3 Peaks Challenge – We did it!
This is the complete tale of how 6 Synergy volunteers (4 Climbing, 2 Driving) completed the 3 Peaks Challenge. This blog follows our progress from beginning to end and is co-written by the climb team and the support team (comments in italic).
Saturday 21st – 2pm – On the plane
Hayley, Neal & Lucy arrived at London Bridge as planned for 10.30 (actually a little earlier!). Dave F on the other hand has us a little concerned arriving at 10.39 just in time to get the 10.42 to Gatwick!
Met Simon and David P at Zone C and checked our bags in. The plane is still flying despite having a banned gas stove in it!
Lucy: “How long is the flight?”
Simon: “I think it’s about an hour and a half”
Neal: “Is it that long?”
Hayley: “Isn’t there a time difference?”
As we all decided not to bother queuing with the rest of the passengers and this is an Easyjet ‘free for all’ flight there were no seats together by the time we got on so none of us are sitting together and we are all spread about the plane!
ETA Inverness 2.40pm then we pick up the van and on the road to Fort William via Loch Ness!
Saturday 21st – 6pm – Approaching Fort William
Picked up the car and the boys changed at Inverness Tesco Metro car park. Hayley & Lucy will never see them in quite the same way again! We can see snow on the top of the mountains.
“Dave F, you are like a 12 year old trying to move the seats! Ironic as he could fit in a glove box!” David P
Saturday 21st – 6.30pm – Ben Nevis
The boys set off at 6.30pm precisely. 24 hour clock ticking. It’s now 9.30pm and wondering about the competition for best culinary skills. There are tons of people doing this (Bus loads) and loads of support teams. The bus next to us is cooking bacon and a previous group had a bbq. We hope the boys enjoy their beaked beans and sausages out of a tin! Good old Heinz! We keep hearing support teams cheering in their walkers and asking if they want tea, coffee or hot chocolate, hope our guys like water!
We actually managed to have an hour’s cat nap only to be woken by cars either side loudly chatting about the climb and how good they were! One chap mentioned his walking stick which almost made it up somewhere it shouldn’t!
Bloody hell, that looks high and we can’t even see the top for clouds – oh well it’s all for charity so onwards and upwards & upwards & upwards & upwards………….
Weather quite nice as we set off but look at all these smug b@stards who are nearly back down – oh well on 5 hours to go.
Must rest – need snacks and fluid, lovely views. Weather still ok. Got to get a move on – bloody midges (and no we aren’t referring to Dave F – they are much bigger!!!)
Getting colder – moving towards cloud base. People passing us coming down no longer looking smug – what awaits us in the clouds?
Into the clouds – can’t see much and losing feeling in our hands – must keep moving. Is that really snow!!!?
Wind now raging – must keep hold of Dave F before he blows away. We think we can see the summit but no, its just another cairn marking the way but surely it can’t be much further now!!! Through the snow field – what’s that over there, oh it’s just Five Fingers Gully – a 2000ft drop straight down must keep away from the edge!!
At last – 3 hours later the summit comes in to view, time to get the ironing board out. Can’t see bugger all but imagine the views are great on a clear sunny day. A quick slug of sloe gin & spiced rum to celebrate and we touch the top of the refuge shelter roof which is officially the highest point on the mountain. Imagine our surprise when we can hear voices inside. On opening the door we find a young foreign couple who are too scared to descend in this weather and have decided to stay the night on the summit. Are they mad – the flip flops and shorts they are wearing tell us they must be but we reckon they have plans for the evening!!!
An uneventful descent in the twighlight – nice sunset on the horizon once we get below cloud base and thank god that wind has subsided. We have the mountain to ourselves – what’s that other orange glow over there – it can’t be the sunset – oh my god it’s Dave F’s hair turned ginger!!! Mustn’t fall of the path with laughter – what’s going on, better let him explain. Back to the car where the girls will have prepared a veritable feast – we are all looking forward to hot chocolate, warming soups and a nourishing pasta meal to replenish our energy……………..
Sunday 22nd – 12.14am – On the road
In car, shots taken, boys changed and we are off on stage 2 – Scafell Pike. Had great fun cooking food and getting tips from the professional guides.
