Ex-soldier completes three peaks challenge with fridge on his back
Michael Copeland, 38, scaled the three highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales in under 24 hours.
A former soldier has completed the three peaks challenge in under 24 hours with a 25kg fridge on his back.
Michael Copeland, 38, scaled the three highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales in 23 hours 50 minutes to raise money for the mental health charity Mind.
The ex-Grenadier Guard conquered the Scottish peak Ben Nevis before scaling Scafell Pike in the Lake District and then Snowdon in Wales.
Copeland, from Stafford, set off on his tough climb on Saturday, starting the first mountain at 6.54am and completing the triple mountain climb at 6.44am on Sunday.
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During the ascents, Copeland had to overcome harsh weather conditions and obstacles – including heavy rain, snow and 40mph winds.
He even had to run the last hour of the challenge to make sure he was able to get down from the top of Snowdon, to complete the challenge in under 24 hours.
Copeland, who raised more than £7,000 for Mind, said: "The biggest challenge was the timings between the mountains.
"The fridge aimed to illustrate the burden of carrying mental health issues around.
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"The whole challenge felt like a movie with the changing weather conditions.
"It was a bit of a struggle. We had heavy rain, 30 to 40mph winds as we were going up Snowdon so it almost felt like a grown adult was trying to push me over.
"Climbing Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike was okay as there wasn't any wind however, when we got to the top of Ben Nevis we were met with 12 inches of snow and minus conditions.
"We got to the top of Snowdon and we realised we had an hour-and-a-half to get back down.
"It was very dramatic, we had to run for the last hour to make it on time."
Copeland began hiking and exploring the outdoors after the COVID lockdown to help with his mental health.
The lead-up to the challenge was tough for him as a week before his climb, Copeland's mother suffered two heart attacks.
A few weeks earlier, he had been struck down with a nasty stomach infection which caused him to lose a lot of weight and prevented him from training.
Copeland hopes he may have set a new record after completing the challenge.
He added: "I think I am one of the first to do the three peaks with a fridge on my back and people keep telling me I should apply for the Guinness World Records."
