Team South Wales conquers 10 climbs of Pen Y Fan
At 886 metres above sea level, Pen-y-Fan is the highest peak in South Wales, and is used by the Special Forces as part of their vigorous selection process (Google ‘The Fan Dance’ if you want to know more!).
Despite this, a team of Firefighters decided to attempt to conquer the mountain ten times in just 24 hours on 5th September, to raise money for The Fire Fighters Charity and Tŷ Hafan Children’s Hospice.
Owned by the National Trust, views across the Black Mountains, Swansea Bay, the Gower Peninsula and Bristol Channel are possible from the summit on a clear day, but for Barry Watch Manager Mark Potts and Bridgend-based Firefighters Tom Petty and Sean Cayford, thick mist, heavy rain and high winds dominated the challenge, known locally as Ten-Y-Fan.
Mark said: “We started the challenge at midnight and the visibility was extremely poor due to fog and mist, with a yellow weather warning in place for the following day.”
Despite the poor conditions, the team ploughed on with numerous friends and colleagues joining them for ascents during the next few hours.
“It was really uplifting to see how many people joined to support us at various points throughout the challenge. In total there were 19 who took part – some people turned up at midnight to do the initial climb, with others joining us later on.” He added.
Mark was the last to finish at around 19:15 the next day – almost five hours ahead of schedule, with some team members choosing to run ascensions of the challenge.
“It was physically very tough to do and, as time went on, many suffered with fatigue and joint pain, but people took part and kept going because of the great work the charities do,” he explained.
“I always try to do some charity work every year, and The Fire Fighters Charity is important to me because of the vital services they provide in terms of treatment, rehabilitation, and respite for both serving and retired Service personnel, and their families,” explained Mark.
“The Tŷ Hafan Hospice is situated on Barry Station’s grounds, and provides free end-of-life care for children and support for their families as they deal with the unimaginable loss of young loved ones. They have estimated that they are only able to provide care to one-in-ten children that need it in their area due to lack of funding, so they rely on fundraising to help them provide care to others.
“I would just like to say a massive thank you to everyone who took part and their kind and generous donations. We are all grateful to each and every one of you.” He concluded.
To help Mark and the team reach their target please visit: