UPDATED 9.48am: A renowned Kiwi mountain climber and conqueror of Mount Everest is holding out hope his friends are in safe hands.

Mark Inglis lost both legs when he became trapped on Mt Cook in 1982, later climbing becoming the first double-amputee to climb the world's tallest mountain.

He's been tracking down his climbing buddies since the deadly Nepal earthquake struck last week - and not all are accounted for.

"We still have one that we haven't heard of in a particularly difficult area, so fingers crossed that it's just communication."

Says in the days and months following this tragedy, Inglis is hoping Nepal won't loose its status as a climbing Mecca.

"A lot of that support will come from people still going back, still trekking there, and still climbing there because it's that type of support that will become absolutely critical for the people of Nepal."

Mark Inglis will speak at a candlelit vigil in Christchurch this evening hosted by the Nepalese community, with support from the Student Volunteer Army and Christchurch City Council.

President of the New Zealand Nepalese Friendship Society Rajesh Dhakal says the support from locals has been incredible.

"A lot of people can be sympathetic to Nepal at the moment, but Christchurch people and Canterbury people are special. They know, they can feel the pain.

"When they pass us the donation, when they come and talk to us, we can feel the emotions pouring out."

Rajesh believes the bond between the two countries has been strengthened by the disaster.

"We expected New Zealanders to be very helpful to us and understand our pain, but what we have received is beyond expectation."

The vigil will get underway in Victoria Square at 6.30pm.

Meanwhile, Sir Edmund Hillary's granddaughter is among those desperately trying to get aid to Nepal's remote mountain villages.

Peter Hillary's 25-year-old daughter, Amelia, has rushed home to Kathmandu, where she's teamed up with Wanaka mountaineer Mal Haskins.

His small rescue team is making it its mission to get to outlying villages, many of which have been decimated by Saturday's 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

Mal Haskins says Amelia Hillary is helping with logistics, and smoothing government channels.

"She's also got a bunch of aid, a truckload of blankets, clothing, sleeping bags and some tents and she's going to start moving in tomorrow morning."

Donations to Mal Haskin's rescue team can be made here.

Rural villages still await funding

The Himalayan Trust has raised more than $200,000 for the victims of Nepal's earthquake.

Spokesperson David Murdoch was in Kathmandu when the deadly quake struck.

He's now back in New Zealand and told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking more news is trickling out from the Solu Khumbu region - which has been the focus of the trust's activities since its beginning.

"The news from many of the villages is there's a lot of damage, a lot of infrastructure is damaged or destroyed.

"So a lot of schools, a lot of housing, a lot of villages have been completely flattened."