A man from Powys recently took on the challenge of climbing Snowdon, carrying another man on his back the entire way.

Tom Dyos, from Welshpool, battled, wind, rain and the weight of his friend Tim Davies as he made his way up Wales’ tallest mountain on Sunday, June 30.

The challenge began as part of a collective fundraising effort from Get Up and Give Back to raise money for several charities, which saw Tom run the Manchester 10k and complete the Three Peaks challenge, but as he was walking up Snowdon for the latter, he was struck by an idea.

He said: “As I was walking up Snowdon, I had the mad idea of what it would be like to do this with someone on your back and hadn’t shaken the idea by the time I’d gotten down.

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“I contacted Get Up and Give Back and they loved it, so set about putting it together. Tim was the first person I thought of, someone who’d be happy for me to carry them up Snowden and he was very up for encouraging me as I trekked up the mountain.

(Image: Tom Dyos)

“Our conversation was mostly one way, with him in my ear and me with no energy to talk back.

“It sounds strange but, mentally, it was great to have someone on my back. Tim’s encouragement and banter was what I needed to overcome the mental challenge of being motivated to get to the top.

“Physically, it’s obviously a bigger challenge. When we first put him on my back we got about 20 yards before needing to stop and I could see the faces of my support team drop as we realised it was going to be a long day.”

Tim was sat on a special frame Tom assembled himself, adding that he was “surprised” it held together for the entire trek, only taking it off when they got close to the summit as the route became more crowded. 

(Image: Tom Dyos)

He said: “With that frame, balance was as much of an issue as weight. I’d done some practice with it and Tim on my back, but nothing prepares you for the gradient and terrain of Snowden itself.

“There were some very difficult sections where it got especially steep and rocky. We also battled the cold and rain in a long slog that took over 6 hours in total.

“We also had plenty of odd looks on the way up from others on the mountain. Several people stopped to ask what we were doing and ended up donating to the fundraiser on the spot.

(Image: Tom Dyos)

“Getting to the top was a huge weight off my shoulders, quite literally of course.”

“A massive thank you to the team. I couldn't have done this without them. They were amazing. While my blood was pumping and the sweat pouring, they froze in the rain as we slowly summited. It was just as tough for them as it was for me, if not tougher.”

A link to the fundraiser can be found here.