ADVENTUROUS Gwent accountant Gary Parker is preparing to take part in a gruelling expedition in the frozen Canadian Arctic after intensive training on Wales’s tallest peaks.

Gary, who has signed up for the Likeys 6633 Ultra Marathon, recently scaled Snowdon, Cadair Idris and Penyfan three times each in three days for training and also in aid of St David’s Hospice Care.

And Gary, owner of Parker & Co Accountants, Waterside Court, Crindau, Newport, says he was amazed to discover that of the just 29 people taking part in the gruelling Likeys 6633 event two are from Newport.

Paul Fosh, owner of Paul Fosh Auctions, who has also been putting intensive 14-hour training sessions, is also taking part in the marathon. He is aiming to raise £15,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support through his efforts.

Mountaineer Gary, who has led expeditions to Everest and other peaks around the world including Kilimanjaro, said: “Seeing as how few people actually enter the 6633 Ultra, I was astonished to be told when I signed up for the event, which is organised by Likeys, in Brecon, that there was another person from Newport who was also taking part.

“I’ve had a chat with Paul, who I didn’t previously know, and found out that although we’re not flying to Vancouver, Canada, on the same plane we will most probably meet up at a place called White Horse for the final leg of the journey to fly to the start of the marathon at Eagle Plains, Yukon.”

Gary, aged 59, plans to complete the 120-mile event in three days before travelling on to the British Virgin Isles to put in two weeks swimming training ahead of a solo attempt to swim the English Channel in July.

The accountant, who previously successfully swam the English Channel as part of a relay and took part in the North Pole Marathon last year, said: “If I enjoy the Likeys 6633 experience I may well go back again next year to complete the 350-mile route, which was an option this time but I haven’t time to do it now as I have to fit in my swimming training for the English Channel.”

The Likeys 6633 Ultra, in which competitors face temperatures of -30c, blizzards and possibly even grizzly bears, is recognised as one of the hardest events of its type in the world. It has been run on six occasions and in that time just 11 people have successfully completed the 350-mile course.

The Likeys Ultra 6633 2015, in the Yukon Arctic in Northern Canada, starts on Friday, March 20. The 120 mile event finishes at Fort McPherson, North West Territory (NWT) while the 350 mile event finishes at the Arctic Ocean settlement of Tuktoyaktuk (NWT).