Petworth climber dies after "long fall" (From The Argus)

Petworth climber dies after "long fall"

8:08am Sunday 11th January 2009 in

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The youngest Briton to have climbed Mount Everest has been killed in an accident in the French Alps.

Explorer Rob Gauntlett, 21, of Petworth, reached the summit of Mount Everest when he was just 19 in 2006.

A second climber, 21-year-old friend James Atkinson has also died during the ice-climbing trip in Chamonix after a "big fall".

Mr Gauntlett's mother Nicola Gauntlett, has travelled to France today with husband David, and said the 21-year-old's entire family were "devastated".

The couple have met with Mr Gauntlett's best friend James Hooper, who was travelling with the pair, in France.

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

Mr Hooper, 21, described Mr Gauntlett, as an inspiration who packed his short life full of incredible experiences.

He also saluted Mr Atkinson, a Durham University student from Sussex, as a "top guy" who was highly motivated about his outdoor pursuits.

He said: "Rob and I have been best friends since we were 15 and so we obviously know each other really well and have been on lots of expeditions together.

"He was practically a brother to me. I'm obviously devastated but I'm just trying to remember the fact that he was a wonderful person and he inspired me and others in so many different ways."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "I can confirm that two British nationals were killed in an accident in the French Alps."

In November last year Mr Gauntlett and Mr Hooper, of Somerset, were named National Geographic 2008 Adventurers of the Year at the society's base in Washington DC.

The award was in recognition of a 22,000-mile journey from the Magnetic North to the Magnetic South Poles to raise awareness of climate change.

The former Horsham pupils then sailed to New York to begin the 11,000-mile cycle ride to Punta Arenas, Chile.

In 2006 they became the youngest Britons to climb Everest.

• Leave your tributes to Rob Gauntlett and James Atkinson below