Event 8: The Three Peaks Challenge

After 7 events, Tommy and I are no strangers to arriving at a start line full of apprehension and absolutely no idea what lay ahead of us. Non more so however with event 8, the three peaks challenge.

The three peaks challenge is a nationally recognized event in which the goal is to simply climb the three highest peaks in mainland UK, Ben Nevis (Scotland), Scafell Pike (England) and Snowdon (Wales), all within 24 hours.

Our good friend Olly had meticulously organized the weekend for a staggering 25 people, which required 2 mini buses and 6 drivers to share out the time behind the wheel. We were to start the clock at the base of Nevis as close to 5pm as possible, which after leaving Weybridge at 5:30am we made after a quick detour to pick some of our party up from Glasgow airport. We grabbed some supplies from a nearby Morrisons and a cheeky cheeseburger from the golden arches for morale then made our way to the start line (well…start bridge).

Full of energy and optimism, the intrepid group stood craning necks up to the peak of Nevis which disappeared into a halo of clouds. We had driven through some pretty poor weather on route, so, relieved that the weather was being kind to us we started the clock at 5:30 and stomped off which purpose, vigor and somewhat naïve confidence.

Anyone who has climb Nevis will tell you that the first hour is a baptism of fire. After 20 or so minutes the majority of the group were puffing and sweating, stopping to remove misjudged layers of clothing and the group was silent for the first time in 10 hours, nobody wanting to be the first to say “I don’t know about you but I’m knackered”. Thankfully one of the group owned up to being tired which released the pressure for everyone else to agree that it was already tougher than they expected, oh dear.

But like true soldiers everyone trudged on and mercifully the mountain eased up its gradient for a spell after an hours climbing and the mood lightened. Naturally with a large group, people went at their own pace, some relentlessly marched on ahead, some conserved energy and kept a steady pace and some needed some encouragement, which group hero Woody provided for them in spades. The temperature changed dramatically throughout the climb and people started adding layers as we climbed, occasionally popping ears and rubbing weary thighs. We were finally met by the summit which had a fair bit of snow coverage and a welcome sight to all. 

Nevis summit (no really, that's it!)

After throwing a number of high fives, taken an inordinate amount of ‘mountaineer’ posed photos (see Exhibit A) and a few refreshments, we started our way down. 

(Exhibit A)

The inexperienced among us assumed that downhill was going to be a breeze, it wasn’t, if anything the descent seemed to damage peoples legs the most. Heavy impacting steps on the knees, slipping and stumbling we made our way to the bottom, unable to take in much of the breathtaking views due to such intense concentration on negotiating a route down.

With all of the above in mind we managed to get the entire team up and down inside our predicted 4 1/2 hours, which is astonishing with such a large group of mixed fitness and ability. With broken legs and spirits, and a newly developed sense of apprehension we saddled up and set off on the 6 hour drive to Scafell Pike at around 10pm, a little behind schedule but more worried about having to climb two more mountains.

Driving through the night thanks to a good stint from our night watchmen drivers (thanks boys and girls) we arrived at the base of Scafell at 4:30am, bang on time.

Scafell Pike, although the lowest peak at just under 1000 meters, is notoriously the hardest to navigate, especially in poor weather. We were all very glad to be met by beautiful clear skies, with the sun just beginning to poke it’s head over the crest of England’s highest peak.

Now seasoned climbing professionals we all set out, all trying to hobble off the stiffness of the previous mountain and the long drive. We did unfortunately have to leave a few behind this time, my brother James had messed up his knee on Nevis and couldn’t carry on, and Jim decided to save his legs for Snowdon. The weather at the top of Scafell was incredible, the views stunning, and the feeling of being half way and on time gave the group a renewed sense of belief that we could actually do it.

At Scafell's Peak

One of the many breathtaking views

We all managed to get down inside 3 hours, with some even running the entire way down and finishing the mountain in a commendable 2 ½ hours! Some chose to stand in the crystal clear river water at the bottom, acting as a natural ice bath for the calves, and Tommy even danced his way across the finish line, apparently everyday he’s shuffling!

Joking apart, that was seriously cold!

After a quick round of high fives again we set of on the final 4 ½ hour drive to Snowdon, hearts full of spirit and determination.

13:05. Wales. Home of slate, mining, and on this day, disgusting weather. Snowdon is debatably the easiest of the three peaks although this certainly wasn’t the case for us. It almost felt like the mountain was trying to show us how lucky we had been on the previous climbs. The miner’s track has a flat start which was simple brisk stroll, followed by a 200 meter scramble, finishing in a long jagged climb to the summit. The higher we climbed, the more it rained, the more the winds blew and the worse the visibility got. So much so that at one point the group with me at the front were considering turning back as it was getting dangerous. We were not going to give up without a fight though, after all, we’d just spent the best part of 20 hours getting to this point. We all pushed on, all reached the top, no high fives, a quick click of a camera to prove ‘I was here’ and then a race down the mountain and out of the appalling conditions.

An idea of the conditions modeled by Ben and Bruce

A group of us again ran the entire way, which got pretty hairy at points as the path down was now pretty much a waterfall. The first of the group completed the final mountain with an overall time of 22hrs 28mins and 36secs, a great effort. We then sheltered in the nearby café, waiting and hoping that people got down safe and within the 24 hour deadline.

Astonishingly, every single person who was still on course for the challenge made it down within the allotted time, the last of which came in with 18 minutes to spare! Incredible!

I genuinely didn’t think we would be able to get so many of us to complete the challenge, there were so many things that could have gone wrong. It is a testament to Olly’s organization, Woody’s patience and time keeping, and the whole groups determination to get it done.

Congratulations to everyone who came, even the people who didn’t manage the official challenge broken some personal boundaries so everyone on the trip should be very proud of themselves. I salute the below list of heroes:

Olly Hickling


Tom Fraser


Andrew O’Sullivan


Ben Lakin


Max Deeley


Bruce Kingma


Andrew Lait (Meerkat!)


Laura Stephenson


George Perry 


Matt(ress) Shipley


Karen Betts


Jim Phipps


Alasdair Woodbridge


Alex Kershaw


Jacqui Kershaw

James O'Sullivan


Tom Evans


Claire Mogford


Dave Aylwood


Anne Whyte


Fred Zandona


Tia Richardson


Alix Lawson


Vicky Pinsent

I’m not sure what the end total was but I know it was over £2000 raised for Help for Heroes which is a great effort so thank you to all you donated.

Special thanks needs to go to Olly for his organization, Tia for coming along as a driver, and Woody for keeping us all in check and making sure we all got down the mountain. Legends.

Tommy and I are attempting a double event weekend this coming weekend an army test on Saturday 18th June and London to Brighton 19th June. Very exciting. 

We have also layed of the fundraising while we got into stride on our 30 challenges, but now we are approaching 10 events complete we’d like to remind you all the the One Foundation do fantastic work and are being supportive of us through this process. Please visit them at One Difference and see all the great work they are doing and then please visit our justgiving page at Donate to 30B430 anything at all is very much appreciated.