Glasgow climber wins major award after brush with death

Tim Miller and Paul Ramsden on the award-winning ascent up Jugal Spire

A Glasgow man has won one of the most prestigious awards in climbing just years after a near-death experience on an expedition.

Tim Miller, 27, started climbing local Munros before taking on treacherous, uncharted peaks around the world.

He was awarded the Piolet d'Or, dubbed mountaineering's Oscars, for summitting the previously unclimbed Jugal Spire in Nepal.

Tim's climb was the first ascent of the treacherous near-vertical route.

The 21,532ft (6563m) peak was summited without supplemental oxygen, fixed ropes or Sherpa support - known as "Alpine style".

The achievement comes just years after Tim was caught in a fatal avalanche which claimed the life of his friend and fellow climber Christian Huber in 2018.

Dig up to the surface

While camping at an altitude of 19,300ft (5883m) on the snowy terrains of Pakistan's Ultar Sar mountain, the group was buried under six feet of snow.

"It was quite a small avalanche but because we were lying on the bottom of our tent, it buried us," he said. "I was at the other side of the tent so I was cut off from them."

Tim managed to chew through the fabric of the tent and dig his way to the surface, however his friends did not emerge.

He helped save the life of their other climbing partner, Bruce Normand, but Tim discovered Christian was already dead.

Bruce and Tim dug out their kit and spent two days in their broken tent waiting for the weather to ease before being airlifted to safety by a Pakistani military helicopter.

Tim Miller climbing up the first ascent of Jugal Spire

"It all went by in such a blur," said Tim. "I didn't take it in immediately because I was so focused on finding what I needed to survive - warmth, food, liquid, and shelter.

"When I came down, it all hit me and I saw how much the whole thing had terrified my mum, dad, and girlfriend. But it made me realise how much I need to climb.

"When I think about it now, it's like someone else's story that you read in a book."

'In a flow'

Tim told BBC Scotland how he learned a lot from the experience and makes sure to plan extensively before embarking on a climb.

"It can be scary at times but I feel far more stressed when I'm off the mountain and my phone starts pinging," he said.

"You're in flow when you're in the mountains, and I find it quite hard to deal with getting off it and living a 'normal' life."

Tim is now a fully qualified mountain guide and has made thousands of expeditions

Tim first met legendary climber Paul Ramsden, who he partnered with on his award-winning ascent, while hitchhiking home to Glasgow after climbing Ben Nevis.

The pair stayed in touch and meticulously planned the journey up Jugal Spire for years before making the eight-day expedition in the spring of 2022.

He added: "There's only a handful of unclaimed peaks out there, and there's so much hard work scouring books and Google Earth before you get there, but it's still unknown until you're on the mountain."

It would rain, hail, or snow for at least part of each day of the expedition, and an avalanche ripped the tent apart towards the end of the trip.

The two were forced to wrap themselves in the fabric and they spent one night sleeping in a two-foot tall cave.

Tim suffered frostbite during their climb up the steep granite face covered in ice, but said the journey was "really amazing".

"You're hanging off this mountain where humans aren't meant to be and clipped into a few bit of gear on a rock," he said. "It's like being on Mars."

Some trips offer few options for sheltering

He started climbing with his parents at a young age which sparked his passion, before going on to his first job at the Glasgow Climbing Centre in Ibrox.

Now a fully qualified mountain guide, Tim leads expeditions up mountains with trips to Greenland, Iceland and Nepal planned for next year.

"I'm incredibly proud to receive a Piolet d'Or, but I never got into climbing for awards," he said. "The award is being able to explore the unexplored, and the adventure itself.

"On an expedition you don't have to think about anything else for six weeks; you read, you chat and you climb.

"You have to switch yourself off to be alert. All your actions have consequences so there's no choice but to focus entirely. It's like nothing else."