Three Peaks

Three Peaks Challenge 2007

Completed in 21 hours 31 minutes.

The Challenge: for the purposes of sponsorship is for at least one member of the team to climb the highest mountains in Great Britain back to back, England (Scafell Pike: 978m) Scotland (Ben Nevis: 1344m) & Wales (Mount Snowdon: 1085m)

Our Personal Aim: is for all team hikers to complete the challenge. climbing all three peaks within 24hrs.

Order of climb: Ben Nevis, Scafell, Snowdon.

Timetable/Plan: Date of event, 30th of June 2007

Sat (sun set:2122): 1600 - Start the ascent of Ben Nevis.

Sat: 2230 - Return to car, drive down to Scafell as soon as completed Ben Nevis

Sun (sun rise: 0445 / set: 2122): 0420 - Start climb of Scafell.

Sun: 0800 - Complete Scafell and drive to Snowdon

Sun: 1200 - Climb Snowdon as soon as arrive and attempt to get down for 4pm (1600) to successfully complete the 24 hour challenge.

3 peaks challenge – the results are in

After 21 hours and 31 minutes, we reached the bottom of Snowdon to complete the 3 peaks challenge. Everything was aching and soaking wet; however, the worst injuries we had were pulled muscles and being chilled to the bone.

We had our troubles along the way, in fact 50 minutes into the challenge on Ben Nevis one of our party being a doctor had to go to the aid of a climber suffering a heart attack. James supported the climber for 1 hour 15 minutes through compressions before the air rescue team arrived. We later discovered that unfortunately the climber was announced dead on arrival to Fort William hospital.

Visibility was terrible on all three peaks (as you can see by the pictures below); luckily we had practiced all three mountains before the challenge as many climbers were going the wrong way and asking us for directions. Our preparation was the major contributor to our success, best laid plans and all that!!

As the night drew in on Ben Nevis we were becoming more and more worried about visibility. We reached the top shortly after 9pm and stopped for a quick photo before starting the 6 mile journey down again.

The journey down lifted our hearts and we were rewarded by the cloud cover lifting and the opportunity to see some of the amazing scenery;

We reached the bottom of Ben Nevis at around 10.30pm and were welcomed by our hero driver Big John with delicious soup and the best tea I’ve ever tasted.

Tony was the slave driver, as he knew that delay getting moving will eat into precious time. We left shortly before 11pm for the long drive to Scafell Pike.

We started Scafell just after 4am and luckily the delay on Ben Nevis meant that it was light enough not to use head torches. It was constantly raining and it was drowning our spirit. The climb was as hard as I remember, but the rain made it harder under foot. Our clothes and boots were twice as heavy as we questioned the term “waterproof” which obviously means nothing at the top of Scafell Pike!!

as soon backed up with loose stones and boulders falling between us. Our climb down seemed to go on for ever and our fatigue started to show with slight trips and needing to take more breaks. We reached the bottom just before 7.30am and John again ready with welcome hot drinks and a smile (not shown on picture!!)

The shorter journey to Snowdon was the last leg of the journey. We were all feeling tired. In fact it was then that we realised how important it was to have a dedicated driver. Big John was a star, as the driving component of our challenge ran smoothly with no missed turns or accidents.

When we reached the bottom of Snowdon, we had the luxury of having around 6 hours to complete it. Other parties, unfortunately only had between 2 and 3 hours, they didn’t make it. We all tried to laugh off the unrelenting weather conditions (see below);

It was almost as though God had given us our own personal storm cloud for the event, you could visualise Michael Fish stating “100% chance of precipitation.

We knew we had to do it. Snowdon was one of the worst experiences of my life as we battled through torrential rain and winds over 60 miles an hour. We were more and more concerned as we neared the top being blown off our feet twice in the space of 10 minutes on a path 6 feet wide!!

Body fatigue was starting to show on all of us, this was the time that you’ve got to look inside of you to find a strength that no amount of training can muster. A doctor, an accountant, a mechanical fitter, a removal manager, 4 different people taking on this challenge brought together through their friendship. This friendship drove us on, not wanting to fail for the other members of the party, and collectively we made it. Not forgetting the link in the chain, Big John dedicated a whole weekend to help make this happen and no one can underestimate the logistics to make an event like this a success.

It was a great relief to start the climb down to Llanberis and when we reached the bottom we were greeted by Big John. Having a wash in the rail way toilets seemed like the Hilton and we arrived home at 11pm on Sunday night after 40 hours without sleep.

A big thanks to all who supported our group and with your help we have raised over £3,000 for Upbeat Heart Support Group. This seems all the more important after our experience on Ben Nevis.

A big thanks from all of us; James Atkins, Keith Edwards, John Parsons, Tony Fathers and Jed Callow.

Times are as follows;

Start Sat 6.15pm

Ben Nevis finish Sat 10.30pm

Start Scafell Pike Sun 4.03am

Scafell Pike finish Sun 7.28am

Start Snowdon Sun 12.34am

Finish Challenge Sun 3.46pm