We're on a mission! Me, a mountain, a border terrier (Quaver), some old friends, and a rucksack full of rocks.

Why rocks? Because I’ve spent a lot of the last six years feeling like I’ve been carrying a sack full of rocks. I have Psoriatic Arthritis, a condition that affects my skin and many of my joints - fingers, wrists, elbows, spine, knees, hips, toes - until recently they have ached constantly, been swollen and sore and stiff for most of the day, and held me back from so many things I’ve wanted to do.

I love climbing mountains. I miss climbing mountains. And until this year, I’ve not been able to. But, after a few false starts, I’m finally on some excellent medication (thanks, NHS!) and feeling amazing. I can run again, I can twist and stretch and jump, and I can probably climb Snowdon with a sack full of rocks. So I’m going to.

I'm raising money for Versus Arthritis, a fantastic charity that's been a huge support to me over these last few years. They do incredible work for the 10 million people in the UK - one in six - living with arthritis, and I'd love to show my appreciation. Every penny you give will directly benefit Versus Arthritis and their stellar work.

Millions of people wake up with arthritis every morning and face the day in pain, without the support and recognition they deserve. The condition slowly intrudes on everyday life – affecting the ability to work, care for a family, to move free from pain and to live independently. Yet arthritis is often dismissed as an inevitable part of ageing or shrugged off as ‘just a bit of arthritis’. That’s not OK.

I’m lucky - I’m young, I have a fantastic family and support network, I’m able to work at a job I love, and now I’m able to do something to give back.

Thanks for reading!

James (and Quaver)

FAQs

Are you a round tabler, or collector of table pins? If you donate at least £15 you can have one of my commemorative chairman year/Beeston round table/ mountain climbs pins (pictured). For £20 you can have a versus arthritis one as well, both on a neat little card.

The mountain pins are coming out of my own pocket - all money goes to charity!

Simply forward your donation confirmation to snowdon@jboucher.co.uk after you’ve donated, along with your address, and I’ll get it in the post.

A total pack weight of ~20kg will probably be all I can manage - I want it to be very hard, not impossible after all. Allowing for gear/snacks/water that’s 15-16kg of rocks.

Thanks! A reasonably small size please - think pebble, not doorstop - it’ll be easier to fit in the bag and leave weight for lots of other rocks. Decorate it however you want, preferably no glitter though. I’ll take a photo of it at the top 🙂

Drop a message to snowdon@jboucher.co.uk and I’ll tell you where to send it.

I want to start as low down as possible - starting from the car park at 350m and just doing the Pyg/Miner's track is cheating. We’ll be walking the Cambrian Way - up the Watkin Path, then west onto Bwlch Main for a pretty ridge walk, then to the summit.

Apparently you can’t buy a single for the mountain railway, so I guess so!

Me and three very old friends - we met in scouts 30 years ago and until the last few years have been climbing mountains whenever we can get together ever since.

If we get some Serious Weather on the day we’ll either reschedule or come up with a suitably evil substitute.

The challenge is to do the whole route carrying them, so other than a photo of them all at the top they’ll stay in the bag until I’m done. Then I’ll probably make a rock garden or something. Want me to suffer more? Donate extra for a painted one.