2:10pm Thursday 4th February 2010
By Emily Walker, Chief Reporter
A climber plummeted 40 metres to his death doing what he loved.
Hours before the tragic fall Derren Barber told friends how excited he was to be heading up Mount Snowdon.
But experienced climber Mr Barber, 39, of Victoria Drive, Bognor, slipped on ice and fell into a deep gully.
Mr Barber and a friend had already reached the summit of Pen yr Ole Wen in Snowdonia, and were heading back down when weather conditions deteriorated.
The accident happened on the first day of a long weekend of climbing.
Only six hours before his death Mr Barber had written on his Facebook page: “To the mountains we will go! Yay.”
When Mr Barber fell, his friend dialled 999 for help, but it is thought he would have died almost instantly from the fall.
Rescuers said the pair were properly equipped and Mr Barber had previously told friends he planned to be “roped and harnessed up” to deal with the snow and ice.
A spokesman for Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team said: “This pair of friends had arrived in the Nant Ffrancon about midday and decided to have a short walk on Pen yr Ole Wen.
“They were very experienced and well equipped.
“After reaching the summit they realised that the weather was deteriorating and decided to descend the East Ridge.
“Tragically, one of the pair slipped on ice which caused him to fall for some distance down one of the gullies into Cwm Lloer.
“Team members were deployed to the location to extract the informant and the casualty. Sadly, the casualty was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital."
Friends of Mr Barber paid tribute to him on his Facebook page.
Mitchel Westwood said: “What an amazing human being, if more were like him we would have a much more pleasant place to live. RIP dude.”
Leave your tribute below.
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