Top Tips: Let the feet air, regardless of what the drivers think!
30 miles an hour and torrential rain at Glasgow. Whoa Nelly, here we go!
Must get some sleep – Scafell Pike awaits. Are we dreaming or is the car skidding. Must sleep, wake up screaming and see we are driving through hail with zero visibility at 80mph plus. We all learn to use our fear to sleep. Hopefully we will wake up!!
Sunday 22nd – 3.45am – On the road
2 hours to Scafell, stopped off for petrol and pot noodles! Those culinary skills from the support team again! Have just driven through the highlands. Some of the most stunning scenery to see, at least it would have been nice to see it! Pitch black; pouring with rain and hail does not make the best of times for sight seeing!
Sunday 22nd – 10.00 am – Scafell Pike
Bloody weather, more gale force winds and torrential driving rain. This is certainly living up to its name as the wettest place in the UK. Everyone coming down looks miserable and absolutely drenched but at least they have nearly finished – oh well at least our feet are dry and its all for charity so lets get it over with.
Apart from horrendous weather conditions the ascent starts ok until we come to a river. There is no other way across apart from wading – goodbye dry feet!!
Where’s the path gone – check map. Compass bearing ok and info tells us we have to scramble rocks for the last 250 metres so we must be on the right track but should it be this steep? Rock fall below – sorry Neal!! This is bloody ridiculous – we aren’t mountain goats and we shouldn’t be doing this without ropes!!!
We arrive at the top only to find it’s a ridge no more than 1.5 metres wide, near vertical drops either side with a 60mph wind trying to dislodge us – NB must hang on to Dave F!!! For fear of our own safety no ironing board shot here – just a quick photo of us clinging on and then descend but which way do we go – there is no way we can go down the way we came up, that would be just stupid……..
Minority (Maddie) rules we should follow the ridge which is what we do, thankfully coming to a cairn and pick up the path down – why didn’t we find this on the way up!!? Our thoughts now turn to the river crossing which can only have become a raging torrent – there is a chance we could die yet!!!
After a brief respite to eat, drink and laugh at Neal who can’t see a thing through his glasses and resembles a mountaineering version of Mr Magoo stumbling down a mountain we head for the river. As we approach there is a group of walkers on the other side trying to find away across and start to turn back as we, without breaking stride walk knee deep straight through the stream. We become instant heroes in their eyes – we are the men, this is what legends are made of!!! 4 hours up and down – pretty remarkable in those conditions.
We arrive back at the car with our spirit the only thing undampened . 2 down, 1 to go and what culinary delight will be awaiting this time. We pray it’s not more beans & sausages and thankfully it isn’t. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything, not a bean, not a sausage. We try to wake the girls who have been asleep for hours (jammy cows) and to unlock the car doors so we can try and get dry. Can you believe it……!!!
Support Staff feeling miserable. We girls have had another hours cat nap with nothing to eat and we are sitting in the car watching nothing but pouring rain! Can’t see Scafell because of all the cloud! Can’t text or call anyone as we have no signal and the pub behind us doesn’t open until 12 on a Sunday!
Monday 23rd – 8.20am – Snowdon
Couldn’t write again yesterday as so tired. Could barely drive let alone write, not sure if that was too safe!
The boys did Scafell yesterday in 4 hours! Can you believe it! They also came back with every piece of clothing soaking wet. So after stripping off everything (yes, everything!) and into drier clothes we were on the road. Five hours later with the clock ticking we were stuck in traffic. The wind has been so bad a tree has come down in the road. Valuable time ticked on and then we were on the move again!
Arrived at Snowdon for 4.30pm, the boys have 2 hours to get to the peak in order to complete the challenge in less than 24 hours.
As they set off the support team head off to check in to the hotel. As we had at least 4 hours to kill we took long hot baths, washed our hair and settled in the bar with a couple of drinks! Well deserved I have to say.
Snowdon – We have approx 2 hours to hit the peak within 24 hours so we strip our rucksacks of everything but food & drink and choose to take the mountain path which is the quickest way to the peak. This starts with 5-6kms of relatively easy path with a slight gradient before hitting a vertical wall and 2kms of steps to take us up to near the peak. On seeing this wall of rock as we rounded a corner it was only thanks to sheer will power and Lucozade carbo gels that we got there – a quick sprint and we reach the summit with about 5 minutes to spare. Cue, elation, jubilation more sloe gin and spiced rum before realising we still had to get down!!!
