Winter "Fan Dance" | World's Oldest Special Forces Test | Brecon Beacons, Wales
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- The Fan Dance is a grueling 25km SAS Selection test march staged over Pen y Fan, the highest mountain in the Brecon Beacons. The infamous march is the world’s oldest Special Forces test and is used as the first major indicator of whether a candidate has the physical and mental aptitude to complete the legendary Selection course. I've taken on this challenge before in the Summer of 2023, but this time, its different. This, is the WINTER Fan Dance!
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In 1982, over 3,500 Royal Marines from 3 Commando Brigade were deployed to the South Atlantic to fight in the Falklands War. The 45 Commando unit marched 56 miles across East Falkland in three days in Arctic conditions carrying 80 lb (36 kg to reach Port Stanley...and then had to fight a battle!
Heroes every one of them.
*heroes
@@ArthurTanner-d7s Yes heroes, you try what they did, the battle they had to fight after yomping those 56 miles, they had no rest and immediately started close quarters combat for the next 72 hours straight.
It amazes me the amount of people that put apostrophes into plurals.
@ratatat9790 It amazes me that someone can be so petty and pedantic.
We all make errors from time to time, that's life.
@ *plural’s.
;-)
I'm the grumpy lad at 22 mins up Jacobs Ladder, I remember you and wish I would have been more gracious and talkative. I seem grumpy but I was in the zone. Apologies and subscribed to your channel.
😆 glad to have you here man!
@@chrishoward9543 If you’re not in the zone going up Jacob’s you’ve no business on the course.
@GrittySoldier I did the SF Experience Fan Dance the week after and finished 2nd overall so it was a good training run. I will watch your new videos with enthusiasm 😂
You got it done. Kudos 👊🏻
Thank you for that information! 👍@@highcountrydelatite
Great to find this video which came up on my feed! We were training around Pen-Y-Fan on the HMCG Search & Rescue helicopter when this event was on. Both myself and the winch paramedic on board the aircraft that day are former chinook crewmen who used to fly British and American forces around Afghanistan so it’s cool to still be able to offer help when needed to former servicemen who are out on the ground in the beacons - keep up the good work - will follow your channel 👏👍
Glad to have you in the community! 🤜 🤛
Done the Fan Dance a few times in my day when I served in the British Army. Great video and great memories well done.
Thank you GOD BLESS YOU 👍🏴
I have done this many times, I can also see the 'Fan' from my front window. I was up there last Sunday to very heavy driving snow and freezing temperatures at 02:00. I loved it being the only one there. @ Gritty Soldier; thank you so much for featuring Bannau Brycheiniog and for mentioning the Swimmer Canoeists. Hoofing mate!
It was a lovely slippery day out on the mountain we had a great time we both finished I’m 66+ and 5hrs 31mins and my wife 11 years younger 5hrs 38mins good to see you on the hill.
🤜 🤛
Very well done 👍🏻
Incredible! Thanks for bringing us along. True Grit for sure. Well done!
Thanks for being part of it all! This really is an amazing gritty community, truly humbling. 🙏
Done mine in 1980 and enjoyed watching you do yours in the warmth of my cosy house 😊
Just found this channel, Ive done the dance multiple times as a Brit para if you like the British hills then you must try the 3 Peaks . The 3 peaks is the three highest hills ,in the UK all done within 24 hrs
Thanks for the tip I’ll have to check it out
What a great effort. Beautiful part of the world, the Brecon Beacons. True Grit.
Brecon Beacons are awesome, I need to do some more exploring out there.
Def on my bucket list. Nice!
You should definitely go for it. 💪
Don't wait. You'll never regret the workout but you'll regret not working out...
That was awesome....well done!!
One of the best fitness channels with a military flavor on TH-cam! Excellent job on the fan dance and look forward to seeing you again on the next one!
Watching you both summer and winter makes me wish I was thirty years younger, on second thought. Great job sir.
