This isn’t his first time climbing Wales’ tallest peak with another person on his back
Tom with his team(Image: Shaurya Shaurya)
In an incredible feat, a man from Welshpool has completed a trek up Wales’ highest peak carrying not just one, but two of his friends with him. This is the second time Tom Dyos, 39 has done such a challenge , with the first time in 2024 with just one pal.
For this year’s challenge Tom was determined to push past his record and help raise more than £100,000 for three different charities. Last year ‘s trek with friend Tim Davies was “pretty tough” says Tom, and he set about planning how to level up and surpass the 2024 feat.
“I did that last year and it was pretty tough, pretty hard, and then this year everybody thought, what are you going to do, how’re you going to beat what you’ve done last year?” Tom said, who’s raising money for Midlands Air Ambulance, Freddie’s Wish and First Aid4All.
The view looks mesmerising, but not when you’re upside down like Tom’s friends(Image: Shaurya Shaurya)
“So I decided to carry two people and not many people believed it, they’re in disbelief about it.” From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What’s On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here
This year, he decided to take Tim, and another one of his friends, Steve Parr, to the top of YrWyddfa.
Tom, who is no stranger to fitness training said that he was mainly motivated by “doing something good” for the charities.
“But it’s also like a mind over matter,” Tom explained. “I love training, love going to the gym, and I love doing it for an end goal.
“So it’s pushing the boundaries, pushing the limits of seeing how far I can get and what I can actually achieve.”
Tom undertook his challenge in a single climb, carrying one of his friends until a set distance, dropping him off, and then going down, and repeating the process until they reached the summit.
This gruelling challenge took him just under 11 hours.
“The biggest challenge was fatigue,” Tom said. “It took 10 hours and 42 minutes, I believe.
“After three hours, the fatigue started to kick in. I was getting more and more tired. It was just to walk further distances with them on my back.”
Tom carried his friends either on a chair on his back, or in a “fireman’s carry” where the person was dangling on his shoulders.
“For them, it was a big mental challenge because it’s not very comfortable,” Tom said. “If they’re on the chair, then they’re quite high up in the air, it’s quite wobbly, there’s nothing strapping them down, and obviously they can only see a deep drop beside them sometimes, so they have a lot to put trust in.
“Also, in the firemen’s carry, they’re pretty much on my shoulders, nearly upside down.
“The head’s upside down, wobbling about and all they can see sometimes is the side of a cliff so there’s a lot of trust they have to put in me.”
Tom taking his friend up the hill in a ‘fireman’s lift'(Image: Shaurya Shaurya)
With just 800 yards to the summit, severe fatigue started to kick in and Tom wasn’t sure he’d be able to make it.
However, he says his team’s support and his own determination kept him going.
“Failure wasn’t an option, it is your heart that keeps you going. It is the mindset,” Tom said.
“Sometimes if your mind can lead the way, your body will follow and sometimes your body’s incredible. It’s very resilient.”
When he reached the summit, Tom and his team burst into celebration and quickly made their way into the cafe at the top.
“My watch said I’d burned altogether that day about 7,500 calories,” he said. “I hadn’t eaten a great deal, so it was just eating pizza and getting that energy back in me to make my way back down.
“When I sat in that café, it was just like your soul has left your body because the fatigue you’ve got no energy, there’s just nothing left.
“You can barely keep your head up or your back straight because you’re that knackered, properly leaning over, feeling sick, feeling dizzy.”
After about a two hour journey, Tom managed to get down and met his partner who took him to eat some more food, before heading home.
You can donate to Tom’s fundraiser by clicking here.
