Hayley Roberts’ aunt Liz was one of her most ardent fans, cheering her on whenever she attempted new challenges. Yet, while she couldn’t be there for her niece’s completion of the mountainous Welsh 3000s Challenge, a lasting legacy was created in Liz’s name when Hayley raised almost £2,500 for Breast Cancer UK.
“I was always going to do the challenge to raise funds for Breast Cancer UK because my aunt had breast cancer twice,” says Hayley. “The first time was in the early 2000s when it was detected from a routine mammogram. It was aggressive, but it was found in the very early stages and was successfully treated. However, in 2021, she went for another routine mammogram, and they found the cancer again, which resulted in a mastectomy.”
The girl of the mountains
Hayley’s aunt loved hearing about all her hiking adventures; she called her niece Merch y Mynyddoedd (the girl of the mountains). So, Hayley decided to do the Welsh 3000s for Liz and Breast Cancer UK; she started planning for summer 2022. Unfortunately, her aunt passed away suddenly in January 2022 from a massive heart attack.
“The most horrendous thing was that two weeks before she passed away, she went for one of her regular checks, and she was cancer-free,” says Hayley. “I was always going to do the challenge for her. I just never got a chance to tell her.”
A few days after Liz’s death, Hayley went from her home in Conwy for a head-clearing walk into the nearby Eryri mountains. The weather was frosty and cold but nicer than expected for early January, with low clouds and a few inversions. Hayley impulsively decided to walk home.
“I walked from the Ogwen Valley all the way to Conwy,” she says. “It happens to be the last long section of the 3000s, but I had the fitness, so I did it. I also realised it was the right time to do the challenge.”
The Welsh 3000s involves reaching the top of all 15 mountains over 3,000ft in Wales within 24 hours without using any form of transport. It’s described as suitable only for “very fit and experienced mountain walkers.”
What is the Welsh 3000s Challenge?
The Welsh 3000s involves reaching the top of all 15 mountains over 3,000ft in Wales within 24 hours without using any form of transport. It’s described as suitable only for “very fit and experienced mountain walkers.”
“I did it in 17 hours, and I had a friend with me,” says Hayley. “It was in July, and I started on Crib Goch. It’s very exposed, and several people have died on it. The last summit is Foel-fras. I trained during some long days out in the mountains and did each section of the route individually before doing it all at once. So, I was really familiar with the path and what to expect. I’m quite lucky because it’s right on my doorstep as I live in Conwy.”
“I walked it. I didn’t run it at all. People have run it in the past, but I just walked it. We just kept a good pace the whole day. It was around 30 miles up and down. The hardest part for me was coming down Tryfan, looking at the Carneddau, and realising I had another seven mountains to do.”
Many people don’t finish the challenge, partly because of the number and severity of steep inclines along the route. The total ascent is 12,000ft of elevation.
“There was no way that was happening to me,” says Hayley. “I got to the top of Pen yr Ole Wen, and then the last significant incline after that was up to Carnedd Llewelyn and we’d gone out to Yr Elen and come back over to Llewelyn. I thought we’ve got this, now we just need to finish it. It was really, really tough.”
It was also emotional. A few years earlier, Liz had filmed Hayley completing another hiking challenge for the Gurkha Welfare Trust.
“My cousin sent me that video on the day I was doing the 3000s,” says Hayley. “It was the first time I’d heard my aunt’s voice in such a long time. I was just coming down off Eryri, and it absolutely broke my heart. I’ve still got that video saved on my phone now.”
Why Breast Cancer UK?
Liz (Elizabeth Pendlebury) lived in Aberystwyth, and Hayley says she was so well known and everyone who knew her was happy to support and donate to Breast Cancer UK because she was so positive and supportive of everyone in her life.
“The 3000s was a really emotional challenge. But my aunt would’ve been so proud. At the funeral, people donated around £1,000 for Breast Cancer UK. Taken with the money raised from the 3000s, it is a great legacy for her.”