LOL. That briefing reminded me of when I did the Bridger Ridge Run back in 2018: "Once you start, NO ONE is getting you off this mountain except you. If you cannot make it, we will call in heli-rescue which will be billed to you at a starting base rate of $25,000 - and there is NO insurance in this country that covers that cost." LOVE IT!
You may talk o’ gin and beer
When you’re quartered safe out ’ere,
An’ you’re sent to penny-fights an’ Aldershot it;
But when it comes to slaughter
You will do your work on water,
An’ you’ll lick the bloomin’ boots of ’im that’s got it.
One of the most wholesome channels on TH-cam!
🙏
Great video - taking on my first Fan Dance this summer (at the age of 51) and your videos have been super helpful. Hopefully see you there one day.
Good luck out there and have fun with it!
Wow, what an incredible effort! I can't help but feel that had this event been hosted in the US, it would have been postponed because of that horrid ice all over the trails and terrain; however, I guess it's what the UK knows all about already! I visited an "AONB" in the UK myself a few years ago while there on "holiday", and there were some hills worthy of note even on those trails, although nothing like you recorded while you were out there! I'm glad that you not only completed the Fan Dance, but also made a little vacation while in the UK; it's really a country with a lot to offer. On another note, I think that you just convinced (read: motivated) me to take part in an upcoming 50-mile "ultra" that I've been reticent about doing with a group of friends here in the US - if my Mrs. doesn't kill me first! Continued health and success to you and yours, Gritty!
The UK is a great place to get your adventure on! And thanks man!
Hats off🫡❤️🇬🇧🇬🇧guy, stay safe and sound boys. The winter brings out the man in you, beautiful and thank you for your efforts brother ❤️❤️❤️🇬🇧🇬🇧👌
Have you ever been Crib Goch in Snowdonia national park in Wales? If you ever want to know how fit and fearless you are Crib Goch is the one to do on a cold Welsh day👌🏻✌🏻
Always getting after it!
Always!!! I can’t help it man it’s my drive.
Thanks for the great video. Very helpful. I did the TSFE Fandance for the first time last year as a load bearing grandmaster. On the return, with a pal, we made a navigational error (a polite description but not the best fitting) and ran down Craig Gwaun Taf. A lone hiker put us right and we had to ascend again to rejoin the right path to the finish. Got home in 4:58. Three weeks later, this time with AEE, I was carrying deep hip strain and as a result was injured through overbalancing at the top of Pen Y Fan on the way out, falling for the first of four times but was able to continue to the finish in 5:21. Hoping this year to stay on the right path and get back uninjured. Tough course but I love it. It is not you against the clock, but you against the course and whatever obstacles internal and external that you face on the day. Different glories for different stories.
You got it, now you’re going in with more experience! 💪
Awesome effort, was on the event with you and fell just as many times. Was a hard day's work 💪
We EARNED IT that day, no doubt about it. 🍻
Just turned 60 yrs young & just come across your video here & immediately thought, yea, i want a go at doing (trying ) that :) Well done also, great achievement fella.
Awesome job Sir! Much respect! That’s a great accomplishment! You are inspirational!
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it!
Im loving the combined flag patch .. respect! 🇬🇧🇺🇸
I love it too, great gift I got for JayJays
I wasn't SF but w6 did an exercise in breacon during my full corporal course. It was gruelling even though we were carrying much less weight in our bergen. Those guys are on a different level. Respect.
That looks properly difficult weather. Did it the following weekend and fortunately most of the ice had gone by then. Great effort!
That ice was so brutal. Great challenge!
I done the summer edition in 2017 for charity,one tough day I’ll never forget but very rewarding when you finish and meet Ken and he hands you your patch.
Been waiting for this!
Very well done - again! 👊🏻
Great respect to you especially on that trecherous icy day ,good on you
Kudos to one and all...hard core ++
Mate i knew this video would be a banger and it sure didn't disappoint. Congratulations on a great gritty effort, love your stuff mate, thanks again
Glad you enjoyed it! 👍Cheers!
