CHRISTOPHER MCCALLIONRelatives of two brothers who died during a climbing trip to Snowdonia described them as "smashing lads".Christopher McCallion, 29, and his brother James, 35, were found dead on 2 February, 2009 after they were stranded in bad weather on Mount Snowdon.Full-time triathlete and marine surveyor Christopher, of Severn Beach, Bristol, and brother James, of Weston-super-Mare, had been tackling popular climbing spots on Snowdon as part of their training for several Ironman events in 2009.Christopher and his wife Katie-Ann, who gave birth to their first child in September, called their newborn son James Jr, after Christopher's brother.Christopher' s father-in-law, John Cox, said the family was "devastated".He said: "Chris and James were two smashing lads. (Their wives are) both in tears and utterly devastated. I'm keeping them under my wing and we're doing all we can to look after them at this tragic time."We're a very close family and friends have been very kind with their support."They checked the weather conditions before they set off, but they were both very experienced climbers and sensible lads, so we had no reason to worry. They were well-equipped with everything they needed and we had no fears that something like this could happen – it's a complete shock."The brothers were found on Monday 2 February on the mountainside at Clogwyn Coch, not far from the summit of Snowdon. They had arrived in Snowdonia on the Friday and had planned to start climbing the mountain on Saturday.Christopher had recovered from a leg injury and was training alongside James to take part in marathons and the UK Ironman Triathlon later this year.Christopher completed the Ironman Triathlon in Nice in France in 2005 to raise £6,000 for Cancer Research UK in memory of his father, who died from the disease.Despite breaking his neck in a cycling accident six months before the challenge, he swam 24 miles, cycled 112 and then ran a 26.2-mile marathon in a triathlon described as the most challenging in Europe.
Keep me informed of updates
