A teacher who organised school adventure trips was killed in an avalanche on Ben Nevis while climbing with friends.
Mark Bessell, 49, fell almost 2,000ft to his death while climbing the snowy north face of the UK’s tallest mountain on December 30.
A man who fell with him suffered serious injuries but survived.
Richard Uffendell, headteacher of Ashton Park School, a secondary school in south Bristol, paid tribute to Bessell as a “well-respected and long-standing member of our staff”. In a letter to parents, he said that the teacher had “such a positive impact” on the lives of many students.
Bessell, a veteran of the Gloucestershire Regiment, is survived by his wife Charlie, who also works at the school, and a son from a previous relationship.
Advertisement
An experienced climber, he ran the school’s adventure club and organised the Duke of Edinburgh and Ten Tors challenges.
Bessell was climbing in a party of four on the Number Two Gully when he and another man plunged nearly 2,000ft on the 4,413ft high mountain’s north face. Because of difficult weather conditions, it took eight hours for the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team to recover them from their position.
The other climber, 42, survived but suffered serious injuries. Nearly 40 rescuers from Lochaber and Glencoe mountain rescue teams were sent after the alarm was raised at about 3.30pm on Friday.
Donald Paterson, the leader of the Lochaber team, said: “It appears they were near the top and their weight made a cornice [an overhanging ledge of snow] give way and that triggered the avalanche.
“The wind conditions meant that the helicopter couldn’t get in so the teams found the pair on top of the snow and stretchered them off the mountain. The chap who survived was very lucky. Though badly injured, he dodged a bullet while his friend didn’t. Sadly, so often, that is the luck of the draw.
Advertisement
“We wish to extend our condolences to the deceased’s family and friends at this difficult time.”
Bessell was a popular figure at Ashton Park, particularly among the sixth form.
• ‘Incredibly stupid’ walkers risked death on Ben Nevis
In March 2022 he and Rowena Hector, the head of sixth form, led a trip for 20 students to Iceland, where the students climbed volcanoes and glaciers.
After that trip he said: “The past few years have been very hard on teenagers that are growing up through this pandemic and to be able to get them out into the wider world and experience new places and cultures has been invaluable to their life experiences so far.”
Advertisement
Uffendell, the headteacher, released a statement on the school website: ”Mark was climbing on Ben Nevis and was caught in an avalanche. Mark suffered a significant fall and despite the efforts of mountain rescue has sadly passed away.
“Mark was a huge part of Ashton Park and he will be hugely missed, but never forgotten.
“Our deepest sympathies go to the family and especially Charlie, during this very difficult and upsetting time.”
He said that the school would work with Bessell’s family on how to mark his life.
Rachel Geary, whose daughter attended Ashton Park School, said: “Mr Bessell was a huge part of many pupils’ lives, helping transform them into strong, determined and resilient young adults, supporting and guiding them through Duke of Edinburgh and Ten Tors.”
Wayne Handley, a former army comrade, said: “So honoured to have served in the same platoon with Bess, [he] was always there to help me if I was struggling with anything, nothing was too much.
“What an amazing all-round gifted man, thinking of his family at this time.”
A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “Around 3.25pm on Friday, December 30, 2022, we received a report of two people falling in an avalanche at Ben Nevis.
Advertisement
“The Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team were dispatched and a 49-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. A 42-year-old man was taken to Belford Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.”
