Rick Allen: K2 avalanche climber 'died doing what he loved'

Rick Allen was described as "generous and never boastful"

A respected climber killed after attempting a new route on K2 to raise money for a charity "died doing what he loved", a friend has said.

Rick Allen, 68, is understood to have been caught in an avalanche in Pakistan.

Chris Norman, national director for Partners Relief and Development UK which Mr Allen was helping, described him as a "legend".

It is understood Aberdeen-born Mr Allen is to be buried at the foot of K2.

K2 stands at 8,611m (28,251ft) and is the world's second highest mountain.

It is also regarded as one of the most challenging and dangerous to climb.

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Mr Norman told BBC Scotland News that Mr Allen was no stranger to dangerous situations.

"Hearing that he had died I couldn't believe it", he said. "My first thought was that he would be fine and he'd turn up with a great new story of survival.

"But as news began to trickle through from base camp, realisation set in that he was gone."

'Unbelievable achievements'

He explained: "Rick joined the charity's board a couple of years ago. He was quiet and unassuming, but with a really dry sense of humour and a really sharp wit. He was a really good friend and very good colleague.

"He was generous and never boastful. His achievements are unbelievable. He's a legend."

Mr Norman added: "Rick wanted to summit K2. He's climbed a lot of the 8,000m (26,247ft) mountains in the world and this was his dream. He set his sights high but he was confident, and sadly this wasn't his time to make it.

"Rick was happiest in the mountains. He had that faraway look in his eyes. It's a tragedy what has happened, but he died doing what he loved. He died doing what he enjoyed."

"His charity work was so valuable. He was passionate about what we are doing. It's been a real honour to serve with him. In terms of his support for our organisation, we're very grateful for that."

The humanitarian charity provides emergency relief during crisis events and works with global communities on sustainable development programmes.

The UK Foreign Office said it was aware of reports that a British citizen had died while climbing K2.

Mr Allen's two climbing partners, Jordi Tosas of Spain and Stephan Keck of Austria, were reportedly rescued without major injuries.

His friend, fellow climber Sandy Allan, earlier told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland he had known Mr Allen for years as they both worked in the oil industry.

'Huge void'

"We first climbed together - we were trying to do the unclimbed ridge, the east north east ridge of Mount Everest," he said.

"As a character, he was totally reliable, he was a really nice fellow, he was very genuine, very caring, he would never let anybody down.

"I'm staring into a huge void at the moment, I'm going to miss him a lot."

Mr Allen had previously been presumed dead in 2018 after falling from an ice cliff during a solo climb to the summit of Pakistan's Broad Peak.

His rucksack was eventually spotted by a cook at the mountain's base camp before a drone was used to locate him and guide rescuers to his location.