SIMON Triger packed more into his 31 years than many people who live three times as long.

His mum Jennie especially likes the tribute about him "spreading positive energy" and getting the most out of life.

He was an experienced climber, hill runner and canoeist, had a good job as a university researcher… and he was devoted to his family.

So much so that he donated bone marrow to his younger twin brothers, who suffered from an immune deficiency, fitting in the operations around his university studies.

Sadly both Richard and Michael Triger died while both in their late teens and now Jennie is mourning the loss of Simon in a climbing tragedy on Mont Blanc.

He and a climbing partner were caught out by driving snowstorms and freezing temperatures. After two nights in a snow hole, Simon succumbed to the cold. His friend, Iain Mount, was saved after managing to find emergency supplies dropped by a helicopter.

Simon was a researcher at Glasgow University and many of his university and sports colleagues were in a congregation of about 300 at his funeral at St Chad's Church in Woodseats last Friday.

The service was taken by the Rev Geoffrey Usher, who conducted the funerals of Richard, who died aged 18 in 2000, and Michael, who died the day before his 19th birthday in 2001.

Mr Usher, minister at the Upper Chapel in Norfolk Street, also took the funeral of Jennie's husband, Prof David Triger, who died of heart disease at the age of 51 in 1993.

Instead of flowers Jennie and her daughter, Sara, asked mourners to make donations to the Anthony Nolan Trust, which encourages people between the ages of 18 and 40 to add their names to the bone marrow register.

Despite the latest tragedy in her life, Jennie wants Simon's 31 years to be celebrated and she sees more people going on the register as one appropriate expression.

Donations were also suggested to the Jonathan Conville Trust, set up by the family of a 27-year-old who died on the North Face of the Matterhorn, to subsidise training places in the Alps and in Scotland.

The twins became seriously ill while Simon studied electronics at Nottingham Trent University. He proved to be a sibling match for a bone marrow transplant, donating for Richard before completing his finals and for Michael the day after he collected a first class degree.

At the relatively old age of 17, though, the twin's operations were always going to be risky. They survived the procedures but not the complications.

Ironically it was his own spell in hospital, at a spinal injuries unit in Glasgow, after a climbing accident on the Isle of Skye, that helped Simon to come to terms with the loss of his brothers.

"It helped him to heal his spirit," said Jennie. "He was devastated after the twins died. Now he felt that life was worth living again."

Fit again he took a Phd, then the former Silverdale and Loxley College student took a break from academic life to become a mountain guide in the Dolomites for Sheffield holiday firm Jagged Globe. His enthusiasm for climbing took him across Europe and to the Himalayas.

After post doctorate research in electronics at Sheffield University, Simon went to work in Glasgow two-and-a-half years ago as an
electronics and electrical engineering researcher. It was a chance to give full rein to his sports activities as well as his university work.
Jennie, who lives in Ecclesall and works part-time with adults with learning disabilities at the Home Farm Trust, said his death in the Alps on September 10 was simply a case of falling victim to exceptional circumstances.

"They were just caught out by the weather. They went up the Italian side of Mont Blanc in perfect conditions but the weather can change very quickly. He had a mobile phone and rescue attempts were made, which was a comfort. He knew that people were trying to look for them. They did their best. They sent a helicopter but conditions were too bad and he succumbed to hypothermia.

"In climbing terms they did everything according to procedure. They weren't taking any risks, they had all the right equipment."
A celebration of Dr Simon Triger's life – and for Richard and Michael – is being planned for a later date. It will be an "upbeat" occasion, promises Jennie.

Meanwhile numerous tributes have paid to Simon. One is on the website of Glasgow-based Westerlands Cross Country Club, where he was a member.
It describes Simon as a rare and unique character.

"He never had a bad word to say against anyone and seemed on a mission to spread positive energy into the world, and get the most possible out of his life, packed to the brim with non-stop outdoor adventures and experiences."

At the funeral an oboe recording was played by Simon's girlfriend and her father, Katy and Graham Mackintosh.

And his mother and sister said he died doing what he loved best. Reaching the summits of some of the most beautiful places in the world are "dreams lived only by the few".

They concluded: "We none of us know the hour nor the day but Simon's philosophy was to make the most of every minute."




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