British climber dies on Mount Everest

A British computer expert has died while trying to scale Mount Everest on a climb during which he was testing pioneering software designed to help ensure the safety of mountaineers.

Dr Rob Milne, 49, died on Saturday around 1200 feet (366 metres)

short of the 29,035ft (8850m) summit of the worlds highest mountain, where he would completed his 25-year ambition of climbing the highest mountains on all the seven continents.

Precise details of his death have not yet been disclosed, although it is believed that he collapsed and died on the spot.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said officials were liasing with his next of kin over the return of his body.

He was married with two teenage children and lived at Bathgate, West Lothian.

At least two other climbers have died during bad weather on Everest this season while also this weekend, the veteran adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, had to abandon an attempt to reach the summit amid deteriorating weather and concerns about his health.

Dr Milne, who was both an expert in artificial intelligence and a passionate climber, who was attempting the Seven Summits challenge: reaching the peaks of the highest mountains in all seven continents. He had climbed his first major peak in 1980.

During the Everest trip he was testing a mobile communications system called IM-PACS, which allows climbers and adventurers to plan their expeditions more effectively.

Designed at the Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute in the School of Informatics at Edinburgh University, the technology was designed to allow Dr Milne to keep friends and family updated with details of his movements and any alterations.

IM-PACS was also designed to suggest alternative routes where possible for adventurers in the event of deteriorating weather and to assist in developing a rescue strategy, should it be needed.

He was also collecting seeds for botanical research and conducting experiments on his metalbolic rate.

The BBC said Milne's expedition had arrived at Everest's base camp on April 12 and were ready to begin their climb on May 7. But they were hampered by bad weather and had been unable to make their bid for the summit at the end of May as planned.

A message on the website which had been charting the expedition's progress read: "We are just hearing the terrible news from Everest concerning Rob. Temporarily, the contents of this website are frozen."

Dr Milne was born in Montana in the United States and had dual British-American citizenship.

He first came to the UK to study for his doctorate at Edinburgh University but went back to work for the United States government as head of artificial intelligence at the Pentagon. He returned to Britain 18 years ago and set up his own software company.

He was also a visiting professor at several Scottish universities and was involved with developing Scotland as a centre for technology.

Professor Austin Tate, head of the School of Informatics said last night: "I knew him for 25 years as a colleague and friend and it is a terrible shock. It is a great loss because he was a very nice man with a wide range of interests."

He stressed that although the equipment Dr Milne was testing was designed to ultimately help with the safety of climbers on this trip he was using it as a reporting method.

Dr Milne was a leading member of the Scottish Mountaineering Club.

John Fowler, the secretary, said last night: "It is a shock because Rob was a very competent climber who had a lot of experience climbing big mountains. He was very well liked and respected by Scottish climbers."

Dave Morris, president of the Mountain Protection Commission said he was saddened by the news of Dr Milne's death.

"This demonstrates that Everest is still an extremely difficult challenge, even for experienced mountaineers," he said.

"When we hear stories about Sherpas being married on the mountain, it gives the sense that everyone can go there but this is not the case. It sounds like Dr Milne had altitude problems and at that height, it gets difficult to breathe."

On Saturday, Jake Meyer, 21, a student at Bristol University became the youngest Briton to both reach the summit of Mount Everest and complete the Seven Summits challenge.

At least 187 climbers have died on the slopes of Everest.

- INDEPENDENT