87-year-old veteran's record-breaking solo climb of Mount Snowdon ended with a stretcher descent

John Llewellyn, 87, from Swansea, has set a new age record by becoming the oldest person to climb Mount Snowdon alone. The charity climb in honour of his late father was the veteran's second in more than 20 years, although he last climbed the peak 17 years ago.

The Pig Track ascent took six hours in difficult conditions: continuous rain, thick fog, and winds gusting up to 70 mph. The veteran's younger son followed behind for a quarter of a mile to maintain solo status, and only met his father at the summit coffee shop.

The route back was chosen along the mountain railway, as the last train had already completed its journey. However, about a mile later, the climber's legs gave out: he was not injured, but he completely lost strength and fell onto the tracks. After spending two hours on wet stones in the rain, the travelers waited for volunteers from the Llanberis rescue group, who transported the record holder on a stretcher the remaining four miles of the journey.