Rupert Whewell was taken by the mountains in an avalanche on 26 May 2019, along with 7 other in his group who were climbing in the Nanda Devi area of the Indian Himalayas. Rupert was an experienced climber and this was his first climbing trip to the Himalayas, planned in anticipation of his 50th Birthday on 24 Sept 2019, with the incredibly experienced Moran Mountain team. The phenomenal effort of the Indian climbers in recovering the bodies of seven of the eight climbers was followed in the media along with privileged footage of their last moments on a go pro camera (link below). https://mobile.twitter.com/ITBP_official/status/1148235564673568768?s=20 .

This tragedy has left us all devastated, yet Rupert's love of the mountains - climbing, ski-ing, being - defined him. As a result this memorial collection will be split between the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (who were so instrumental in his trip and his recovery as well to help support the family of the IMF guide who died alongside Rupert) and the two local branches of Mountain Rescue in Scotland - the Killin and Tayside Mountain Rescue Teams - where Rupert spent much of his time, around Glen Lyon and Perthshire.