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Firefighter ready to climb Everest in work gear

Mid and West Wales Fire Rhys Fitzgerald climbing in mountains. He is wearing climbing gear and holding a rope on a rocky section, with mountains and some snow behind himMid and West Wales Fire
Rhys Fitzgerald has summited Ama Dablam in the Himalayas, and plans to scale Everest in 2026

A firefighter has climbed a Himalayan mountain in his full work kit, in preparation for an attempt to do the same on Everest.

Rhys Fitzgerald reached the 6,812m (22,349ft) peak of Ama Dablam in the Koshi province of Nepal as a warm-up for his planned assault on the world's highest spot in 2026.

The Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service on-call firefighter told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast it was "a good insight" into what's to come when he returns to the Himalayas next year to try to scale 8,849m (29,032ft) Everest.

He will be raising funds for mental health charities both inside and outside the fire service.

Rhys, from Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, said of the Everest plan: "I've just got some financial situations and some logistics behind the scene to finish off, but it looks like it's going to be the 2026 climbing season to do it."

Of Ama Dablam, he said it was "the most technical mountain I've ever done, but it was a good insight of what to expect for Everest – extreme tiredness, severe coldness and just the physical challenges and complications on the mountain".

"I was just taking each step… and enjoying the process."

Rhys Fitzgerald Rhys Fitzgerald in his firefighter gear standing on a mountain, with mountains behind him. He's holding a sign saying 'Project Fire'Rhys Fitzgerald
Rhys Fitzgerald says of climbing in his work gear: "You've got the movement and the flexibility... but it's designed for extreme heat temperatures and not extreme cold"

On Everest, he said there would be a lot of ladder crossings of gaps, and climbers are clipped to ropes because they expect avalanches virtually every day.

But on Ama Dablam, he said there was plenty of "ropework and virtual drops everywhere, so it's a little bit different".

He has spoken about his reasons for raising funds because "I've seen how mental health affects those around me - my family, my friends, and my colleagues in the fire service".

He has also described how people do not always see "the silent toll" that mental health problems take on "the ones who run into danger" and "there were times when the weight of it all felt unbearable".

Mid and West Wales Fire Rhys Fitzgerald standing on a mountain, while holding a rope. In the background are higher mountains, and the sky is a cloudless blueMid and West Wales Fire
Of mental health challenges, Rhys Fitzgerald has written: "One thing I've learned is this: it's OK not to be OK"

But, he wrote: "One thing I've learned is this: it's OK not to be OK."

He told Radio Wales about the challenge of climbing in firefighters' gear: "You've got the movement and the flexibility within the gear, but it's designed for extreme heat temperatures and not extreme cold."

On Ama Dablam temperatures were as low as -20C (-4F).

"If you don't keep your hands moving you can start getting a bit of numbness in them and I think it was about two weeks later my fingertips started getting the feeling back," he said.

However, he also wore boots with heated insoles so his feet did not get cold: "I thought ahead for that one," he added.

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