FOR the last five years McCartneys have an annual charity of the year. This year they're raising money for the Alzheimer's Society UK. It was decided that they should take on an epic challenge, and Pen y Fan was in their sights.

Pen y Fan is the highest peak in South Wales. At 886 metres above sea-level, it's the tallest peak in the Brecon Beacons, You would think this would be a challenge enough, however it was decided that climbing it 10 times, making it the equivalent of scaling Everest would be a better idea. Furthermore this should be completed in 24 hours.

The team was made up of small groups, plus five climbers taking on the individual challenge – Jake Best, Tom Carter, Jamie Tulloch, Dominic Sumner and Lewis Price.

The team from Kidderminster were the first to start their group ascent on the Friday morning. They'd started the count.

After work on Friday, the individual climbers, arrived at the foot of Pen Y Fan. Lewis sums up how the team felt, "I was really nervous and didn't know what to expect. I wasn't sure if I was mentally or physically prepared for the challenge."

Fuelled by determination and the thoughts of raising money for such a good cause, the first steps were taken, however their hopes of achieving over half way that night were halted with horrendous weather. There was a forecast of imminent thunderstorms and the rain was horizontal. After the 4th descent with visibility reduced to just a few steps in front, it was decided to try and grab some sleep in their cars and tackle it in the morning.

Saturday morning saw the guys put on wet clothing and heads down they began again.

Spirits were raised around 7am when the team from Brecon arrived to do their group ascent.

Later that morning, the final group-ascent team from Knighton arrived, along with Lisa from the Alzheimer's Society, and as they made their way up, met with the intrepid climbers as they picked their way down during descent seven.

A quick turnaround at the bottom meant that everyone finally met at the peak.

Finally, descent number 10 was accomplished. Exhaustion and elation was in equal measure, Jamie said "The physical side was obviously draining but it turned out to be one of the toughest mental challenges I have ever done"

Asked why they thought this challenge in particular was suitable for their charity, Tom said, "It was once stated that people first diagnosed with dementia felt they had a mountain to climb—a looming colossal obstacle of unchartered territory. With support and help, that first step doesn't seem so high. The Alzheimer's Society UK offers support for all kinds of dementia, it also funds research and actively campaigns for those affected and their families. We wanted to help with this wonderful work, so that no one has to face dementia alone and so we chose to climb that mountain."

If anyone would like to make a donation to the Mccartneys fundraising please visit justgiving.com/fundraising/mccartneys-support-alzheimers