THREE PEAKS CHALLENGE

In July, one of the more recent additions to the Guildford Circle, Bro. Ian Rogers, undertook an adventure that has to be admired; The Three Peaks Challenge. Below is his account of the event together with some photographs of the Stunning scenery around Ben Nevis and Snowdon. Unfortunately, due to atrocious weather conditions in Cumbria, there are none of Scafell Pike. Enjoy! 

 In March this year, I decided that I wanted to help two people I hold very dear both of whom are suffering from Breast Cancer.  I subsequently signed up to the Three Peaks Challenge organised by Breast Cancer Campaign. That was the easy bit!  The Challenge is to climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in a notional 24-hour period. The record for completing this feat was set by Joss Naylor in 1971, when he ran the mountains and was driven between them by rally car. This approach is something that these days cannot be realistically or legally challenged.  So practically, we were looking at climbing the three peaks in a time scale of something like 30 hours. Easy Peasy!

My part of the bargain was to raise at least £650 in sponsorship. Martha, my wife and Ella my seven year old daughter were keen to get involved and organised a Cake Sale at the end of our drive. A frantic afternoon of baking ensued which resulted in a magnificent total of £135 being raised. In addition, alongside a mix of colleagues, friends and relatives, I raised a further £1,200, making a grand total of £1,250!

To ensure I would be in tip top condition – ahem! – I undertook some ‘Pre-Challenge Training’. This involved a mix of cycling and long distance walking which seemed to do the trick. I walked from Guildford to Farnham, and then a further walk from Farnham to Guildford and back. A cool 27 miles, would you believe, and boy was I tired!

Inevitably, the weekend of 11th/12th July came and I was nervous.  My preparations had taken place in dry and relatively warm conditions and that is what I was expecting or similar. Sadly, that was not the case because that particular weekend was one which struggled to even come close to normal British Summer weather conditions. In fact, the weather forecast was for wet and windy conditions throughout the northern UK whilst conditions Farnham and Guildford, I was told, were really quite pleasant. How annoying!  

Initially, the group attempting the challenge met in a somewhat nervous disposition at Glasgow airport.  None of us had met before so the sport at the time was, ‘Can I spot my fellow ‘Three  Peakers’?  Eventually we came together as a group and set off for Fort William. Passing through Glencoe is one of those moments in one’s life that cannot be replicated.  The scenery is dramatic and moody, especially when the weather is closing in. The clouds were getting lower and lower and the temperature was following suit.

After checking into a hotel for a briefing, we became progressively quieter as the reality of what we were about to embark on became a terrifying reality.  We would need gloves, wet weather gear, a change of clothes and, whenever possible, as much carbohydrate as we could eat and loads of water.  We were only to carry what we absolutely needed. Gulp!   
This was not going to be easy!

At dawn we woke and after a hearty breakfast set off for the car park at the base of Ben Nevis.  The charity wanted to make a publicity video and I was interviewed first thing – never a good time to get something sensible out of me!  Still, we set off at a quick pace to get rid of the cobwebs and give ourselves a good shakedown.  A stop after 20 minutes showed that I was “glowing” nicely. I shed a layer!  However, the broad mix of people and their individual stamina in attempting the event that weekend became obvious.  After an hour one of the girls fainted and had to be “caz-evaced” off the mountain. Fortunately, after a routine check-up and a cup of tea she was fine.  To add to the drama, we were delayed and temporarily lost two of our three guides! 

At the Base of Ben Nevis and eager to go!

After a further stop for a snack break we took the opportunity to re-adjust our clothing by putting on the layers we had previously taken off then putting our wet gear back on! Soon after starting we entered the clouds on Ben Nevis and the route got progressively steeper and decidedly trickier.  

About two hours later, we completed the ninth “zigzag” and took a rest in a small ‘coll’ before our final push to the top when we would “summit”. A verb I hadn’t heard of or appreciated before!  We set off and encountered our first snow which continued for approximately 100 metres.  We then crossed a rock field with even more snow!  Then, the gradient gradually levelled out and we reached the peak!  Hurrah!

At the Summit of Ben Nevis, only Scafell Pike and Snowdon to go!

We were encouraged to stay near the rock circle at the top, because the 2,000 foot drop to our left was not conducive to our wellbeing and telling the difference between cloud and snow at the top was difficult!  We had climbed a total of 1,324 metres! We were also encouraged not to hang around, something with which I concurred! The temperature was appreciably cool and I was chilling off rapidly.  So our descent began. During the ascent, I had noticed the power of my glutes (buttocks) and was beginning to tire.  After around 30 minutes, I began to feel the descent in my thighs. Fatigue was really starting to kick in!  

