Paula Suchy's Fundraising Page for MKRS

I decided to walk up Snowdon to challenge myself and to raise funds for Charity at the same time. I am registered Blind and was walking with four members of my family who acted as my guides. We completed our sponsored climb up Snowdon on Tuesday 12th September. We chose the best day for good weather according to the met office. We were on the mountain for 8 hours in total, it took 4 hours to climb up, about an hour's rest, and 3 hours to walk down again. We took all the advice given regarding equipment, clothing etc. and set off in good weather. The top of the mountain was cloaked in cloud so we knew that visibility would not be good. However we were not expecting that the weather would turn quite as nasty as it did. About three quarters of the way up, the rain lashed down and the winds were very strong. It made the last bit of the climb very difficult and not at all enjoyable. Unfortunately my waterproofs were not up to the extreme weather conditions and I was soaked through. I was also very nervous about the walk down as it is so much harder than going up but I just had to go for it as there was no alternative. We rested in the summit cafe and luckily the rain had stopped when we ventured out to walk down. The high winds dried me out a bit as we picked our way down the rocky paths. Stephan had hard work guiding me and trying to pick the safest places to place our feet. Around two thirds of the way down the rain began again in earnest. We were all extremely wet by the time we reached the bottom of the mountain where more hot chocolate was served up. Apart from sore hips, feet, neck and shoulders though, there were no injuries and we all got down safely. We certainly felt a great sense of achievement. This has been the hardest physical challenge I have ever undertaken and I am not sure that I would have struggled right to the top if it hadn't been for the generous people who had sponsored me and I didn't want to let the charities down. Thank you all.