British climber, 18, plunges 160ft in Alps after making 'grave technical error' with equipment

Ian Jackson, 19, was with two friends in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, one of the world's most famous mountaineering areas, when he fell on Thursday.

The experienced climber, who was on a gap year before going to university, was abseiling down the Les Gaillands rock face at around 4pm.

British climber Ian Jackson fell 160ft to his death from a climbing crag in the French Alps

His friends watched in horror from the ground as he hurtled down. He was airlifted to hospital in Geneva but died en route.

A police spokesman said Mr Jackson had made an 'enormous error' using just a single rope to make his descent, instead of two.

Although experienced climbers often use one rope to abseil down crags, many believe two are safer in case one is damaged by a sharp edge or cut by rockfall.

It is not known what went wrong with Mr Jackson's rope.

Last night, his parents, David, 52, and Angela, 54, paid tribute to their son.

His mother said he had flown out for a six-week holiday and was due to return home at the end of the month before taking up a place at Bangor University to study geology.

The 18-year-old was descending the rock face, called Les Gaillands, when he fell

'He was always happy-go-lucky, very laid-back and had a very kind nature,' she said.

His father, who runs the family fish and chip shop in Guisborough, Cleveland, where Ian worked to help finance his climbing expeditions, said the family were devastated.

'He has lived his life and has seen some of the most beautiful places in the world,' he said.

'He loved climbing from the age of about 14. Mountaineering was his passion.

'He had climbed Ben Nevis, crags in North Wales and on holiday in New Zealand and the Alps.'

Ian's sister, Sarah, 33, said he was climbing towards the summit on Thursday when there was a sudden change.

'Ian had to abseil down but something went wrong with one of his ropes and he fell,' she said.

A Chamonix police spokesman said: 'He made an enormous error with his ropes.

'It was a grave technical error.

'When you abseil, you must take two ropes and he only took one rope.

'The helicopter came but it was too late.

'He fell a lot of metres. He had no chance.'

He said Mr Jackson's two friends could do nothing but watch him fall.

'They saw their friend falling from the top to the bottom.

'They could do nothing because when he was falling it was too late.'

Chamonix-Mt-Blanc: The teenager had made a 'grave technical error' involving his climbing ropes