Northants disabled adventurer becomes first to reach 1000m of Yr Wyddfa in a powerchair ‘unaided’

As part of Disability Pride Month, disability advocate and disabled adventurer Nick Wilson has reached the highest point accessible on Yr Wyddfa (Mount Snowdon) ‘unaided’ using a first-of-its-kind engineered all-terrain mobility chair, RockClimber™, designed by Rock Engineering Limited. Following a first failed attempt in June, Nick took to the Llanberis route once more to reach the Bwlch Glas, a staggering 1000m up, without any physical support.

Nick’s climb aims to raise greater awareness and action towards current accessibility and independence challenges faced by wheelchair users every day, importantly showing how inclusive design and engineering can help to make the world more accessible for everyone, everywhere and positively impact lives.

Nick said: "While many people in the disability community won't want or feel the need to go up a mountain, they can feel like they're trying to do just that on a daily basis, with so many accessibility obstacles. By achieving this, we've demonstrated how inclusive design and having the right equipment can help to make the world more accessible, whilst showing what’s possible when you keep fighting and never give up, however dark things may seem."

RockClimber™ is based off extensive motorsport design experience to create a new chair concept. After the steering failure during the previous attempt, the team reviewed the collected data and agreed a series of enhancements that would ensure RockClimber wouldn't be the point of failure again – this included new steering, brakes, wheels and tyres.

The project, championed by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) demonstrates how inclusive design and engineering can be used to improve accessibility in urban and rural environments, enabling people reliant on wheelchairs to have greater independence and freedom without the risk of falling or getting stuck. With more than 650,000 registered wheelchair users in the UK (NHS National Wheelchair Data Collection), not including chair users who've had to self fund and as such aren't included, there are still barriers in everyday life where wheelchairs are not equipped to tackle different environments, even on the high street.

The IET’s Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Dr Laura Norton, said: “The IET’s Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Dr Laura Norton, added: “This is a fantastic achievement for Nick and the Rock Engineering team – as well as for inclusive design, which is so important today. Accessibility needs to be prioritised, and engineering and technology play a pivotal part in enabling this. We hope in the future that a single chair solution will be available to many more wheelchair users, breaking down barriers and allowing for greater freedom and independence."

The weather played a big part in preventing them from going again, with the team having to pull out on two occasions during the week prior to Friday due to it being too wet. Things cleared up just enough for them to have one last go, but even then, they still encountered showers and poor visibility making it incredibly hard going. It wasn't without incident either, there were several occasions when Nick came close to tipping out side ways and flipping over.

The climb’s success is dedicated to the loving memory of Nick's Dad, who suddenly and unexpectedly passed away during their initial attempt in June, something which Nick didn't find out about until afterwards.

Nick said: "My Dad knew the importance of what we were doing, how much it meant to me and really believed in the RockClimber project. As such, his dying wish was for me to not be informed until after the attempt, sacrificing the opportunity to see me one last time and say his goodbyes. His legacy and memory, couldn't be one connected to a failed attempt, therefore our success is dedicated to him."

This is of course all about accessibility and whilst RockClimber isn't suitable for going to the shops in, the inclusive design process and technology developed during the two year project, can be used to develop a daily use powerchair. Rock Engineering are in fact already working on another version of RockClimber, which is suitable for indoor and outdoor use, but it's capabilities over varying terrains, inclines and even steps, will be more capable than anything currently available.

Rock Engineering Director and IET member, Elliot Dason-Barber, added: "We are all incredibly proud of what we have achieved with RockClimber. Our goal was always to design, and manufacture, a power-chair that would give Nick the capability to scale Snowdon truly unaided, and I think we've shown we've done that."

“It has been a real privilege to help Nick achieve his goal, but Rock Engineering has also had the opportunity to develop its own experience in inclusive engineering and demonstrate its capabilities in vehicle design. This project has given us a real opportunity for accelerated learning, and several attempts on Mount Snowdon have meant that RockClimber is now a very mature, and well understood design. It also means the team have lots of ideas for how to make things even better.”

The huge achievement comes during Disability Pride Month, a time to celebrate the diversity and resilience of people with disabilities. It's a time to recognise the contributions and achievements of individuals with disabilities, while also acknowledging the ongoing struggles and barriers they face in society.

Good friend and fellow Disability Advocate, Isaac Harvey MBE said: "Being part of the disability community, where I've seen so many different individuals, do so many amazing initiatives to change the narrative around disability, has been really empowering over the years. But what Nick and Rock Engineering have achieved with RockClimber, has not only showed what's possible, but excites me with what the future holds when it comes to inclusive design, technology and disability. Next stop Mount Everest?"

Following two long years of intense hard work, combined with the battering RockClimber and Nick endured only a few days ago, you would forgive the guys for taking a well-deserved break. However, they have already begun planning a couple of smaller adventures, alongside something much bigger to potentially take place in 2025.

Nick Wilson said; "The guys at Rock Engineering, Elliot Dason-Barber and Andrew Miller, and I have spoken at length about this. In the short term, we want to do something which is a little more relateable, fun and less stressful so potentially looking to cross the Ridgeway again. Long term. I have something in mind which would be huge and use new portable charging units and solar enegery to cross 450miles of a particular location, which I don't think has been done before and have it filmed as a documentary".