A British teenager climbing the French Alps fell 160 feet to his death while rappelling down a 260-foot rock face, French police said.

Ian Jackson, 19, of Guisborough, England -- who called climbing my demon and my cure -- was halfway through a six-week climbing trip near Chamonix, in eastern France, at the foot of Mont Blanc and had been due to start college next month.

Chamonix police told Britain's Daily Telegraph they believed Jackson made a technical mistake as he rappelled down the Les Gaillands rock face, a popular crag for climbers, including beginners.

He made an enormous error with his ropes, a police spokesman said. It was a grave technical error. He fell past his friends who were below him on the rock.

Jackson was declared dead while being airlifted to a Geneva, Switzerland, hospital, police said.

Jackson's family said the teenager was an experienced climber and they doubted he would have made a mistake, the Daily Telegraph said.

His mother, Angela Jackson, added: I could never keep him in the house, even when it was raining he would have to go to a climbing wall. I just wish his life could have been longer.

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