Three Peaks Challenge
Nearly climbed every mountain - Three Peaks Challenge 2007
On 13th & 14th September, we participated in the Three Peaks
Challenge to raise money for various charities, including Great
Ormond Street, NSPCC, Cancer Research UK and Naomi House Children's
Hospice. The challenge was to consecutively climb the three highest
peaks in the UK - Ben Nevis in Scotland (1344m ASL), Scafell Pike
in England (978m ASL) and Snowdon in Wales (1085m ASL). All within
a gruelling 24 hour period.
In teams of four (plus a driver) and starting at 5.00pm on the
13th, the 21 teams which included 2 customer
teams, began climbing Ben Nevis. However, in renowned Scottish
tradition for this time of year, the weather was against us, with
reports of 80mph gusts of wind and driving rain at the top of the
mountain. Accordingly, many teams had to withdraw from Ben Nevis
early and move onto Scafell Pike due to the bad weather, although
one team got stranded and had to spend the night in a shelter at
the top of Ben Nevis. The local Mountain Rescue Team advised them
to stay the night and descend at dawn when the storms blew over.
Thankfully, that team safely returned at 7.00am on the Friday
morning.
At the end those who could still stay awake enjoyed a hearty pub
meal in celebration of their fantastic achievement. We raised over
£30k, including £1k for each Mountain Rescue Team covering the
three regional mountain areas included in the challenge. All the
participants had a great time too, although there were more than a
few aches, sprains and sneezes by the end!
