Latest news with #YrWyddfa
North Wales Live
02-08-2025
- Sport
- North Wales Live
Fan aims to fulfil ambition to scale Yr Wyddfa despite late wheelchair snag
A rugby fan is taking on an epic challenge to fulfil his ambition to scale Yr Wyddfa - despite a late, wheelchair setback. Phil Thompson will attempt the feat on Saturday, August 2 in aid of his beloved Bangor Rugby Club. Phil, 66, who is a lifelong supporter and whose son plays for the club, uses the wheelchair after having a life-changing motorcycling accident in 1978, aged 19. He will be accompanied by other Bangor Rugby Club members on this 12-hour, 20-mile challenge in Eryri. However, there was a last-minute setback after a battery-powered, all terrain wheelchair was no longer available. So his pals have had to hastily weld some "carry bars" onto Phil's wheelchair should he need them. Get all the latest Gwynedd news by signing up to our newsletter - sent every Tuesday Mark Owen, of Bangor Rugby Club, told North Wales Live: "Phil has inspired us all. He never misses a Bangor game and turns up whether it's raining or shining. "He's a true supporter. It's only right we help him with one of his life long dreams of getting to the top!" During the journey, other fundraisers will carry two bags of rugby gear bags all the way to the summit to make the challenge even more memorable. The trekkers will set off from Bangor Rugby Club and meet Phil in Llanberis then take a trail leading to the summit. Phil's climb isn't for personal fundraising. It is to raise money for the club's community outreach programme, which funds rugby and activity camps for children and young people in Bangor. A club spokesman said: "With Welsh Rugby Union funding uncertain, this initiative will help keep grassroots rugby alive in North Wales. The club is looking for donations and sponsors to help raise money for one of the oldest rugby clubs in Wales and its vital work in the community." He added: "If you've never been to the club before, come on down - we've got a great bar serving great coffee and even better food."
North Wales Chronicle
21-07-2025
- Climate
- North Wales Chronicle
Eryri and Yr Wyddfa high-profile races halted mid-event
Event organisers Always Aim High Events and XTERRA made the decision to halt all trail running races at 12.25pm on Saturday, July 12, due to what they described as 'extreme' weather conditions. Races had begun as early as 6.30am and included the 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon, Ultra Marathon, Yr Wyddfa | Snowdon24, and the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship. The XTERRA World Championship was being held as part of the XTERRA Snowdonia Trail Marathon Eryri on July 11 and 12. The race is the flagship finale of the Trail Run World Series, with an inclusive trail festival in Wales' outdoor capital. Meanwhile, The Black Diamond Yr Wyddfa | Snowdon24 is a gruelling 24-hour endurance challenge in which participants attempt to ascend and descend Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) as many times as possible within a single day. MORE NEWS: 17-foot speedboat off Bangor Pier ends up as sunken wreck 25-year-old from Caernarfon who died after fall from Malta hotel balcony named In a statement released on July 12, Llangefni-based Always Aim High Events - known for delivering some of the UK's premier triathlon, cycling, and running events, said: "We regret to inform you that today's race - including the 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon, Ultra distances, and the Yr Wyddfa | Snowdon24 event - has been stopped. "Due to extreme temperatures, it is no longer safe to continue with the event. "All runners are currently being safely escorted off the mountain by our event staff and mountain leader team. "Our top priority is the safety and wellbeing of all participants. Please bear with us as we focus on ensuring everyone returns safely. "Thank you for your understanding." The statement attracted mixed comments from participant. One person wrote: "Tough call to make but [the] right one in these temps I'd say." Another said: "Having been involved with MR for many years, carrying someone off the hill in the very hot conditions is a monumental task, so having an event cancelled would have taken some pressure of teams. Many of them are doing 100 plus incidents a year, and any help they can get can only help. Anyone who disagrees can always try carrying someone off the hill in this heat!" Another commented: "Yes it's a hot day but an intelligent athlete who has trained for ultra distance generally knows how to self manage and pace according to conditions. I firmly believe that the 24 hour runners should not have had their event cancelled at the point at that it was. I could have happily accepted a decision to hold athletes back for a few hours to allow the temps to come down." Another said: "Should never have started." One person taking part in the championship event voiced his anger and disappointment that the race had been cancelled due to the heat. He also outlined other dangers. The participant, from Malta, told the North Wales Chronicle: "I competed in the Xterra world Championships on Saturday. It was one of several races. All were cancelled due to extreme heat but I believe the major reason was because the organizer was not prepared and didn't have any 'plan B.' "It's a big pity to cancel a world championships with so many athletes travelling from across the world to be here. "I came from Malta. There were around 15 more athletes from Malta participating in different races by Xterra in the same day." Other racers travelled from as far as Australia, New Zealand, China and USA. Always Aim High Events told the Chronicle and its coastal titles that "the safety of all participants, volunteers and race support staff is the number one priority for the event organisers and the decision was taken following consultation with the incident management and health and safety teams." Many runners in the 10k and Half Marathon successfully completed their races before the cancellation was announced at 12.25pm. They added that all major stakeholders were "promptly" informed, and participants were supported in making a safe descent and return to the event village, where welfare checks and final confirmations were conducted. Extreme weather protocols were implemented following a review by the event's medical director the day before the race. "Detailed" safety briefings were also delivered to competitors prior to the start of the events. Matt Newman, Chief Executive of Always Aim High Events, said: "We would like to thank all participants and our incredible event support team for their patience, resilience, and understanding. Having delivered this race in Llanberis for the past ten years, we are deeply saddened to have had to halt the event. "The safety of our participants has always been our top priority, and we made the decision to halt the races to ensure everyone was brought down from the mountain safely." The course has since been thoroughly swept by the mountain safety team.
