The 24-hour and 3-day Welsh 3000s cover the same mountains, but they are not simply hard and easy versions of the same challenge. The pace, fatigue and experience of the route are very different.

People often ask how fit they need to be for the Welsh 3000s. There isn’t a single distance, pace or fitness test that gives a useful answer. What matters is how that fitness holds up on rough mountain terrain for a very long time.

Crib Goch gets most of the attention before a Welsh 3000s attempt, but it is rarely where I see the biggest problems. Three steep, rough descents later in the route can have far more effect on pace, fatigue and whether people carry on.

John joined Mountain Craft on its first guided mountain day, an open Nantlle Ridge group in April 2025. Since then there has been scrambling, navigation, Welsh 3000s, the first Blackout and a growing list of mountain days planned and completed for himself.