Roger Payne - Telegraph Shortly afterwards, the team discovered the remains of Art Gilkey, an American climber who was the subject of a much celebrated rescue attempt in 1953 but who was ultimately swept to his death. "The few kilograms of bones and clothing were quite clean and we felt like archeologists," Payne wrote in the official expedition report afterwards. He immediately set about contacting Gilkey's relatives via satellite telephone. Roger Payne was born in London on July 17 1956 and grew up in Hammersmith - "spelt with no h" and three fs," he would say. His father was a decorated veteran of the Second World War who died while Roger was in infancy. Introduced to the outdoors while in the Scouts, Roger soon headed for the hills of Scotland, which in turn led to rock climbing trips to outcrops and sea cliffs in England and Wales. This led to various instructional work in outdoor education and a teaching career in north-east England. Payne qualified as a guide in 1983, a year after attempting Denali's (Mt McKinley) Cassin Ridge in Alaska, which developed into an attempt on the West Buttress in freezing conditions. During his climbing career he and his wife specialised in peaks between 6,000 and 7,000m high. Of particular note was the first ascent the pair made in 2003 of the difficult 6,376m north face of Mount Grovesnor, in China's Sichuan Province. The climb involves thin ice and blank sections of rock with very little protection and a long and difficult descent. It took them six days. Payne believed in trying to help the indigenous communities where he climbed. On K2 he persuaded Eastern Electricity to install micro-hydroelectricity projects in the villages of Monjo and Hoto in the Braldu valley. He organised numerous climbing initiatives - promoting climate change awareness in the Himalayas for the UN Environment Programme or organising a joint Indo-Pakistan climbing meet on the Siachen glacier, the mountainous frontier in Kashmir. He was also heavily involved in climbing administration, serving first, from 1995 to 2001, as general secretary of the British Mountaineering Council. During this period individual membership grew significantly. From 2008 to 2011 he was president of British Mountain Guides (BMG). Noted for his enthusiasm for life, it was a source of much irritation to fellow guides that he could drink them under the table and carry on the following day as fresh as a daisy. He died in an avalanche on Mount Maudit, near Chamonix, on Thursday while leading two clients who also died. It is perhaps ironic that, as an acknowledged expert on mountain safety, Payne, during his period as BMG president, developed the syllabus on avalanche safety that is now widely used across Europe. Roger Payne is survived by his wife of 25 years, Julie-Ann Clyma. Roger Payne, born July 17 1956, died July 12 2012