North Wales Chronicle
17-07-2025
- General
- North Wales Chronicle
Beaumaris Lifeboat launches to person in the water
Beaumaris Lifeboat launched on Saturday, July 12 after receiving a page from HM Coastguard. A spokesperson for the lifeboat service said: "Once on scene it was established that the vessel had hit and become stuck on some rocks near the navigable channel. "Having established that all was well with the person aboard the craft, an assessment was made by the helm in consultation the Coastguard as to the best course of action to be taken. MORE NEWS Eryri and Yr Wyddfa races halted mid-event as heat poses safety risk "It was decided that with a moderate breeze blowing and a strong tide, the vessel was a danger to navigation for other craft. Therefore, for safety reasons, the boat would be towed off the rocks to the nearest place of safety which was the slip way at Penmaenmawr. "Mobile coastguard teams had also been tasked and assisted with the recovery of the vessel on to the slipway." An RNLI spokesman said: 'The first informant did the correct thing in alerting the coastguard to the situation. This meant our volunteer lifeboat crew were able to reach the vessel quickly, assess the situation and take the best course of action to prevent the situation worsening."
BBC News
06-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Yr Wyddfa hike raises £21k for Worcestershire hospital trust charity
More than £21,000 has been raised for a hospital trust thanks to a charity hike in what organisers described as tough challenge saw 58 people climb to the summit of Yr Wyddfa, Wales' tallest mountain, in the dark - facing torrential rain and 50mph raised will go to the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Charity, towards improving care and experiences for patients in the area."My beautiful boy came into the world tiny and fragile," said Paige Cheshire, who climbed with her family to give back to the neonatal unit at Worcestershire Royal hospital, after her son was born at 30 weeks. "What followed was an emotional 47-day stay in the neonatal unit – intubation, sepsis and a cerebral palsy diagnosis."But throughout it all, the neonatal team stood by us with expertise, compassion, and unwavering support - they saved my boy and held me up when I needed strength the most." Husband and wife, Andy and Heather Asbury, climbed in the June trek to raise money for one of the charity's specialist funds - The Children of Worcestershire and Herefordshire Cancer is a cause close to their home because they said the group supported their son Josh during his walked along with Dawn Forbes, a children's cancer specialist nurse with the NHS trust."Without the support of Dawn and the charity, Josh's hospital journey would have been very different," said Mr Asbury."From little things like fresh fruit vouchers for the fruit stall outside the hospital to bigger things like Halloween parties, they helped us to make memories and to feel more comfortable during our hospital stays. "Even now, they're still there for us after Josh rang his end-of-treatment bell." Members of the trust's children's emergency department team also made the climb, raising money to buy toys and therapeutic resources - with the aim of helping young patients feel more at ease during visits."This support reduces anxiety and helps both children and their families feel more relaxed during their time with us," said Natalya Moore, from the trust. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
06-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Scunthorpe steelworker's fundraiser is 'fight against sepsis'
A steelworker who has walked from Scunthorpe to Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) to raise awareness of sepsis said he hopes his fundraiser will "change someone's life".Jordan Wharton started his expedition on 29 June after losing both his grandfather Robert Brown and best friend Josh Catterall to the illness in 2016. The 29-year-old mobile plant driver said the 170-mile (270km) challenge, culminating with a mountain climb on Sunday, was "incredible and emotionally tough"."It's emotional, not just for me but for everybody. When I get to the top with my brother, it's going to be monumental and I'll never forget it for the rest of my life," said the British Steel worker. Mr Wharton, from Scunthorpe, said his £11,000-target fundraiser was "a fight against sepsis" after he felt "destroyed" by the deaths of his grandfather and best friend. "Josh was my best mate. We did everything together. He was my right hand man. It went from talking to him one night to the next day him not being here but in hospital, fighting for his life. It was very hard. "It pretty much destroyed me."When my grandad died, it just didn't affect me, it affected my whole family. He was the main man in the family."I'm not one to talk about it, but it has been really hard."Recently, his colleagues had also suffered with sepsis including his brother's friend who fell ill after being taken to hospital with pneumonia while on holiday in Ibiza, Mr Wharton said. His fundraising challenge had put him "back on track" after years of not knowing what to do following their deaths."Raising money for charities has sort of got me back to where I want to be, rather than wasting my time at the pub and doing silly things."Despite the uncertainty of his future prospects at British Steel, Mr Wharton was in two minds over whether he would be able to finance "such a big task", but said the UK government taking control of the Chinese-owned company was a "big relief". He started his expedition as a solo traveller and said the heat on some days made it tough, walking between eight and 11 hours with a "25kg rucksack on my back". However, he was joined by his younger brother Sam on Thursday."It's been really hard, not just physically - I can deal with pain - but emotionally. When you're walking on your own, you seem to get in your own thoughts and stuff. "But it's the good memories that got me through and every donation that pops up every five minutes, it just inspires me to keep going." Fighting back tears, Mr Wharton said his four-year-old son had given him a Spiderman figurine, which he had promised to take to mark the moment he completed his father-of-two said he was thankful for the huge support he had received from family, friends and colleagues, as well as those he had met on his trip."It's been eye-opening," said Mr Wharton."I've had nothing but love off everyone, and this is doing something good. So, if I can help one person change their life, I've done something good." Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
