The crew arrived from Melbourne to comb the area after an abseiler told police he had found the body on Christmas Day.

It took them two hours to trek to the north wall of The Gorge.

They had planned to camp and mount a search for a decomposing body this morning but found it soon after arriving.

A helicopter is likely to be brought in to recover the body.

The abseiler had told police he had noticed a strong smell before finding what looked like male human remains.

The remains were about 30 metres east from the bottom of the wall.

He did not call police until yesterday.

Sen-Sgt Doug Incoll, of Bright, said the man had hurt his shoulder abseiling down the steep cliff face at 3pm on Christmas Day and could not climb back up.

During the three-hour hike back up to his camp, he was walking along the base of a cliff when he made his grim find.

The area, home to the famous 270-metre climb Ozymandias, is a well-known destination for abseilers and rock climbers.

Sen-Sgt Incoll said there had been no known fatal accidents in the area in recent times, although there had been several cases of self-harm.

“There haven’t been any deaths contributed to rock climbing or abseiling in 10 years but there have been injuries and suicides,” he said.