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Family give up hope on finding climber Ben

21/ 8/2008

THE family of a climber missing in Pakistan for more than a month are coming to terms with the likelihood that he is dead.

Ben Cheek, 28, from Withington, was on a solo expedition to conquer Shimshal Whitehorn, a treacherous mountain that has claimed many lives.

He failed to turn up at his rendezvous point on July 15 and after pals found no trace of him a full-scale rescue bid was launched. Bad weather has hampered further rescue attempts.

His sister Laura says the family has been `forced to start accepting that ‘Benjie may have been lost to us’, possibly in an avalanche.

She said: "We still do not know exactly what happened to my brother, and we probably never will. I can’t believe that my brother will never come home again.

"As a family we are so terribly proud of Ben. To me he is like an Olympic gold medal winner. He had the most amazing drive and determination for everything he did and was achieving what most of us mere mortals would never have dreamed of.

"We only wish that he had been more aware of the dangers he was facing. Ben had not himself been exposed first-hand to the devastating consequences of avalanches, unlike some of his older team-mates. I just wish I could have warned my little brother."

Up until now Ben's family, from Scotland, had clung to the hope belief that he would come home alive.

Laura said: "The remote possibility is that Ben had been caught in a crevasse or hidden in a snowhole. However, he had only taken enough food, water and gas for four to five days and it is now impossible that he could have survived at such an altitude."

Ben, a member of Manchester Climbing Centre in Gorton, quit his job as a clinical researcher to follow his dream of becoming a professional mountaineer. His trip was financed by the Nick Estcourt Award, set up to honour a climber who died on the K2 mountain. Laura said: "It is tragic that Ben has met his fate in the same way."

The family, who have been comforted by legendary climber Sir Chris Bonington, have decided to sponsor the charity SOS Children in honour of Ben to help set up and support a new village for orphaned children in earthquake-devastated areas of northern Pakistan.

Laura said: "Ben was the cheekiest of the Cheeks! It is impossible to fill the gap that he has left in our lives. He was a talented drummer from the age of eight, a skilled road-racing cyclist, traveller, fire-juggler, and a world-class climber, but most importantly he was a wonderful friend to so many people who have told us that they will never forget him."

To donate to the charity visit www.justgiving.com/bencheek.