Scottish climber Rick Allen has died in an avalanche on K2 as he attempted to take a new route to the summit.
The Aberdeen-born mountaineer was attempting to climb the world’s second highest mountain to raise money for the Partners Relief And Development charity.
But the 68-year-old was killed when he was caught in an avalanche on the mountain’s south-east face.
His two climbing partners, Jordi Tosas of Spain and Stephan Keck of Austria, were reportedly rescued without major injuries.
READ MORE: Climbing 'Oscar' for Scots in Himalaya triumph
A statement from the charity said: “It is with great sadness to announce that Rick Allen, a member of the board of Partners Relief And Development UK and also a great friend, has died while attempting a new route on K2, the world’s second-highest mountain.
“Rick, a world-renowned veteran mountaineer, was caught in an avalanche on the south-east face but fortunately his two climbing partners survived.
“Rick died doing what he loved the most and lived his life with the courage of his convictions.
“Rick was committed to serving the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities, and worked as a key member of the leadership of Partners Relief And Development UK for several years, campaigning for free, full lives for children affected by conflict and oppression.
“All members of the board send our condolences to Rick’s family.”
A Foreign Office spokeswoman added: “The British High Commission in Islamabad is aware of reports that a British citizen has died climbing K2 and stands ready to assist.”
On the fundraising page shared by the international aid charity, the description read: “Two of Britain’s most experienced mountaineers, Rick Allen and Jerry Gore, are attempting the ascent of K2, the second highest peak in the world and the most challenging.
“Each is using the attempt to draw attention to the needs of a charity with which they are closely associated.
“Rick is a trustee of Partners UK which is currently focused on meeting the acute health and educational needs of refugee children displaced from their homes in Myanmar by recent political upheavals.
READ MORE: Scottish climbers first to conquer Himalayan ridge
“Jerry lives with Type 1 diabetes and, through Action4Diabetes, facilitates the distribution of insulin to children with diabetes across SE Asia.
“If the pair are successful, Jerry will be the first British and the first French mountaineer with type 1 diabetes to reach the summit of K2.”
The fundraising effort had received £170 of the £10,000 target at the time the death was reported.
Mr Allen had previously been presumed dead in 2018 after falling from an ice cliff during a solo climb to the summit of Pakistan’s Broad Peak that, at 8,047m, is the 12th highest mountain on Earth.
However, his rucksack was eventually spotted by a cook at the mountain’s base camp before a drone was used to locate him and to guide rescuers to his location.
In 2013, Mr Allen was one of two climbers from Scotland who became the first to complete the notorious Mazeno Ridge in the Himalayas, one of the hardest climbs in the world
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel