A SCOT plunged 660ft down a mountain face to his death after the boulder top to which he was attached fell away, an inquest heard yesterday.
Matthew Goodyear, 36, from Edinburgh, had scaled the Aiguille De La Gondoliere in the French Alps and was abseiling down when tragedy struck.
His friend, John Telford, rushed down to try to help him, but he could not be saved, the court heard.
The pair had reached the summit and were coming back down when Mr Telford saw Mr Goodyear fall to his death.
The accident happened on 18 July, 2006, but French authorities did not scramble a rescue helicopter until the day afterwards, the inquest heard.
An investigation by French authorities found that the accident had been caused by natural erosion.
The coroner, Caroline Beasley-Murray, said: "In the preliminary judicial inquiries by the Gendarmerie in France, they explain why they felt they couldn't enter into a rescue attempt overnight.
"They sent a helicopter out the next day and they also talked about the problem of surface erosion at high altitude."
Mr Goodyear's parents attended the short inquest at Chelmsford Coroner's Court in Essex.
Coroner Mrs Beasley-Murray added: "I've had the advantage of seeing the statement provided by John Telford.
"I also had the opportunity of seeing quite a full report and quite a lot of evidence from the French authorities. I shall record that Matthew Goodyear died as a result of an accident."
The full article contains 251 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
