TWO fathers attempting to climb Europe's highest peak to raise funds for charities suffocated after being swept 250 metres down a mountain by an avalanche, an inquest has heard.

Neighbours John Taylor and Stephen Barber were among nine climbers who died as as they traversed Mont Maudit ahead of scaling Mont Blanc in the early hours of July 12, 2012.

Mr Taylor, 48, who had recently become the director of resources at the Stockton and Hartlepool-based Vela Housing Group, and accountant Mr Barber, 47, of York, had been roped together with former Sunderland Polytechnic teaching student Roger Payne when they were hit by a 6ft "wall of snow".

Mr Payne, 55, one of the UK's most respected climbers, had been leading the pair and also died in the tragedy.

In the days following the avalanche, survivors described hearing nothing before being swept down the slope in seven seconds by an "invisible, sudden force".

Alex Petersen, 29, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said: "The people were buried really badly.

"We were digging for an hour-and-a-half, but the snow and ice was really hard."

French police said a block of ice 16in thick broke off the side of the mountain, probably dislodged by a climber, and slid down the slope, creating an avalanche more than 6ft deep.

Coroner Jonathan Leach said both men's bodies were taken to York Hospital, where a post-mortem examination found they had died of mechanical asphyxiation.

He said details of what happened between the climbers leaving a mountain hut to attempt the route and the avalanche alarm being raised were limited.

Recording an open conclusion, Mr Leach said: “There’s very little information I have, but both the gentlemen were part of a climbing group and while doing so they unfortunately became caught up in an avalanche, as a result of which they both received injuries from which they died."