"Alan Mullin, 34, of Rotorua, Station Road, Conon Bridge, was acclaimed as an exceptional and hard climber, known for taking on and conquering some of the hardest routes in Scotland and elsewhere in the world."

His friend Kevin Thaw writes, "Alan as you know had a troubled existence on our planet, so much so he decided to bail out on us. He took his own life on the morning of March 9th. Survived by wife Marrion, sons Michael, Steven & daughter Shirley. A funeral is planned next weekend near his home in Conon Bridge, Ross-Shire, Scotland."

Alan partnered Kevin Thaw on the first free ascent of the Czech Route on Fitzroy's west face, Patagonia.

More details at thisisnorthscotland.co.uk and on this thread at UKClimbing.com

You can read a profile of Alan at scotlandonline.com.