British Climbers Die In Avalanche

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9:51pm UK, Saturday January 10, 2009
Two British climbers have been killed by an avalanche in the French Alps.

Their next of kin have been informed.

One of the climbers has been named as Rob Gauntlett, the youngest Briton ever to climb Mount Everest.

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This must be him here. So young too

http://www.robgauntlett.com/
http://www.180degrees.com/

So sad!

The parents of a record-breaking British climber who was killed in the Alps will travel to France today.

Rob Gauntlett and his best friend, who has yet to be named, died yesterday while ice climbing in Chamonix, France.

The pair were due back in the UK on Wednesday.

Rob's mother Nicola said: "We are all just devastated. He's far too young to die. We had spoken about something like this happening only recently.

"We can only take consolation that he died doing something that he loved."

Tributes have begun to pour in for the 21-year-old, who became the youngest Briton to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 2006.

On a specially set up Facebook group, admirer Jim Watt said: "His loss is as tragic as it is untimely.

Rob grew up in rural surroundings and developed his interest in extreme adventures as a teenager.

While at school, he became close friends with future mountaineering partner James Hooper.

The pair then made their dreams come true and climbed Everest together in 2006.

Rob, who was also a keen cyclist, had a thirst for challenges.

In March 2007, he and Mr Hooper set off on a journey from the North Pole to the South Pole, powered solely by themselves and nature.

They completed the record-breaking journey over 13 months, travelling over 26,000 miles using skis, dog sleighs, bicycles and sails to cross land, sea and ice.