As we went down, we encountered fellow climbers coming up. The universal unit measure of time was “20 minutes”. It now made sense that when we were on our way up and meeting those coming down, an enquiry of “How much further?” was met with the response, “About 20 minutes away!”   irrespective of how far it actually was!  On our way down, we too obliged with the stock, almost, non-motivational response, ‘about 20 minutes away!’.

Many say coming that coming down a mountain is worse than the climb up! I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that but it certainly was tough!  We were encouraged by the fact that as we gradually come out of the cloud, it was getting warmer and we’d get to have a sit down!  As the clouds cleared, and we eventually arrived at the car park where our coach was waiting, the magnitude of what we were doing and what we still had to do hit home. Another two mountains to climb! 

The mist was getting lower and so was the temperature

The journey to Wasdale was tortuous. Because we had been delayed on Ben Nevis, we should have begun our ascent of Scafell Pike at around 2000, 2 hours before dusk.  Instead, we didn’t arrive until 2200 and the Lake District made us welcome with the most almighty rain storm I have ever seen! Was this a sign of things to come?  In the end, we didn’t set off until 2230 which meant we would be doing the ascent in total darkness! 

We set off up the reasonably steep and decidedly damp path and as it got steeper, the rain got heavier transforming the path into a fast flowing stream. The darkness didn’t exactly encourage one to look around but the popularity of the Three Peaks Challenge meant that we would at least see fellow climbers on route. Peering up the mountain slopes through the rain, one could just about identify small groups of walkers by the pin-pricks of lights from their head torches. Collectively, these lights made the mountain looked like a poorly lit Christmas tree.  

As the wind got stronger and the temperature dropped, the beam of my head torch lit a small patch of ground in front of me. This became my focal point and something to take my mind off the rain running down my back, the water squelching in my boots and the ache in my buttocks.  I was walking with a group which gradually fell behind and lost contact with the front of the group. We were then referred to by our guide as “Fast Group B”!  Eventually, given the appalling weather conditions, the realisation set in that we would not reach the summit. The rapid deterioration in the weather combined with our thorough wetness, convinced all of us that we should turn around and head back down to safety.   

The ankle deep stream that we had crossed on the way up had grown significantly and was getting towards being unpassable. We picked out a point where we could possibly cross but our guide decided that the stream was indeed becoming unpassable. He then advised the advanced group, “Fast Group A”, that they, like us, should consider turning round before they became cut off and that they should find an alternative route down. When we eventually and thankfully reached our bus, we were sopping wet, very cold and extremely tired.  It was now 0130 and we had climbed only 400 metres of a 850 metre ascent. The remainder of the group arrived back 90 minutes later and some of them looked in a worse state than we were. The mood in both groups was understandably subdued and those who hadn’t made provision for a complete change of clothes on each ascent were ruing their choices. Which didn’t help.

We set off for Snowdon very late and during a stop at Lancaster Services, the guides became very concerned about two of the girls who were eventually taken to hospital by ambulance with symptoms of hypothermia.  At this point, the guides gave us a stark choice. We could continue to the summit of Snowdon in our wet boots ‘Summiting’ about 3 hours later than planned or we could abandon the ascent altogether! Neither of these options was acceptable so the group collectively agreed to a compromise of taking a lighter route partially to the summit of Snowdon. 

Taking the 'Miner's Path'

We proceeded to take the route known as the ‘Miners’ Path’ in partial sunshine and pleasant conditions.  We enjoyed the scenery and the company of the others with whom we had shared this amazing if daunting experience.  Almost all of those who had taken on the challenge had a personal interest in raising money for someone they personally knew who was suffering from Breast Cancer.  The emotion in the group was, therefore, high and the ambition was still strong enough to take us close to Snowdon’s Summit. After a brief dalliance, we commenced the descent and discussed amongst ourselves whether we would ever attempt something like this again. My sentiment was, yes I would, but not all in one go! 

Snowdon's Sultry Summit

We returned from Snowdon in good spirits at about lunchtime on the Sunday.  However, the journey to Manchester airport wasn’t exactly buzzing with conversation. Almost to a person, we were sleeping in our climbing clothes with our mouths open! Zzzzzzzzz!

My long awaited arrival at Southampton airport was magnificent because my wife Martha and my daughter Ella were there to meet me. Ella’s handwritten welcome sign was hugely appreciated and so were the hugs! Only bettered, maybe, by the hot shower I had when I finally got home.

The following day was notionally back to work but I don’t know of anyone in the group who had an active working day.  I imagine most of them spent their day like me, in bed, feeling achy and just ever so slightly lucky and very grateful to have survived such an epic but hugely satisfying adventure.