The Three Peaks

The Three Peaks Challenge involves climbing the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales within 24hrs. We started the clock at the bottom of Ben Nevis in Scotland. We set off at 4pm on a Friday, there were about 10 of us of mixed ability, we also had 2 drivers who stayed with the minibus at the bottom. The climb up Ben Nevis was spectacular; initially the route took us up some steep paths, which were narrow and contained steps in places. After a while the paths became less steep and just wound up the side of the mountain. There were a few in the group that had been struggling quite a bit at the start, but they recovered as the going became easier. The sun was setting as we climbed, we were just above the cloud line as the sun finally set which was stunning. It was probably one of the most spectacular sunsets I have seen in the UK. It took us around 4 hrs in total to get to the top of the mountain, by which time it was dark. We spent a short while at the top of the mountain taking photos of each other and recovering before making our way back down. Resting, combined with the fact it was now dark meant it was pretty cold at the top so we added extra layers before heading down. Needless to say we each had a backpack containing warm kit, waterproofs, food, water and med kit, which is standard practice whenever your doing something of this nature.

The walk down seemed to take ages, after the excitement of getting to the top, we just wanted to be back in the bus and on our way to the next mountain, the fact that it was dark meant that we were just trudging along with no view to appreciate. We were back at the bus after about 3 hrs. As we were aiming to do the challenge within 24hrs there was not much time to hang around. We were trying to stick together as much as possible when on the mountains so we were therefore travelled at the pace of the slowest person, which in the case of our group was fairly slow. I found time to boil up some water on a little gas stove I had with me and rehydrate some food. Other members of the group ate sandwiches or other snacks. I think hydrated food is a great way to go as it’s warm and full of good calories that keep you going.

We piled into the van to head south into England to take on Skarfel Pike. A big part of the 3 Peaks challenge comes down to the drivers. We were lucky enough to have an old friend and a friend’s father who volunteered to drive the ‘walkers’ between mountains, they did a fantastic job. Other groups don’t use drivers and the walkers themselves cover the driving in shifts. It’s totally up to the people taking part but my advice would be that if you can find a people willing to drive for you then take them up on the offer.

The drive to Skarfel Pike took about 4hrs, and I think everybody got some sleep during this time. As we were quite a big group there was not a great deal of room in the bus but when you’re tired enough you’ll sleep.

We set off up the mountain at about 3am, again this one took about 4 hrs to climb. The sun started rising as we were climbing and once again the views were spectacular. The climb is pretty steep, winding paths lead into loose gravel slopes, so the going is pretty tough, but again everyone made it to the top, some in better condition than others. We tended to help each other out and would take bags of those that were struggling etc. It was a very clear morning by the time we reached the summit, there were one or two other walkers around, the majority of whom were also doing the Three Peaks. We spent a bit of time at the top admiring the view and at one point a small plane flew overhead and dipped it’s wings. The journey down was again a little quicker than on the way up. This time the journey down was in the light which made life a lot easier. We were back at the bus in about 2 hours.

Again we spent a bit of time eating before getting back on the bus and heading to Snowdon. We had a bit of a nightmare with traffic during the drive and it took us about 4 hrs to get there. Like I said before, it’s the traveling between the mountains that can take up a lot of valuable time. I’ve heard that those who really want to record a good time travel on motorbikes, this sounds fairly hardcore to me, but it would certainly save a bit of time.

We got to Snowdon at about 1pm. During our trip we had been very lucky with the weather, and our luck held. It was a bright sunny day, which made getting to the top comparatively easy. (I’ve been up Snowdon in some terrible weather with rain and 90 mile/ hr winds at the top – you get a great sense of satisfaction from getting to the top but it’s not exactly fun). We went up the ‘Pig Trail’ which involves an easy start along some steady paths, however after a while you reach a steep climb which involves some scrabbling over rocks. By the time we reached the bottom of Snowdon we realized time was quite tight if we were to complete the challenge in 24 hrs. At this point those who were keen to complete the challenge in the time went on ahead and the rest of the group took their time. I hung back and it took us about 3 hrs to get to the top. This meant that we got to all 3 peaks within a 24hr period, that actual challenge stipulates you should be at the bottom of the last mountain, and the guys that had gone ahead just managed to do this. The view from the top of Snowdon was breathtaking. Seeing as the 24rh time limit had passed we sat up there for a while. It’s not often you get a view like that from up there so we thought we’d make the most of it.

We came down the railway track and were picked up by the drivers who took us to the Hostel we were staying in. We had booked a table at an Indian restaurant so following a few beers, we ended up in there for a well earned curry before hitting the sack.