Deadly French Avalanche: Climbers Pay Tribute

Nine people - including three Britons - have been killed near Mont Blanc in the French Alps, the deadliest avalanche since 1999.

The mountaineering community has been devastated by the loss of nine climbers - including three from the UK.

Among the victims was one of the UK's most respected climbers, Roger Payne, who was killed alongside two other Britons by a huge avalanche near Chamonix in the French Alps on Thursday.
Mr Payne was a mountain guide and former general secretary of the British Mountaineering Council.
The avalanche also claimed the lives of two other Britons who are yet to be named, and two Spanish climbers, three Germans and one Swiss, according to the Prefecture de la Haute-Savoie.
The victims were killed as they traversed Mont Maudit - translated as Cursed Mountain - in the Mont Blanc range near Chamonix.
It is the massif's third-highest peak.
Mr Payne, who was well known across many branches of world climbing, was described as "one of the very best mountain guides" by fellow enthusiasts.
He was also a former president of the British Mountain Guide and was originally from Hammersmith in West London, but reportedly lived in Leysin, Switzerland, with his wife Julie-Ann Clyma, also an experienced mountaineer.

Roger Payne was a well-known climbing guide

Two other Britons - including climber Dave Compton - were reported missing following the avalanche, but were confirmed safe and well after presenting themselves to police in Chamonix on Thursday evening.
All those believed to have been missing have been accounted for, but police are due to continue searching the area throughout Friday.
All the climbers were part of a 28-strong group which left a climbing hut to attempt the route, described by local guides as the second most popular route to the top of Mont Blanc, following a 1am breakfast.
The group included independent climbers and others supervised by professional mountaineering guides.
At around 5.20am, French authorities received reports that a "slab" avalanche had hit several groups of mountaineers who were roped together on the northern face of Mont Maudit at 4,000 metre.
Several dozen French police and other rescuers along with two helicopters were sent to the scene to pull the dead and injured from the mountain. Nine people were taken to hospital in Sallanches with minor injuries.
Authorities said some climbers had crossed the path of the avalanche before it hit and others were able to turn back.
Describing the sequence of events, it said a block of ice 40cm thick broke off and slid down the slope, creating a mass of snow that was two metres deep and 100 metres long.
Colonel Bertrand Francois, of the Haute-Savoie gendarme service, said early reports suggested that a climber had accidentally loosened a sheet of ice, which "pulled down the group of climbers below".
He said: "I should say that the incline was very, very steep on this northern face."
Mr Compton, of Ellesmere Port, and his climbing mate were reported missing along with two Spanish climbers following the tragedy.
He later said that he was half an hour behind the group caught up in the avalanche and had turned back to Chamonix after seeing the aftermath.
The 41-year-old said he did not realise there was a search party out for him or the scale of what had happened until he saw the news.

French rescue workers arrive to join the search

William Hague, the foreign secretary, sent his condolences to the friends and families of those affected, saying he was "very saddened" by the tragedy.
The Mont Blanc massif is a popular area for climbers, hikers and tourists but a dangerous one, with dozens dying on it each year.
Climbers had been warned to be careful earlier this summer because of an unusually snowy spring, while recent storms had apparently left dangerous overhanging conditions on some of the popular climbing routes around Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in western Europe.
Chamonix-based mountain guide Richard Mansfield said the route where the accident happened was the second most popular to the top of Mont Blanc, and it was not unusual to have 100 people a day use it.
He said: "It's a very beautiful area and a common route but it can have very serious consequences, particularly due to avalanches."
Mr Mansfield, who runs mountainadventureguides.co.uk, said the slopes on Mont Maudit faces away from the prevailing wind which means snow is pushed over forming slabs.
"These can easily be set off by a passing climber, causing an avalanche."
:: Anyone concerned about friends or family following the avalanche can call the Foreign Office on +33 (0)1 44 51 31 00 or 0207 008 1500 in the UK.