Our best friend fell 200ft to his death on a mountain but wouldn't want us to stop hiking

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Our best friend fell 200ft to his death on a mountain but wouldn't want us to stop hiking2 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleWill FyfeNews Impact, Ogwen Valley, EryriMatty Belcher | Brandan SmithJack Carne, in the red jacket on the left, was the catalyst to start climbing and organised climbs with friends Matty and BrandanIt started off like every other adventure for the three best friends - but just two returned from their climb. Best friends Matty Belcher, Brandan Smith and Jack Carne had travelled from South Yorkshire to the mountains of north Wales for a weekend of camping and climbing. It ended in tragedy, when a rock grabbed by 23-year-old Jack came loose in his hands.

Before his friends could react, he was gone - tumbling 200ft (60m) to his death. Brandan and Matty called mountain rescue, but they could do nothing to save Jack. The two men had to wait on a ledge for hours until they were found, then had to leave the mountain without him.

The Details

It wouldn't be until the following day that volunteers from Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue were able to recover Jack's body from the rocky slopes of Glyder Fawr in Eryri, also known as Snowdonia. Jack was just 10m from the 1,000m (3,284 ft) summit of Wales' fifth highest peak when the unimaginable happened. "We'd probably walked for about four hours - and then it all went wrong," said Matty.

"It was no harder than anything we'd done before - it was actually easier than a lot of stuff we'd done before. It just could have been anybody. "I almost died up a mountain scattering dad's ashesWhere responsibility lies when social media inspired mountaineers get into troubleTeens stranded in cave after canoe capsizes rescued as mum raises alarmAn inquest into Jack's death heard how he "somersaulted" down the mountain and that his friends could see his rucksack about 50m (165ft) below where he fell.

When the friends called out, there was no answer. In the early hours following Jack's death in February 2023, after their police interview, Matty and Brandan received a call from Jack's dad Rich to see if they "were ok". Matty Belcher | Brandan SmithBrandan and Matty promised to never stop adventuring after the death of their friend Jack in 2023For many, being confronted with something like that would have been enough to never return to a mountain - but for Matty and Brandan, that wasn't an option.

What Experts Say

"After speaking to mountain rescue, they said it was a freak accident," said Brandan, who had travelled to Wales from Barnsley to go climbing. The boulder that actually took Jack, it could have gone in a week's time, a year's time - it just happened to go then and there. "Volunteers from Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue had to reassure the friends it was a "really tragic accident".

Geograph | Jeremy BolwellThe three friends were climbing between the Gribin Ridge to Glyder Fawr when Jack fell"The boys were well equipped and well organised," said rescuer Chris Lloyd. "It affects us as well.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.