A quick call to the girls to tell them we are taking a more leisurely path down the other side of the mountain in to Llanberis turns to heartbreak when they tell us the B&B won’t serve dinner after 8pm. Plan B – meet us in Llanberis and we will eat in the town before nailing the B&B bar making them regret denying us food! 2 and a half more hours and some seriously aching limbs later we stumble in to possibly the worst pub in Wales bang on time at 9pm and sample some well deserved alcohol.
The gang of six were due to be eating at 8pm at the hotel. The support team, on discovering that they had no signal on the mobiles again called the walkers from the hotel payphone. We spoke to David P who explained they wouldn’t be down at 8 so could we ask the hotel to hold their food! After Hayley had sweet talked Rupert, the hotel manager, we were able to have the food plated and kept waiting for them. Hayley & Lucy were going to go ahead and eat!
About 5 minutes before Hayley & Lucy went into the restaurant Lucy was called to the phone to speak to Dave F. They had changed their minds and thought we should all drive to Landberris and have a pub meal and a few drinks. Lucy told him the support team would see them for 9pm at the bottom of Snowdon.
First pint finished and no sign of the girls. Try to call but not getting through, there must be no reception but they will find us. Leave them a message and call the B&B to let them know we are moving to another pub where we could get some food.
We drove to the car park at 8.45 and commenced the familiar look out for the lads! 9.15, 9.30, 9.45 and 10.00 went by and no sign of them. Hayley by this time needed the bathroom and in lieu of any facilities at Snowdon and a few too many spectators to pee in public we raced back to the hotel and back up to the car park. Hayley had also had the hindsight to ask in the hotel if the boys had called. No, they hadn’t.
Second pint completed and still no sign of them. Realising that Formula 1 driving skills and winding mountain roads don’t go well together we call them again – no answer so we call the B&B again. They still aren’t there but more bad news, they will close the bar at 10.30pm if we don’t get back. We called a cab and told him to get a move on. As we passed the car park the girls dropped us off at a shout from the back of the cab “is that our car……….!!!” Cue a screech of brakes, reverse gear and a second look – oh sh….. It is. Simon bravely approached / was pushed by the other 3 to the car to be greeted with steely stares from both ladies. A stream of expletives later made him think they weren’t happy and a stench of burning rubber meant we were to continue in the cab back to the B&B. Even the cabbie with his local knowledge and far superior horsepower couldn’t keep up with the Synergy Support Crew. Back at the B&B with minutes to spare before the bar closed – let the drinking commence. 6 pints of ale, 2 pints of cider, 3 bottles of red wine and some hot water for the pot noodles please guvnor!!!
At 10.23, as Hayley and Lucy debated calling the Rangers or heading back to the hotel for last orders at 10.30, a taxi screeched into the car park and Simon came running over explaining they had been waiting in the bar in Landberris for us since 9pm!
We all met up in the bar of the hotel for a few drinks and to laugh at the confusion of the boys descending Snowdon on the other side to Landberris to meet us in the hotel there at 9pm and we girls sat in the car park waiting for the boys. Well, ok, it wasn’t really funny at the time as the boys thought we had crashed the car and we thought the boys were in trouble on the mountain but all was well and it’s amazing what a glass of wine and pint of cider will do to cheer people up. Unfortunately the celebratory 5 course meal Hayley & Lucy had expected to have turned out to be a pot noodle!
All’s well that ends well. Alcohol is a wonderful healer and we laughed at the miscommunication. No-one was dead and it was a great way to finish a great weekend.
Monday morning – wake up to find our legs had been amputated. No they are definitely there, we just can’t feel them. Fall down stairs to breakfast, laugh at each other and raise a cup of hot tea to toast our triumph. Well it was all for charity……..!!!
It’s not too late to sponsor the team – please visit www.justgiving.com/synergy3peakschallenge to make a donation. Thank you to everyone who has donated to our 3 causes so far.
