There are those who scale the Everest, those who pedal until the other end of the world, those who face the ocean alone on a rowboat. And then there is Matt Jonesan English father of four children, who decided to Take tribute to the disappeared wife with an extraordinary gesture: it has traveled 112 kilometers in the mountains transporting a 37-kilometer refrigerator on her shoulders.
His feat, born from a promise made to his wife Vicky shortly before his death, had a double purpose: to honor the memory of the beloved woman and raise funds for the pediatric hospice Hope House Ty Gobaith.
Jones has completed the mountain circuit of the Llangollen Round twice, covering over 4,500 meters in altitude in just 34 hours. A company born almost as a joke: after an hip surgery, it was necessary following an injury during an excursion on the same path in 2018, the surgeon advised him to take it calmly. It was then that Vicky, laughing, said: “Next time he will do it with a refrigerator on his shoulders, this madman.”
Matt’s answer was immediate: “I will be serious. Twice.” “It’s a bet, Mr. Jones,” she replied with a smile.
What looked like a joke turned into a deep act of love. After Vicky’s death, which took place just before Christmas, Matt felt the need for a goal. “I needed to make sense of all this pain,” he told the microphones of the BBC Radio 5 Live. “Somehow, the mountains have become my church.”
His challenge touched the hearts of many, inspiring solidarity and raising precious funds for children followed by the Hospice. A company that combines effort, memory and love, leaving an indelible mark in the heart of those who listened to it.