YR WYDDFA CHALLENGE

Disabled Adventurer becomes the first person with disabilities to reach the highest accessible point of Yr Wyddfa, at over 1000m up, in a power mobility chair with no physical support.

The Problem

Taking a wheelchair up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) is nothing new, the spinal charity Back Up hold an annual "Chair Pull" where teams of 16 - 20 people compete to drag wheelchairs up in the fastest time and numerous chair users fundraise by going up Snowdon with their friends and family each year. But, from our research and speaking with Snowdonia Park, no-one has achieved the ascent in a power mobility chair unaided and that's the key word here, "unaided".

Why shouldn't people with disabilities want to experience the thrill of going up a mountain without relying on a large number of people? Why can't they be enabled to experience the freedom and thrill of extreme powerchair adventuring?

The Solution and Aim

We believe the solution is RockClimber, an all-new extreme e-mobility chair concept, designed specifically to enable me attempt a solo ascent of Yr Wyddfa. By doing so, develop potential solutions to overcoming some of the real-world urban and rural environment accessibility obstacles, through the use of an inclusive design approach, leading to greater independence and freedom, enabling people with disabilities to go further than ever.

The aim of our Snowdon challenge, is for me to ascend Yr Wyddfa via Llanberis in RockClimber, without the support team needing to man handle me and it, over the numerous obstacles we will encounter along the route and believe me there are various very large steps and climbs I'll need to navigate, some over half a metre high!