Respect to you brother! I’ve done this route but not as part of the official event. It was in October. Four seasons in one day! It nearly ended me😆
It’s amazing how the Beacons seem to have their own weather system.
Awesome effort Gritty and a great video, been waiting for it to drop since race day! It was great to meet you out there on the day! Hope to see you again next time.
I’ll be back!
💪🏻😎
Glorious! ❤
💪
Superb performance, well done ! 💪👍
@@nicholasdavies6264 thanks! 👊
Awesome job, Sir!! This is all very motivating!! Love your vlogs and adventures and keep 'em coming for 2025!!
Will do! 🫡
Awesome.
Well done!
Thanks Gritty for highlighting to all my US SOF colleagues just one of the serials we go through in UKSF selection.
Thanks for your service brother 🫡
@@GrittySoldier Thanks for your service too and for your TH-cam site. I refer all my potential operators to your site for fitness, nutrition and equipment advice. Stay strong. From a Brit sailor married to a US Army Reservist - she will punch me if I didn’t mention that. 🫡
@ 😆
@@seanmiles1264 what were you in mate
@ SB as a lad in the late 80s and returned to help create Op NEPHITE - UKSF Medical Group selection and training when I was PMO at Poole. Now all the docs and medics that want to serve in Tier Units have to attend the same briefing course and enter and have to pass endurance phase as well as other parts of selection as any other UKSF candidate. Have a good day from Fort Liberty
Another great video. Really good to see you back to do it again. Most years the summer and winter versions are quite different so it's good to experience both. If Ken lets the Woodhouse Edition go ahead you need to come back again and try that! It's another level. I won't give too much away, but it's off-piste a lot more and the vertical climbing is significantly greater. See you there in July!
Maximum Respect.
Massive respect to you for completing that route march. I'm new to your channel and really enjoying your content. 🇬🇧🤝🏻🇺🇸🫡
Thanks and welcome!
@GrittySoldier Thanks for replying, you should check out another gruelling Welsh race/challenge called "The Dragons Spine/back Race" it's only a mere 240miles, but I think you'd get pumped for it! Go take a look.
Your channel is so inspiring for me who's in his early 50s and starting my fitness journey. Cheers Dan 💪🏻👊🏻🇬🇧🤝🏻🇺🇸
I was infantry in the late 80s , we did the fan dance , it wasn't a pass or fail but i think most were taken there to experience it by their platoon sgt
Awesome video! I had my worst cramps ever on Jacob's Ladder a few years ago. The whole of both my legs: quads, hamstrings and calves at the same time...
Jacob’s ladder is no joke, cramps are inevitable.
Well done 👍 I am a keen hill walker and have my own channel walking in Wales so loved your video my Dad in WW 2 was with the US Army fighting in Italy and he always sung the praises of the US army ❤
Great effort and a good watch; thanks!
Thanks man!!! That premiere style was fun, I’ll do that more often. 👍
I was at the red phone booth last year
Cheers to the boys from Hereford
Really nice easy trail up to Pen-y-Fan these days. Little more difficult when it was just a sheep trail. 😂
Well done and welcome to the Fan Dance family!
I've done the dance maybe 7times during my military career so I know exactly what you have been through. Next time, do a 5day exercise before the Dance!
Thank you for putting this video up so all us ex squaddies can laugh, winch and cheer you on, good job Sir!
Awesome video! Very very motivation, im definitely getting myself up there sometime soon. Thanks for making a great video (again)
Thanks! Glad you liked it! 🤘
been waiting for this 👍👍👍
I hope it met expectations!
@ always buddy
Imagine this, when you have nothing left in your tank. A lot of respect for the 22SAS folks who hump these terrain in their selection. You’re living it right now, even if just a fraction of it. . ‘Appreciate you sharing this journey to us, Ranger. Oh hey, watch your step!
