Respected north-east climber Rick Allen has died after an avalanche on K2.
Aberdeen-born Mr Allen was scaling the world’s second highest peak with two others.
The well-known adventurer, who lives in Aboyne, had been attempting to open a new line on the south-east face of the mountain.
Mr Allen had more than 40 years of experience climbing in conquering challenging ascents in the Himalayas.
K2 is one of the most challenging climbs in the world.
As of February 2021, only 377 have reached the summit while considerably more reach the top of nearby Mount Everest every year.
What happened on K2?
In the run-up to the ascent good weather was reported on K2.
Mr Allen, together with Spaniard Jordi Tosas and Austrian Stefan Keck, had been hoping to reach the summit early this week.
However, the climbers encountered an avalanche and Mr Allen died. His two comrades are said to be safe.
Rick Allen had been climbing K2 to raise money for charity Partners UK, which he is a trustee of.
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
“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.”
Climbing career of Rick Allen
Mr Allen’s reputation as an accomplished and respected climber stretched to all corners of the globe.
In July 2018 he had a lucky escape when his rucksack was spotted from the air where he had fallen.
He had been returning from a solo climb to the summit of Broad Peak in the Himalayas, which is the world’s 12th highest mountain, when he fell.
Friends were convinced he had died.
However, a base camp cook spotted his rucksack with a drone then used to locate him from the sky 36 hours later, which Mr Allen initially ignored as a hallucination before becoming aware of the rescue attempt.
The mountaineer was eventually rescued with frostbitten toes.
Despite the ordeal following the vertical fall, he vowed to return to the mountains again while also speaking about his experiences.
At the time, he said: “It was definitely an issue, especially when I woke up and realised I’d dropped a considerable distance.
“But there’s no question of packing it in, you learn something every time and there were a few good lessons there.”
In 2013 Mr Allen and friend Sandy Allan, from Newtonmore in the Highlands, received the coveted Golden Ice Axe prize.
The duo were recognised for conquering the Mazeno Ridge in Pakistan following an 18-day climb.
The ordeal inspired a book from Mr Allan after the exhausted duo, who were both in their late 50s at the time, reached the summit with no food or water while still needing three days to descend the mountain.