The Extreme Cellists play on Carrauntoohil's peakA group of extraordinary musicians accomplished their goal yesterday with a finale on Ireland’s highest peak, Carrauntoohil.

The Extreme Cellists play on Carrauntoohil's peak

The Extreme Cellists, a trio of intrepid musicians, put in their shortest performance in cold, misty, wet conditions to round off their Four Peaks Challenge. The cellists played on the tallest mountains on each of the British Isles’ nations to raise cash for charity.

So far, the trio has brought in more than £3,000, which will go to spinal-injury charity Aspire and mountain rescue organisations.

The Extreme Cellists have conquered Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, Snowdon and Carrauntoohil, carrying their instruments up each mountain and playing them at the peaks.

A spokesman for the group said: “Carrauntoohil was definitely the hardest mountain of the lot; not the tallest, but the most demanding walking – a mixture of steep climbs, bogs, and ridge walking, mostly in difficult conditions; some rain, a fair amount of wind, a lot covered in cloud.

“We were completely covered in cloud on top. We did the whole lot, including the top, in 7½ hours – not bad, we thought.

“At the summit, we gave our shortest performance to date – one piece only – because the cellos were getting a bit wet, and then had lunch, with a spot of champagne to celebrate.”

The three, Jeremy Dawson, Clare Wallace and James Rees, have previously played on the roofs of each of all of England’s Anglican cathedrals.

The challenge began on 21 July with an ascent of Ben Nevis, followed by the highest English and Welsh peaks before the trip across the Irish Sea to conquer Carrauntoohil, which is topped by a large cross.

Visit the Extreme Cellists’ website for details of how to contribute to their charities.

See also

Mountain cellists plan peak performances