog 'Evening Sends' that he had watched too many friends die in the mountains over the last few years.

Kennedy managed to free himself from the drift and searched in vain for Inge before hiking six miles in order to fetch help

Rescue workers discovered Perkins' body the following day, and Kennedy took his own life as they prepared to pull her remains from the drift

'I've realized something painful. It's not just the memorable summits and crux moves that are fleeting. Friends and climbing partners are fleeting, too,' he wrote.

'This is the painful reality of our sport, and I'm unsure what to make of it. Climbing is either a beautiful gift or a curse.'

Kennedy was perhaps best known for climbing the Southeast Ridge in Patagonia's Cerro Torre in 2012 and removing many of the bolts placed by controversial Italian climber Cesare Maestri more than 40 years earlier.

Afterward, he and his climbing partner were accosted by locals and detained by police. But Kennedy's father, Michael Kennedy, who was editor of Climbing Magazine for more than two decades, beamed with pride.

'You made a courageous first step in restoring Cerro Torre to its rightful place as one of the most demanding and inaccessible summits in the world,' the elder Kennedy wrote in an open letter to his son that was published in Alpinist Magazine in 2012.

'I never would have had the guts to take that step myself, even in my best days.'

Michael Kennedy, an accomplished mountaineer in his own right, also wrote to his son about losing multiple friends to the sport.

'An awareness of mortality prompts us to focus on what's important: developing a strong community of family and friends,' he said.