FOR HILMA Miles it was the ultimate adventure which she had planned for years.

But for nature-loving Hilma the hiking holiday to the snow-tipped mountains in Bhutan has ended in tragedy.

After days of trekking through the Himalayas last year, the 45-year-old from Fareham set up camp as usual with her group ready for a well-earned sleep.

When members of her team went to wake her the next morning, they found that she had died during the night.

Yesterday Portsmouth Coroner’s Court heard that Hilma and her group from Bhutan Footprints Travel and Adventure agency had reached an altitude of 4,500 metres by October 8. After reaching base camp in Jhomolhati the day before, they had all set up their tents at Shomuthang and enjoyed dinner as normal, before they all headed to bed at around 8pm.

It was the next morning when Hilma, of Runnymede, failed to respond to calls for breakfast, team leader Stephen Jones went to her tent and discovered her body.

Due to the remoteness of their location, it was not until seven days later that the team was able to get a helicopter to fly her body to hospital.

Post mortem results were unable to find any obvious cause of death.

The inquest heard that acute mountain sickness or an historic heart problem may have been the cause.

Hilma’s brother, George, who lives in Hereford, said: “Every few years she would go away, she loved to travel but she had been planning this one for years.

“She wasn’t the type of person to give up and let things beat her. She was very determined and in the end she proved she was too much so.

“A fellow hiker decided he had to turn back because it was getting too tough but Hilma refused to give in and tragically that ended in her death.

“She loved the outdoors and being with nature and dedicated much of her time helping out on Portsdown Hill.”

Coroner David Horsley said: “I am satisfied that Miss Miles’ death was not a violent or an unnatural one. Based on the evidence her death was due to entirely natural causes.”

He recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.


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