Rick Allen (mountaineer)

Richard Frank "Rick" Allen (6 November 1954 – 25 July 2021) was a Scottish mountaineer. Allen summitted six eight-thousanders and was the first British climber atop some of Tajikistan's biggest mountains. He had over 40 years experience climbing in the Himalayas at the time of his death.

Background
Allen was from Aberdeen. He began climbing while a student at the University of Birmingham in 1973. After university, Allen went to work in the oil and gas industry.

Allen began climbing in the Himalayas in the early 1980s. After several attempts, Allen summitted Mount Everest via the South East Ridge on May 26, 2000. He was the 960th person to summit Everest, summitting 15 years after his first attempt on the mountain. In 2013, he was awarded the Piolet d’Or for his 18-day traverse of Nanga Parbat's Mazeno Ridge alongside Sandy Allen. The 2012 climb was the first summit of the ridge, named the "last great unclimbed route in the Himalayas".

In 2018, Allen was presumed dead after falling from an ice cliff during a solo climb to the summit of Pakistan's Broad Peak. He was rescued when his rucksack was spotted by personnel at base camp. A drone operated by Bartek Bargiel, who was filming his brother Andrzej Bargiel's ski descent, located Allen on the mountain and helped guide rescuers to Allen's recovery. Allen had fallen over 100 feet and had been exposed to the elements for 36 hours before he was rescued.

Allen died in an avalanche on K2 as he attempted to take a new route to the summit in July 2021. At the time of his death, he was climbing to raise funds for the charity Partners UK. He was buried at the base of K2, in accordance with his family's wishes.

Noted as a careful and safe climber, in 2024, the Alpine Club instituted the Rick Allen Skills Award in his honor.

Notable climbs

 * 1982 - First ascent, Kirti Stambh (6,271m)
 * 1984 - First ascent, South Face of Ganesh II
 * 1985 - First attempt of North-East Ridge of Everest (8,170m)
 * 1986 - First ascent, establishing the "Scottish Route" on the South Face of Pumori with Sandy Allen
 * 1988 - British expedition of the West Face of Makalu
 * 1991 - First British ascent of Khan Tegri
 * 1993 - First ascent, North Face of Dhaulagiri
 * 1995 - Attempt to cross Nanga Parbat's Mazeno Ridge by bicycle
 * 1996 - First ascent attempt of the East Face of K2 (made it up to 6,200m)
 * 1997 - South Ridge of Broad Peak (7,200m)
 * 2000 - Everest, successful summit
 * 2006 - First British ascent of Karl Marx Peak, Tajikistan
 * 2007 - First ascent, East Face and North Ridge of Pik Ovalnaya, Tajikistan
 * 2009 - Diamir Face, Nanga Parbat
 * 2011 - Hidden Peak, Gasherbrum I
 * 2012 - First ascent of Mazeno Ridge, Nanga Parbat
 * 2017 - Ascent of Tilicho, after aborted attempt on Northwest Face of Annapurna
 * 2018 - Broad Peak, solo summit
 * 2019 - K2 Abruzzi spur up to 8,300m, without oxygen