Firefighter in kit climbing a mountain
Features

Steve Morgan spoke to Welsh firefighter Rhys Fitzgerald as he gears up to raise money for charity by climbing Mount Everest 

A seven-year itch is one thing. For Rhys Fitzgerald, the seventh anniversary of joining the Fire Service is becoming a scratch. The softly-spoken 28-year-old, a retained firefighter for Mid and West Wales in his native Kidwelly since 2018 is gearing up for the trip of a lifetime – scaling Mount Everest, wait for it, in a firefighting suit.  

He has already made a significant dent in his preparation, spending the back end of 2024 in Nepal scaling the small matter of Ama Dablam’s 8,612 metre summit, where temperatures drop to between minus 17 and 20 degrees near the top. Next in his sights is the big one – Mount Everest’s 8,849m. In lay person’s terms, that’s about five-and-a-half miles upward. If successful, a place in history beckons as the first person to do it sporting a firefighter’s tunic (worn, he is keen to point out, over an exhibition-approved summit suit).  

ON A MISSION  

He realises that, to the outside world, it must all look pretty extreme. For Rhys, though, this is the achievement of a boyhood dream; the logical extension of a life spent feeling most at home in the great outdoors. “I’ve always been the busy one,” he laughs. “Getting up at stupid o’clock for summer or winter sunrises. And when you’re climbing up a mountain at the crack of dawn, with a clear sky and the stars, there’s just something about that – you never feel more alive.”  

He catches himself briefly, wary of sounding like ‘well, a bit of a hippy’. The reality is anything but: the effort and logistics required for the trip require a clear head and steely insides, something every good firefighter can relate to. Another big driver is the desire to do something good, to make a difference. The trio of beneficiaries from his trip are the Firefighters Charity, mental health charity MIND and the Nimsdai Foundation, which looks to help young climbers and guides.  

GETTING PREPARED 

Having originally planned to go this spring, the trip has been put back to the next climbing season – April 2026. That will allow Rhys more precious time to raise the £45,000, a vertiginous sum in itself. “I’m just hoping that no other fanatic gets wind of it in the meantime and jumps in before me,” he laughs.  

Until then, he will be hard at the day job in Kidwelly, juggling the demands of callouts and community work with his visions of taming Everest. As an asthmatic child, it had appeared unlikely. “I’d always thought it was impossible for me,” he says. “It was always a dream that seemed too far away. But over the years, the way things have worked out, I’ve got nearer, through scouts, air cadets, always being outdoors, and it escalated from being just hobby stuff.”   

Rhys has previously taken part in the Welsh Three Peaks Challenge (Snowdon, Cadair Idris and Pen Y Fan: 17 miles in 24 hours), as well as leading groups on mountain trips.   

November’s excursion to Ama Dablam – a five-day trek up to base camp – was a great primer. Before his departure, he’d spent hours scouring YouTube, watching documentaries to gen up on what he might find. “It was the first time I’ve done any fixed, complex mountaineering,” he says. “But having previous experience of local climbs, doing some rope work and general climbing with the fire service, you feel confident enough to put it into practice. I must have shown I was confident enough, because my guide said: ‘I trust you, crack on.”  

MENTAL HEALTH 

Though Everest presents markedly different technical tests for climbers, Rhys hopes his deeds can help inspire others to seek the rewards from rising to a challenge, however big or small. And on a personal level, the rarified mountain air is just something special. “You’re just so conscious of being in the moment – the simple things that can take you away from, or ease the struggles you’ve got,” he says.   

Discussions around mental health remain a sensitive topic – not least in a profession where toughness is a given – but things are certainly improving. Rhy knows he has plenty of support in his desire to change that conversation. “Some of my mates think I’m a bit crazy, with all my dreams and that, but they’re all behind it and have said they’ll help out wherever they can.”   

As the old saying goes, it’s good to have friends in high places…