British mountain guide Roger Payne killed in avalanche in French Alps died 'doing what he loved'

 
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Simon Freeman13 July 2012

The family of a British mountaineer killed in an avalanche in the French Alps today described him as a “true professional” who "died doing what he loved."

Roger Payne, 56, was a former general secretary of the British Mountaineering Council and spent more than 25 years ascending the world’s greatest peaks.

An experienced guide, he taught aspiring mountaineers and schoolchildren how to keep safe in avalanche-prone regions.

His family described him as a man who would never knowingly put himself or others in danger.

Two other Britons were among nine people swept to their deaths on Mont Maudit - meaning “cursed mountain” – a peak in the Mont Blanc range.

Three Germans, two Spaniards and a Swiss national were also confirmed dead while nine other members of the 28-strong expedition were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital.

Mr Payne was leading the party, roped together in small groups, when disaster struck at 13,000ft early yesterday morning.

His half-brother Keith Pritchard, 66, a former head chef at the Connaught and Grand Metropolitan hotels who retired to Norwich, was today comforting their 92-year-old mother Nellie at her home in Hammersmith.

Mr Payne’s New Zealand-born wife Dr Julie-Ann Clyma, herself an experienced mountaineer, was in Chamonix making arrangements for the funeral of her husband of more than 25 years.

The couple - who lived in the Swiss village of Leysin - were brought together by a love of climbing and in 2003 became the first to conquer the 21,000ft Mt Grosvenor in Sichuan Province of central China.

Mr Pritchard told the Standard: “Roger has been climbing for almost 40 years, he’s a fully-qualified mountaineer and he was on the committee of the British Mountain Guides.

“Even as a boy at the Scouts he was always adventurous. He loved climbing, adventuring, canoeing. That’s been his life and he never took any chances. He would never take a personal risk or put others in danger. He was a true professional.

“He’s climbed Everest and he and his wife have climbed together all over the world. He’s written survival guides, he’s done videos for climbing and he goes around the American schools in Switzerland teaching young people how to stay safe on mountains.

“He was leading a group of people on the climb, something he’s done many times before but the avalanche was completely unexpected. It was freak of nature and came without warning.

“Our mother is 92 and lives on her own. Every time there’s a climbing accident on a mountain she thinks of Roger. She’s naturally devastated.

“We will all miss him greatly, he will never be forgotten. Our only consolation is that he died doing the thing he loved.”

John Cousins, from the British Mountain Guides Association, of which Mr Payne was a former president, said: “He was such an energetic character. He really was a truly remarkable and amazing individual.”

Dave Turnbull, chief executive of the British Mountaineering Council, said: “Roger was one of the UK’s most enthusiastic and respected climbers with a track record of Alpine and Himalayan mountaineering stretching back to the 1980s.”

Ed Douglas, a friend and fellow member of the BMC, said: “There were few areas of the mountaineering world Roger didn’t influence for the better. Yet the overriding impression he leaves is of an unwavering and infectious enthusiasm for the mountain life. He will be sorely missed.”

Two British survivors, named as “Davey” and “Rich”, were initially through to be among the missing. It emerged today that they had taken a different route.

A friend wrote on his blog: “They are fine and safe as the avalanche occurred 10 minutes before they reached it and they turned back. They just didn’t let the relevant authorities know.”

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