Exactly, this event is so much more difficult for them it’s actually unreal. That’s why I felt compelled to do the into.
And they're doing this after getting beasted for a week already. Not doing it fresh like the people in this video. The endurance that the UKSF soldiers have, do set them apart from others imo. The sheer professionalism of the Brits in arduous weather conditions (most of the year round let's be honest) just seem to harden them even more.
Same selection for the SBS guys.
Wow, outstanding!! Simply outstanding. Way to motivate and living up to what you preach. You are an inspiration sir. Keep after it!!
I appreciate that!
Hey man, we met in the storey arms car park on the event. Fantastic effort from you going thst quick in those conditions. I was happy to finish but wasnt keen on breaking a leg for speed. Going back in the summer
Thanks, you too! I’ll be back! Not sure when, but I’ll be back!
I watched this, and my knees started hurting 😢
Well done, geezer. See you next year hopefully 👍🇬🇧
😆 🤞
Well done gritty, great effort! The fan dance is on my bucket list. I live a hour away from it so no excuse for me not to do it
You should go try it!
Fantastic video, thanks for sharing. I did the 2013 event the first time Ken put it on, I took crampons and was very happy I did! 😂😂😂
So good to watch your video, so happy to have completed it and wasn't far off your time, I was chuffed about that 😂 the snow and ice made it so epic. I really don't know how you filmed it, very impressive
It was an awesome time out there. I’m glad I walked away with any injuries tbh 🤣
Gracias por compartir tan maravillosa experiencia.
Me gustaría saber si puedo como puedo comprar tu mochila.
Loved doing the dance..
Well done smashed as always 🎉💪🏼
Thank you 🙌
You really made that guy happy when you took the time to take a picture! Bravo and good craic 💪
I could never so no to something like that. I can’t believe he recognized me though 😆
The guys do this more than once I believe!!
Ken is a top guy, brings back memories of the last summer when I did it, great effort, great video
Mr “no-nonsense” Ken 💪
Cayenne pepper capsules are good for dilating blood vessels for better circulation. I mean, don’t over do it, but one or two. Helps fight the cold.
Interesting tip! Thanks for sharing.
Viagra bro
So does aspirin.
Trouble is that sounds like the same effect as alcohol. Alcohol increases the flow of blood to the skin. It makes you feel warm but it takes heat away from your body core, which increases the risk of hypothermia…
Well done on doing the Fan Dance in the icey weather. I am lucky i live near the Brecon Beacons, so get to see it daily. I have never competed in the Fan Dance, but have regularly walked it. More so in summertime. Great post and again well done. Check out Jay Jays in the town of Brecon, they are very good with bergans, rebuilding them to taste etc. Next time you are in the Uk.
Well done. Great effort, you had tough conditions, but powered through 👍💪
ALWAYS! No other choice! 👊
Very inspiring man,thanks for taking the time 🤙🤙🙏🦾🦾
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙌
We don’t want it to turning into a leisure event.😂
Absolutely awesome! Love every minute of it! Participating in the Fan Dance is definitely a dream of mine. Thank you for posting this--your enthusiasm is 100% inspiring :--) RLTW!
Glad to hear it man!
Fabulous pronounced of Welsh names 🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴👍👍
Thanks!!! I’m trying!!
Did winter selection in Jan 1977 at the age of 20, I can’t remember any red telephone box also the snow was so deep you couldn’t run , looks totally different from what I remember , but hey ho I did it ( sadly I didn’t pass selection but I tried) when I applied I was stationed in Germany and really wanted to do selection in the summer time (who wouldn’t) if I had I would have met a couple of the guys who stormed that certain embassy.
So awesome sir! Lord what a challenge. You crushed it.
It was definitely a challenge!
@@GrittySoldier Getting going for Bataan this year. Totally appreciate you, Dan. You've kept a lot of men and women motivated in some very tough times for our country.
