A Marine has climbed Wales' three highest peaks in less than 23 hours with a fridge strapped to his back. Corporal Sam Hammond, who has a passion for the outdoors and especially Snowdonia, came up with the hare-brained idea to raise money for the Llanberis Mountain Rescue team. He achieved his goal at the top of Snowdon at 8.47am on Saturday less than 23 hours after starting out at the bottom of Pen y Fan.
The 30-year-old, who lives in Redruth, Cornwall, completed the 17 miles – with 2,200m in elevation – in 22 hours and 57 minutes. The fridge weighed just under 30kg until the final ascent up Snowdon when Sam added a few beers inside it ready for celebratory drinks at the top.
Sam admitted he doesn't really know how the idea to carry a fridge up the three peaks came about. "I remember seeing someone do a marathon with a fridge a long time ago," he said.
Read more: 7 things everyone who's walked up Pen Y Fan has experienced
He borrowed the appliance from a friend at work and started training a few months ago, including rocking up to his local parkrun with the fridge strapped to his back. His fridge-assisted PB for the 5km run stands at 28:20, which he thinks "isn't too bad really". The rest of his training consisted of weighing up his Bergen backpack and doing long hikes along the Cornish coastline.
Travelling back to Cornwall on Tuesday after some well-earned rest Sam said his back had seen better days. "The fridge rubbed onto my back quite badly," he said. "It doesn't look in a good way to be honest." Other than that he reckoned he was 80% recovered from the outlandish challenge.
He's already eyeing up the world record for a half marathon completed while carrying white goods. He reckons the current record of two hours and 45 minutes is well within his sights.
He's now raised more than £2,300 for the mountain rescue team. Sam said he'd been overwhelmed by the support from friends and well-wishers, including Samantha Rashleigh who carried all his food and water over Friday and Saturday. He was also joined by Jamie Walker and Sam Dnommah for the Pen y Fan leg of the challenge.
"I have a passion for pretty much everything outdoors and Snowdonia is one of my favourite places in the world," Sam added. The outdoor enthusiast has scaled Tryfan five times and says it's one of his favourite climbs . "Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team is made up of volunteers who give up their time to keep us safe," he continued. "You always want them to be there but if you do end up seeing them on the mountain it's because something has gone wrong. I've never needed them myself but I like to know they're there.
"They work 365 24/7 to provide us with the security and assistance we need so any donation will help." You can donate to Sam's fundraising efforts for the Llanberis Mountain Rescue team here.
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