Kuoni’s leadership team has raised nearly £10,000 in donations for mental health charity Mind after attempting to reach the summit of Snowdon.

Heavy rain and gale-force winds forced the group to abandon Saturday’s climb “two thirds” of the way up the 1,085-metre mountain for safety reasons.

Donations from across the industry have flooded in, meaning Kuoni has surpassed its fundraising target of £7,500. The team’s fundraising total currently stands at £9,920.

Kuoni chief executive Derek Jones, who was invited to take on a challenge by Mind chief executive Paul Farmer, thanked donors for helping raise “a significant amount of money”.

Jones said: “The pandemic has put a huge strain on the mental health of our friends, family and colleagues.

“We wanted to do something extraordinary to support Mind, which has been our charity partner for the past 18 months. The support we’ve had from the industry has been phenomenal.”

He added: “I could not be prouder of the team. They were determined to get as far up that mountain as possible despite dismal conditions.

“In the end we had to put safety first, but we still felt a huge sense of achievement and pride.”

“Thanks to everyone who has supported us, the messages of encouragement helped to propel us along.”

Jones said the money would go towards supporting Mind and help raise awareness about mental health.

Donations can be made here.