Scottish climber dies in K2 avalanche

Veteran Scottish climber Rick Allen was attempting a new route on K2's southeast face over the weekend when he was hit by an avalanche, Karrar Haidri, the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said Monday.

The 68-year-old's body was recovered on Sunday evening. Allen's two climbing partners survived the avalanche and were rescued.

K2, the world's second-highest mountain peak, is located in northern Pakistan.

The renowned climber was on an expedition to raise funds for UK-based charity Partners Relief & Development where he was a board member. The charity raises funds for the welfare of children.

"Rick died doing what he loved the most and lived his life with the courage of his convictions," the charity said in a statement.

The charity's president, Steve Gumaer, expressed his condolences for the loss of "a tireless friend."

"Rick pursued his craft and passion with relentless dedication," he said. "As a fellow human I respect and am inspired by his determination. He will be missed."

Allen previously survived another avalanche

In 2018, Allen was involved in an avalanche and was rescued when he was scaling Broad Peak, which like K2 also lies in the Karakoram Range along the Pakistan-China border.

Karakorum Expeditions wrote on Facebook Monday that after consulting with his family and friends, "the legend will be buried this morning under the foot of Mighty K2."

Allen's death comes just a week after famous South Korean climber Kim Hong Bin fell into a crevasse and went missing in bad weather after scaling the 8,047-meter (26,400-foot) high Broad Peak.

Pakistan is home to several top mountain peaks and climbers flock from all over the world to attempt to scale the summits.

on/nm (AFP, AP)