A group of Cwmbran scouts climbed the combined height of Everest, Pen y Fan and Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) last weekend – all to help raise money for Finley Hopkins, who has been selected to represent Scouts Cymru and UK Scouts at the World Scout Jamboree in Poland in 2027.
You can still support his fundraising efforts using this link.
Finley, 16, is a member of Unit 5 at the FreeSpirit Explorer Scout Unit in Coed Eva.
Kerry Hopkins, his mum, told Cwmbran Life: “He said it was tough but loved it.”
Around 30 scouts worked together to continuously climb the unit’s 6m and 8m walls until they reached the height of Everest (8,848m). They were enjoying it so much that they carried on and added Pen y Fan (886m) and Yr Wyddfa (1,085m) to their total.
Ms Hopkins said he has been busy fundraising in lots of different ways – cutting neighbours’ grass, running campfire sessions at Greenmeadow Community Farm, organising a quiz night, running a tuck shop and a school fete, and he now plans to sell handmade gifts at a scout camp.
Two other Torfaen scouts have also been selected for the special ten-day trip and are doing activities to raise £3,500. The jamboree is from 30 July to 8 August 2027 in Gdańsk.