A man with a phobia of heights conquered "Snowdon's deadliest ridge" after working for three years to conquer his fear. <br /><br />Darren Clifton, 39, climbed the deadly Crib Goch that is more than 3,000ft above sea level. <br /><br />The civil engineer from Manchester has always had a crippling fear of heights but began hiking five years ago.<br /><br />His serious work to get over his fear began two years later and Crib Goch became his ultimate objective.<br /><br />He said: "Up the same mountain there's another track and it's called the Pyg track. <br /><br />"Five years ago, I had a panic attack there because of my fear of heights. Two years later I got into hiking seriously and my fear was crippling. <br /><br />"Over the years I knew that to beat my fear I had to do Crib Goch.<br /><br />"Crib Goch was a boogeyman. It was always in the back of my head. It wasn't just one day - it was three years of preparation."<br /><br />When he completed the ascent in August last year, after three long years of hard work, Darren became emotional. <br /><br />He said: "When we came off we went back down the Pyg Track and I passed where I had the panic attack years ago I got emotional and welled up in tears."<br /><br />Darren hiked almost every weekend in preparation for this moment and discovered a trick to control his fear. <br /><br />He said: "I got over some of the fear using breath control. I discovered it in practice almost by accident but it worked wonders.<br /><br />"There's another ridge in the Lake District I was using that for practice two months before."<br /><br />The technique helped him concentrate and get a handle over his panic. <br /><br />He explained: "I did Striding Edge four times. One of the times I realised the way I was breathing helped me focus and stay calm."<br /><br />The Crib Goch route is a "knife-edged" ridge leading up to Mt Snowdon, the third tallest mountain in the UK. <br /><br />It is 3,028 ft above sea level at its highest point. <br /><br />It is considered "extremely dangerous" and has claimed at least one life in 2023 before Darren's ascent. <br /><br />The Snowdonia National Park Authority say on their website: "Crib Goch is a 500-metre knife-edge ridge with no escape route.<br /><br />"Even in ideal weather conditions, Crib Goch is a difficult undertaking. <br /><br />"Crib Goch is a serious mountaineering undertaking in wet weather, wind, snow, mist, or ice."<br /><br />Despite this, Darren dared to make the ascent and it proved to be just as tough as he expected. <br /><br />Darren said: "It's classed as the most exposed ridge in England and Wales.<br /><br />"It's dangerous. Where I am in that video if you do fall you're not going to make it. There's no point wearing a helmet."<br /><br />His fear made it difficult for him to make the ascent, but the geography of the ridge itself was no easy task. <br /><br />Darren explained: "For some people that crossing isn't too bad but with my fear of heights I was petrified. <br /><br />"The ridgeline was so thin you cold fold yourself over it. Parts of the ridge get down to half a meter (1.6ft) thick so about my shoulder width."
