THREE men from the Aberystwyth area have raised more than £1,000 for the Mental Health Foundation by braving wintry conditions and challenging themselves to tackle three of the highest peaks in Wales in three days.

At the beginning of this year, Mathew Merry, a carpenter from Penrhyncoch, Gethin Elwyn, a media student from Aberystwyth, and Jonah Evans, an art student from Borth, organised a three day trip to Snowdon, Cader Idris and Pen Y Fan.

The plan was to climb all three in three days over one weekend.

Any money raised would be donated to the Mental Health Foundation.

Jonah said: “Mental health is something very important to us so the three of us decided to help by raising money for charity.

“Everyone’s different, but I can only speak from my experiences.

“Being in natural settings, getting out in the open and seeing this beautiful country for what it is will put a smile on anyones face.”

The trio said the challenge was “extreme but enjoyable.”

“Our first day on Snowdon was really challenging,” Mathew said.

“With icy conditions and strong winds we had to make sure we were properly prepared to face the difficulties.”

Gethin Elwyn added: “The climb up Cader Idris was very wet.

“It rained all day.

“Sometimes it felt as though we were walking up a river.”

The third day was spent on Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons in glorious sunshine.

“It was our last day and the weather had changed,” Jonah said.

“It made the experience a lot more pleasant.

“We had an inspiring three days and look forward to our next challenge.”