You might have heard of the Three Peaks Challenge and the worthy causes being supported… but do you know what the crew (Charlie, Chris L, Dan, Chris N, Kat, Matt, Sarah, Rich and Joelle) was up to last week? Daniel Woodard reports:
‘Three mountains, 3000m of climbing, 19 hours of walking, 12 hours in a minibus, very little sleep, 100+ bananas, 9 hardy souls, a life-threatening midnight scramble, and the worst bottle of champagne ever. Oh, and over 8,500 pounds raised for charity. What a weekend!
Having met up in Glasgow on Friday, we got picked up in the mini-bus and headed to our hotel at Fort William, where it was a 3 course dinner, a safety brief, a couple of beers and just a little trepidation about what lay ahead.
The next morning, we were all up early for a hearty fry-up before heading to the first mountain. We started the ascent up Ben Nevis at around 8am – it was a long climb, but the conditions were perfect and the scenery was breath-taking. Photos and congratulations at the summit, and then it was time to head back down.
Tired and happy we’d cracked the first one, we piled into the mini-bus and tried to get some sleep before arriving at mountain number two.
We started the ascent of Scafell Pike at around 11pm, in total darkness. As we climbed higher, the weather set in: rain, wind, thick cloud cover and very little visibility. Having reached the summit, we quickly set off back down to get out of the foul conditions.
Then our guide did the unthinkable – he got us lost! After some treacherous scrambling over wet rocks above some pretty terrifying drops into blackness, we managed to get back on the path and down to safety, and the most amazing spaghetti Bolognese any of us had ever tasted.
At around 5am, we continued onto the final peak. We started the climb of Snowdon at 11am, and managed to get back down at around 4:30pm, despite only have about 7 good knees between the 9 of us.
Then it was bacon and egg sandwiches, and a bottle of champagne that Rich had found somewhere in his house that may have already been there when he moved in. It wasn’t good.
Then it was time to go our separate ways – some meeting up with family, and some back on the mini-bus back to London.
The final time? 29 hours 44 minutes – not quite 24 hours, but we stuck through it together – even in moments like the one where we were up on Scafell Pike in the dark and lost. It’s those moments that you find out a little more about yourself, and the people you’re with.
And on Sunday afternoon, we made sure that we crossed the finish line as a team, the same way we had started.’
— The End —
Now, if that’s not an admirable achievement, then I wonder what can be called one.
WELL DONE Three Peaks team!