It's much harder to do if done as part of a selection course ,as a candidate has already done many days of tough training, a candidate would be carrying weapon, ammo, radio ,also be over trained ,suffering sleep debt, hungry etc. I speak as an ex soldier who did a selection cse for real.
Naturally that would be the case. However, all relative, many on the event will be untrained civilians so still very hard for them. I dont image everyone can get a week off work to be beasted for 6 days prior
I live locally and have been up there quite a few times (not with that weight) but in the middle of winter it is harsh, the wind was blowing that hard it it emptied my nose in one gust, and I couldn't stand up on the top, if I had of done I would have been blown off,😂😂😂😂 good video👍🏻
Congratulations you are a beast such a inspiration
Really enjoyed this, how you managed to film and walk/fall/run on that ice is beyond me. Thanks
I feel lucky I didn’t end up with any injuries by the end 😆
hard core sh..... Wales is no joke. These OD and DPM bergens that's the vibe. Well done to you "Who Dares Wins"
Brilliant. Well done. Inspirational - watching this helps get me off my ass and get down to work.
Great vid & effort! 🥾👊🗻 Thx for chat on the day🙏
Thanks man and absolutely! It was great to see you again!
Good effort. 👍🇬🇧🇺🇸
That looked like the museum at the barracks in Brecon - I live in a little village just to the NW of PyF, often up and down it - awesome, and great effort.
It was the museum. 👍
Great Job! You walk the talk with your Garmonts!
🤣 I sure do
We used to call guys like you "Harder than Woodpecker Lips" but you have always exceeded that! RLTW 20yr Army Infantry Vet
@@tomcarroll5673 RLTW 🫡 ⚔️
@@GrittySoldier You are just the most humble Warrior Gritty!
Once wasn’t enough eh! Good on ya mate…getting at it. 👊
Hi GS great video and well done Cheers Jc 😁🇬🇧👊🏻
Thanks man! 👊
Great video!
Did this few years back and still got the winter fan dance badge
Thought challenge
Got round in just under 4 hours in awful snow and ice
You should take me through the Norwegian Foot March sometime as a collab! I’m not even close to ready for the Fan Dance.
I actually still need to do that one!
Hell yeah, you crushed it! That ice looks very treacherous, prime territory to go through an ankle. And a real 'one foot in front of the other' grind at the last climb. Although sounded like you still had some energy in the tank after finishing.
Awesome that you met so many fans as well.
By the way, the coupon code in the description says its expired! Might want to check up on that!
Much appreciated!
The weather behaved for you ! Good effort
Interesting Type 2 Fun. The toughest race I was ever in was the 2 day, 100 mile Canadian Ski Marathon. It ran from LaChute Quebec to the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Ontario.
My Canadian buddy and I made it all the way and got the medals to prove it. But I did "hit the wall" near the last 20 miles for about 15 minutes. I just kept S. L. O. W. L. Y moving B/C if I stopped I knew I would cramp up. Finally I got back into a normal cross country skiing stride again for the rest of the race. We only had to carry 16 pounds minimum so I used a large fanny pack.
The toughest BACKPACK I have done was at age 74 when I hiked the Grand Canyon, North Rim to South Rim in 4 days. I DEFINITELY should have trained more!
Great video. That guy doing it in 3hours is mental time,
Absolutely insane
Takes me back to 402 Platoon Depot Para 1974. And now my back aches just doing some painting in the house.
I don't know how you weren't cursing the entire time, slipping and falling on the ice, I would have been next level pissed off . 🤣🤣😐 Great job getting through👍
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little annoyed here and there, mostly because the I’ve limited my speed and because I didn’t bring crampons like an idiot 🤦♂️ but bad energy never helps, so I try to stifle that
Great job! 🤘
Thanks! 👊
Awesome dude 👊
Thanks! 😁 👊