THE family of Ross Tamin, who died during a climbing expedition in America a year ago, say they are still struggling to come to terms with his death.

Mr Tamin, 35, who was born and grew up in Chippenham, fell to his death while climbing a rock face at the Zion National Park, in Utah, last April.

An inquest into his death in September last year, concluded that although Mr Tamin had tied safety knots on many occasions, the knot he tied that day accidentally came undone, causing him to fall almost 200 feet to his death.

Mr Tamin's sister, Tina Slade, 46, of Fairfoot Close, Chippenham, said much of the last year had passed in a 'blur' for the whole family.

"If feels like yesterday since Ross died," she said.

"None of us can believe it has been a year.

"Our parents are still very upset. I don't think they'll ever come to terms with losing Ross.

"Some days I just pretend he's away on another of his adventures, but of course, he isn't."

Mr Tamin had gone on the one-month holiday to Utah with his climbing partner Richard Connors, of Cambridgeshire.

The two friends met at the Bridge Centre in Chippenham, and had been climbing together for seven years.

Speaking immediately after Mr Tamin's death, Mr Connors explained how their first day of climbing had gone well and after climbing for 500 feet, they had left their ropes there, to resume climbing the next day.

But the following day, the weather had been deteriorating and there was a 50 per cent chance of thunderstorms, so they decided to climb to 500 feet before assessing the situation.

At 500 feet, it started to rain and the climbers decided to put safety first and retreat to the ground.

And at 200 feet, Mr Tamin, who was descending first, tied two ropes together in a double figure of eight knot, for the rest of their descent.

But shortly afterwards, Mr Connors heard Mr Tamin cry out and when he looked over a ledge, he saw his friend sprawled out on the ground 180 feet below.

A hiker came to Mr Tamin's aid and found he was breathing erratically and had a faint pulse. But by the time Mr Connor reached the ground, his friend had died.

Even though Mr Tamin had moved to Bournemouth before his death to be with his new girlfriend, he was a regular visitor to the home of his parents, Connie and Kutir, in Hill Rise, Chippenham.

"We last saw him the weekend before he left for Utah, when he cooked us all a meal at our parents' house," said Mrs Slade.

"He was very excited about the trip.

"He used to go away on adventures every four to six months, climbing, and had been all over the world.

"Of course he knew it was dangerous, but he loved it. And he knew we worried about it, so a lot of the time, he wouldn't tell us what he had been up to until he got back."

One of five children, Mr Tamin went to St Paul's Primary and then Sheldon School in Chippenham.

He started climbing at the Bridge Centre when he was 16 and had had several near misses in the past, including once being trapped under an avalanche.

"Mum received lots of letters from well-wishers after the funeral. Many from people she had never even met before," said Mrs Slade.

"They all told her how much they liked and admired Ross's sense of adventure.

"Though we haven't decided for definite yet, the family may be going up to the Lake District in the next few weeks, to meet up with some of Ross's friends and celebrate his life.

"It will be very hard for all of us, but he loved it up there and it seems like a fitting tribute to him."

dwaite@newswilts.co.uk