TOUR de France winner Geraint Thomas, Olympic silver medallist Becky James and Wales rugby star George North are just three of the people Des Lally has met during his attempt to make 365 ascents of Pen Y Fan in one year.
Des, a mortgage broker from Brecon, is well on his way towards reaching this tally having recently passed the 200-mark. He began his challenge on March 26 this year and is hoping to raise a substantial sum of money for Cancer Research UK and Help for Heroes. He said his fitness has improved as a result and it now takes him about 90 minutes to walk to the summit of Pen Y Fan and back down again. On days when he feels particularly athletic he runs down, which knocks about 30 minutes off that time.
During the challenge he has met several sporting celebrities, some of whom have joined him on the walk. He has also been joined by groups of school children, Army and police teams and the Brecon Mountain Rescue Team.
Among the famous names from the world of sport he has shared his challenge with are cyclists Geraint Thomas and Becky James, rugby stars George North, Mark Jones and Matthew Powell and GB world mountain running gold medallist Richard Roberts.
One adversary he has found particularly challenging is the weather. When he set off Britain was still in the grip of snow and since then Des has had to cope with one of our hottest summers – and, just recently, Storm Callum.
Des said: “My motivation in this challenge is my Mum and Dad as they have had three different types of cancer between them while my Dad spent 26 years in the Irish Guards – hence I’m supporting Help for Heroes.
“Since I started in March, I’ve not only met some amazing people but I’ve experienced everything Pen Y Fan and Mother Nature has to offer. So far there’s been waist-high snow, extreme summer temperatures which gave me heat exhaustion and Storm Callum which knocked me off my feet and saw me crawling on my hands and knees to the top. And I’ve still got winter to go!
“I have been very well supported which has been very humbling, not only by people donating money but also by people joining me on my journey up Pen Y Fan and people doing their thing on social media.