Whilst the majority of the team travelled to local Queen’s Jubilee Beacon sites by Rivington Pike and Darwen Jubilee Tower, team Callout Member Steve Nelson, with his Novice Search Dog Boris travelled to the summit of Wales. His story follows below:

On Monday evening (4th June) Team callout member and SARDA Wales trailing dog team Steve Nelson and Boris joined members of the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team & SARDA Wales to escort a group of soldiers who have just returned from the Everest region to ascend to the summit of Snowdon in support of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations.

Soldiers representing the charity ‘Walking with the Wounded’ lit a beacon on the summit of Yr Wyddfa, (Snowdon) at 1085 meters the highest point in Wales and the fabled home of Rhita Gawr . This was one of four beacons lit on the summits of the highest national peaks in Britain, Snowdon’s beacon was lit at 22:29.

This joint venture was in support of the Trust set up by the Prince Harry, who is the Patron of the ‘Walking with the Wounded’ campaign and Prince William, who is patron of the Mountain Rescue Council for England and Wales. Members of the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team, together with dogs and handlers from SARDA (Wales) accompanied the soldiers and escorted them from Pen y Pass walking along the Pyg Track to the summit and descended along the path to Llanberis. This therefore, was a brilliant example of joint participation between the charities.

The soldiers are to be congratulated for their efforts on Everest, which was sadly curtailed because of bad weather and dangerous snow conditions. However, their effort with the ‘8848’ fundraising event is to be applauded as it aims to turn the height of Everest in meters into pounds. The historical links between the conquest of Everest in 1953 and Snowdon are well documented at Pen Y Gwryd, the adopted home of the first successful ascent of Everest