Wheelchair Adventurer to Make Second Attempt at Climbing Yr Wyddfa Unaided

A wheelchair adventurer said he would make a new bid to climb Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon, unaided after coming “frustratingly close” in his first attempt.

Nick Wilson, from Towcester, Northamptonshire, spent 14 years in the Army before he suffered a spinal injury.

During his first attempt at the challenge, on 4 June, the steering on his specially engineered mobility chair snapped more than three quarters of the way into climbing the Welsh peak, which is 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level.

Mr Wilson said he was now plotting to try again next month “to show people it can be done”.

He said the challenge aimed to raise greater awareness of accessibility issues faced by wheelchair users.

“We set out to show how inclusive design and engineering can make the world more accessible for everyone, everywhere,” said Mr Wilson.

“I’m not ashamed to say [I cried] when the steering snapped. It was so frustratingly close. We know it can be done, we did over 85% unaided.”

He said it would still have been possible to scale the mountain with help from his support team, but decided against continuing to try again and maintain the “integrity” of the challenge.