Back in 2011 a 4×4 truck was abandoned for the second time at the summit of Yr Wyddfa (Commonly known as Snowdon) in North Wales for the second time despite there being no access road. It was an illegal act and was roundly condemned by park rangers and local authorities. The person responsible offered to sell the vehicle on Ebay to raise money for mountain rescue although this was rejected by the the intended charity.
Now a Singletrackworld member has done it again. This time to cheers from walkers and other mountain users who gave encouragement all the way to the summit.
Why the attitude shift?
His vehicle was electric and a 1/10th scale radio controlled model.
“Yesterday I drove a 4×4 up to the top of Snowden/Eryri… and got a round of applause for making it.”
“An equivalent of a 100 mile drive for the little beastie. It was for a bet from a mate in one of the RC groups I’m in that a 1/10th scale truck couldn’t make it after he did it with his 1/8th scale one (almost double the size!), I had a bit of free time and was in the area with the bikes so just had to prove him wrong. Made it all the way up without having to carry it up any sections, came close a few times and only had to right it once on flat ground as a curious dog flipped it on its side (so doesn’t count in my book). Two battery changes on the way up and just about made it back down without running out of power. Had pretty much universal encouragement from all the walkers up there, plenty of bemusement but loads of people taking pictures and videos of it and willing it up tricky sections!”
The stunt was apparently to settle a £50 bet with a friend who had done a similar stunt but with a larger model. Reluctantjumper has said he will match the £50 he has won and give the money to charity.
“The £50 I’ve won on doing it I’m going to match and give to a local Mental Health charity. I’ve done a charity crawl up Pen Y Fan before with 15 other nutters, that raised well over £1400 for a local school that looks after disadvantaged kids.“
Oh! And he drove it back down the mountain after reaching the top.
An equivalent of a 100 mile drive for the little beastie. It was for a bet from a mate in one of the RC groups I’m in that a 1/10th scale truck couldn’t make it after he did it with his 1/8th scale one (almost double the size!), I had a bit of free time and was in the area with the bikes so just had to prove him wrong. Made it all the way up without having to carry it up any sections, came close a few times and only had to right it once on flat ground as a curious dog flipped it on its side (so doesn’t count in my book). Two battery changes on the way up and just about made it back down without running out of power. Had pretty much universal encouragement from all the walkers up there, plenty of bemusement but loads of people taking pictures and videos of it and willing it up tricky sections!
And believe it or not I wasn’t the weirdest person on the mountain, there was someone going up it with a unicycle to ride down the Ranger’s path! 26″ fatbike tyre with a brake but still 😳
The £50 I’ve won on doing it I’m going to match and give to a local Mental Health charity. I’ve done a charity crawl up Pen Y Fan before with 15 other nutters, that raised well over £1400 for a local school that looks after disadvantaged kids.
It could start a craze, maybe even speed records. If I had such a car I’d definitely give Pen y Fan a go!
It’s already a ‘thing’, has been for a while now. I’ve done a few smaller hills already and plan a few more but Snowdon was always the ‘Big’ one so I very much doubt I’ll top it. Y Das and Waun Fach going from just outside Pengenfordd are planned as is the Sugar Loaf, Table Mountain and the Blorenge! Pen Y Fan is actually really easy from Storey Arms, the hardest part is the water bars! This was the time we went up and raised a load of money (mine’s the one directly below the sign in the left, I have 3 different ones!):
@ossify – no RC car is making it up the last steps, that’s why the path just below it but above the cafe is considered the top. I got within 5m of the highest point in Wales and everyone there agreed that counts. It was a struggle getting up the steps behind the cafe as it was, partly down to the crowds and partly because there’s building work going on up there. One of the workmen spotted it crabbing along the hill and just stared before shaking his head and getting on with smashing up the slabs he was removing.
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Total round trip took roughly 7 hours including the 30 min wait to get to the trig point for the final picture and a bit of grub in the cafe. That’s from the main car park in Llanberis and back so includes about a mile or so of steep road, all done by itself on the way up. Allowed all day for it and got lucky with the weather, was shorts and top the whole way up and down!</p>
I’ll see about sorting out a donation page when I get home and choose a charity, currently still in North Wales and about to head home.
They’re a small charity that have helped two people that I know of when they needed it by just walking into their centre. They have a donation section in their website so it avoids the fees of Just Giving etc.
Cairngorm FTW with a car – it has a track most of the way….
I have a feeling lots of Scotland could be viable, with your open access rules there must be loads of summits with suitable paths to the top. Pity it’s so far away from me!
Standards must have dropped a bit! Thought this was a biking forum 😉🤣
Is there a budget option for me and my daughter to play with?
For 1/10 scale there’s the FTX range, the Mauler and the Kanyon are popular at the £170-200 mark. For a smaller truck the FMS FCX24 is the go-to as it’s good out of the box but responds really well to a few basic modifications. I’d get a pair so that you can compete against each other, the advantage of the smaller trucks is they work indoors and out in the garden whereas the 1/10 ones work best in the woods and on the beach. Plenty of reviews of most models on YouTube so have a search and choose according to budget, no-one will sneer at you for having a budget truck when they have a £1k+ build. Having fun is the aim!
Disappointed you didn’t have a Vauxhall Frontera bodyshell for it…
Always had a soft spot for the Frontera; (and no, not a bog in Ireland, before anyone tries to get in with that!) Didn’t someone take a team of them across the Beiring Straight in winter once, as a promotion?
Great job with the R/C car, though, I’m really impressed with your effort! Well done. 😁👌🏻
What Mark doesn’t know about social media isn’t worth knowing and his ability to balance “The Stack” is bested only by his agility on a snowboard. Graphs are what gets his engine revving, at least they would if his car wasn’t electric, and data is what you’ll find him poring over in the office. Mark enjoys good whisky, sci-fi and the latest Apple gadget, he is also the best boss in the world (Yes, he is paying me to write this).
