Sheffield man, 20, to climb Ben Nevis in memory of dad who fell to his death on Scottish mountain

Simon Kliment, aged 20, only lost his father Martin Kliment, 41, a month ago.

Martin tragically died after slipping and falling 300ft in harsh weather conditions while hillwalking Ben Nevis.

Simon said: “It was obviously a tragic shock. It was so unexpected and part of me still doesn’t believe it.”

Martin was on a hike at Ben Nevis with two friends on January 23 when he fell and disappeared.

His son said: “It was only my dad and his mate. The second friend had turned around because of the bad vision.

“All my dad’s friend heard was him shouting his name and he turned around and then saw my dad sliding right off the side of the cliff and, because of the fog, he didn't see much after.”

The rescue operation had to be stopped because of the bad weather conditions and they were only able to recover Martin’s body the next day.

Simon got the devastating news a day after and had to tell his mother.

He said: “My mum is worse than me, she’s very traumatised.”

The physics student at Sheffield Hallam University wants to do something meaningful to remember his father, and has set up a GoFundMe fundraising page.

He said: “I think at the end of the day, I can do something positive with this.

“So I found out that the Loachaber Mountain search and rescue team, that spent almost two days looking for my dad, don't get paid.

“So that's why I've decided to donate half the money to them and the other half should go to worldwide cancer research, because my dad’s mum passed away in his arms from cancer.”

Additionally, some of the money will go towards travel costs for family and friends from Slovakia who will climb Ben Nevis in the summer, following in Martin’s footsteps.

On the GoFundMe page Simon set up to raise money in his father’s memory, he wrote: “My dad passed away doing something that he loves, you can’t ask for much more than that.”

Simon, who spends his spare time swimming for the Slovakian team, said: “My favourite memory is our recent trip to a mountain in Wales.

“It was my first time camping and we went to the seaside in Wales and snapped a picture of us in the sunset.”

Simon is happy he got to enjoy the trip with his father before his dad’s untimely death, and he and shares an optimistic outlook despite the tragedy.

“One thing that has helped me get through it right now is that my dad taught me to appreciate my time and take advantage of every second we get,” he said.

“Obviously he never thought about something as tragic as this, but that was my dad and I want to remember him like this.”

To donate to the GoFundMe appeal, in support of the Loachaber Mountain search and rescue team, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ben-nevis-climb-for-martin-kliment?qid=de369d02d2228974ce12fd098ccf34b1.