Firefighter beats dad's 40-year-old mountain record

A firefighter has climbed Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon, in full breathing apparatus, beating the time her father set completing the same challenge 40 years earlier.

Lou Needham fought 60mph (97kmph) winds and snow storms to complete the Llanberis Path in two hours 50 minutes and 46 seconds on Saturday.

The 34-year-old took on the Fire Walk 2026 "under air", which means breathing solely using the cylinders on her back, removing her mask only for a five‑minute hydration break each hour.

She said the "horrendous" weather presented an additional challenge, and thanked her support team and everyone who donated to her fundraising efforts.

Needham, from Derby, started her career with Derbyshire Fire Service in 2019 before moving to Nottinghamshire in 2024.

She was replicating the run her father David completed with a colleague in 1986.

"For me it was quite a personal challenge because of the history of it," she said.

"The time was two hours, 50 minutes and 46 seconds, which everybody will be dead chuffed to hear was just slightly quicker than my dad's, so I have taken that record off him.

"It was a really, really tough challenge. I knew it was going to be tough from the outset - obviously I've spoken with dad, I've read loads about it, and I've walked that path before myself, I knew what to expect, I'd trained well in the fire kit, and under air as well to prepare my body for that."

Needham started the climb from Llanberis fire station, wearing equipment weighing about 15kg (2.4 stone).

As well as the heavy kit, her hard work was further hampered by the hammering rain and wind.

"We knew there was the potential for difficult conditions up there, but I don't think anyone would've guessed quite how difficult they would have been," she said.

"As we reached probably the three-quarter way point, we started to meet some really, really high gusts of wind, hail, snow, sleet and freezing fog, and from Clogwyn station onwards, it was horrendous for everybody trying to get up there.

"The support team were amazing, they all pulled together [and] did what they needed to do to help me."

After "a couple of quick photos" at the top, Needham said there was no time for celebration due to the conditions.

She completed the walk to raise money for two charities which support emergency service workers - PTSD999, a mental health organisation, and the National Red Plaque Fire Service Memorial - and thanked everyone for their support.

"It's been amazing, and I really can't thank everyone who was on the mountain with me enough," she said.

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