Three Lampeter lads have climbed 100 Welsh peaks in less than a year, all in aid for one charity close to their hearts.

It took the three 20-somethings less than 11 months to scale 84,000 feet in elevation, almost triple the height of Mount Everest (a measly 29,000 feet).

Ryan Doughty, 27, Iestyn Owens, 21, and Sion Williams, 25, set themselves the ambitious target of raising £3,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support, a charity that has supported their families who have been hit by the disease.

After scaling 50 of the peaks and only raising £1,000 the team feared they'd set the bar too high.

However on the last weekend of climbing in November when they scaled four peaks, the fundraiser on JustGiving grew by a whopping £3,000 in two days and now sits at £6,134.

Sion Williams, a tree surgeon by day and the mastermind behind the challenge, said: "On the last hike friends and family came with us. It was difficult conditions but reaching the last peak was one hell of a feeling.

"We were in emotional disbelief that we'd done it really- we were on top of the world. We thought our £3,000 target was ambitious so we can't believe the support we've had. We're so grateful to everyone who donated."

Ryan Doughty, Iestyn Owens and Sion Williams on top of their 100th Welsh peak, Plynlimon
Ryan Doughty, Iestyn Owens and Sion Williams on top of their 100th Welsh peak, Plynlimon (Ryan Doughty, Iestyn Owens and Sion Williams)

The crazy idea all stemmed from a quiet night in the pub for the three lads, with Sion holding a birthday copy of Dafydd Andrews's The Welsh One Hundred: Walks to the 100 Highest Peaks in Wales.

What started as a pub chat ended in a long year for the old school friends, who on their hardest day scaled 10 peaks.

Beginning January 6 and ending on November 18 they hiked 275 miles, sometimes camping at mountain bases the night before for early 4am starts.

They battled raging sun, rain, winds, blisters and bad knees to see parts of Wales the plumber, electrician and tree surgeon had never seen before.

The trio on a sunny peak
The trio on a sunny peak (Ryan Doughty, Iestyn Owens and Sion Williams )

Sion said: "What have I learned? Don't set myself such a big challenge for one year!

"It's shown us there's so much more to Wales than what's known- there are so many mountains that are quiet and peaceful because people don't know about them.

"It's left us with lots we'd like to go back up, like Rhinog Fawr where you can see the sea from the peak."

The trio are also a lot fitter than they were at the start of the year - needing to stop for breath often on their first peaks - they now brag that they can scale peak after peak without needing a break. But will they do it again?

Sion said: "Not sure what the next challenge is- we're taking a year off! We're thinking of doing the three peaks challenge [scaling the three highest mountains in the UK] but nothing that will take us a year again."

To donate, head to their JustGiving page.