DoSomethingDifferent BDM scales 15 mountains in 17 hours

DoSomethingDifferent.com business development manager James Rogers climbed 15 mountains in 17 hours as he completed the ‘Welsh 3000s Challenge’ for charity.

Coventry-based Rogers left his home at 2am on Saturday, June 1, to scale heights of 3,000 feet or more in Snowdonia within the challenge’s 24-hour time limit.

He finished the course just before 8pm, going on to meet his father, brother and fiancée for pub grub and a pint.

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“You could have put a bowl of grass in front of me and I would have eaten it,” said Rogers, describing his condition after the challenge.

His efforts raised nearly £1,600 for Play It Forward, which will use the money to support young people in Zambia.

The challenge, considered a significant step up from the Three Peaks Challenge, resulted in Rogers walking around 30 miles and achieving approximately 3,800 metres of elevation gain.

“The 24-hour time limit technically starts when you reach your first peak, Crib Goch, and stops as soon as you reach the last, Foel-Fras, although I timed myself from where I started, Pen-y-Pass car park, to where I finished at Aber Falls car park,” said Rogers, who clocked a time of 17 hours and 14 minutes.

Asked how the challenge went, he said: “Weather-wise, it was fantastic. You ideally want dry weather with a little breeze and overcast as well. Having the sun beating down on you can take it out of you, especially if you’re a pale-faced ginger like myself.

“The only hiccup was injuring my knee on the seventh mountain – I felt a sharp pain and had to rest for a little bit. I’d never experienced that before and it slowed me right down.”

Although Rogers had considerable previous experience of hill-climbing, he prepared for the challenge by scaling each of the mountains individually.

On the day itself, he said, eating little and often was key. “Every half-hour, I ate something even if I wasn’t hungry, whether it be a banana, a cereal bar or Pringles – they’re my Achilles heel,” he said.

Play It Forward, the charity supported by Travel Weekly’s Globe Travel Awards last year, uses sports to help young people access education and healthcare.

DoSomethingDifferent.com is a specialist attractions and experience provider.