A perilous bid by a Cumbrian adventurer to conquer one of the world’s toughest mountain challenges has helped a TV company clinch a hat-trick of awards.
Camera crews followed former GB triathlete Huw Jack Brassington, who lives in Cockermouth, in treacherous conditions as he took on the gruelling Paddy Buckley Round, otherwise known as the Welsh Classical Round.
The endurance challenge in Snowdonia sees runners covering a distance of 100km and climbing 8,000 metres which is the equivalent of scaling Everest, taking in no fewer than 47 summits – all in 24 hours.
It was part of a new five-part documentary, 47 Copa: Her Huw Jack Brassington (47 Summits: Huw Jack Brassington’s Challenge), made by North Wales television production company Cwmni Da.
It was screened originally on Welsh language channel S4C and is now available to view on Amazon Prime.
The series was honoured in the sport category at the prestigious Celtic Media Festival.
During the most dangerous leg of the challenge, Huw battled 60mph winds and torrential rain as a huge storm hit the Glyderau mountain range in Snowdonia, pushing the boundaries of his strength and endurance further than they have ever been before.
Armageddon
Filming became a dangerous and logistical nightmare for the crew, who described it as the Welsh equivalent to “Armageddon”.
Huw, 36, said: “This challenge was pretty much at the edge of what I can do in good, nice weather.
“Then the storm hit and I’ve never been in weather like it in my life. There were 60mph winds. It was the kind of weather that normally I wouldn’t think of stepping outside the door.
“We were literally running diagonally! I was running at a 45 degree angle to stay on my feet. The wind was coming and going in gusts and it was hard to keep going.
“I was running like a crab, my legs were in a half squat! At one stage, I looked down at my walking poles and realised I’d lost half of one as it’d smashed in half – my hands were so numb I just hadn’t realised.
“I fell three times. There was always a camera crew around every time! I was cursing them at the time but it is was all down to the well-timed preparation to get these camera guys in the right place at the right time.”
The route takes in the well-known high mountain ranges of Snowdon, the Glyderau and the Carneddau as well as the less visited ranges of Moel Siabod, the Moelwynion, Moel Hebog and the Nantlle Ridge.
Carefully plotted
The series was produced and directed by Huw Erddyn, 34, who carefully plotted every stage of the endurance athlete’s journey – but all the planning had to be thrown out of the window.
He said: “We had to bring it all forward a day earlier to avoid the worst of the storm.
“As a result, some of the mountain leaders couldn’t make it and some of the camera crew. The drone pilot was flying back from France and couldn’t get back for the start. We were also hiring a lot of kit and had to resource all of that again.
“At one point we thought Huw would have to run without support runners but people came out to support him and we ended up having a ridiculous amount.
“It was sometime between 3am and 4am on the Friday when the storm hit. It was horrendous. I could hear the wind howling around my van and was really worried about everyone. I’ve not been in the mountains in the middle of a storm like that before.
“With 60mph winds it was literally Armageddon! The mountain leaders had to hold some of the camera operators while they filmed.
“We couldn’t really complain about what we were going through. It was nothing compared to what Huw was going through.
“The crew were amazing. Everyone was freezing and soaking wet but they were all still smiling.”
