The 3 Peaks Challenge
Last weekend on the 5th of September I embarked on the 3 Peaks Challenge which involves climbing the 3 highest peaks in the UK within 24 hours. I have started a blog so anyone who is interested can see what this was all about, what I am currently doing and what I will be working towards achieving.
Friday 5th September 2008: 7am - caught the coach from London to Glencoe in Scotland arrived 7:30 pm. Assigned to rooms for the night, once all 80 challengers had arrived we had a full brief by Event Manager Crispin - my favorite gag of his aimed to entertain us was "if you get lost on the mountain stay in one place or we won't find you..." then after a quick scout around the questionning faces in the rooms he continued "actually, don't worry... we will find you". Nice one Crispin, I know we need to know the worst case scenario but after hearing about dehydration, deaths, blisters and "unpopular decisions being made" on the mountains this was...shall say an interesting consideration!
None of this phased me though, it was only the next morning on the way to the first mountain that the realisation of what I had got myself into started to kick in, big time.
Saturday 6th September 2008: 5am rise from our dormitories, eat as much breakfast as I could force myself to consume in the dark in the Scottish Highlands.
7am: the REALISATION STARTS TO KICK IN! We're on the way to Ben Bevis and I'm looking around at all the huge mountains none of which are as big as the one I had to climb. I suddenly thought, I have not climbed any mountains in my 23 years of living and now I HAD to climb 3 in 24 hours. Notice the boldness of the word "had", yes that's right there was no way I would let any of these mountains get the better of me. I reasoned with myself that it was ok because this was one of those things that I had to do...it would be over tomorrow and then would have done it and never have to do it again. Now I've accomplished this, I would do it all over again and here's why:
7:30 am: we start off in our group of 10 people and 1 Mountain Leader by the name of Glen. The pace was fine until people started wanting to stop, and couldn't! At the end of the day we weren't there to rest, we were there to climb and that we did. Resting was short and infrequent - about 1 minute rest every 45 minutes. I was so cold by the time I reached the summit of Ben Nevis and stood on the concrete slab that is the highest point in the UK, I couldn't feel my fingers and by-passed checking the time so I could start getting down the mountain quicker than I got up it.
None of the summits are places you want to hang around. And they are all in the clouds so you can't see anything either... sounds great doesn't it!
12:45 pm: Back to the base 10 mins rest, eat and toilet break time then back in the minibus to The Lake District and the next climb - Scafell Pike.
6pm: Mountain Leader Glen get's a call from Crispin (Event Manager) he informs us of the update Mountain Rescue have delivered on the weather conditions - 70 mph winds at the summit, -6 degrees and as the Guardian Paper headlines had predicted "2 weeks worth of rain over 2 days - South West England and wales to feel the brunt of the storms". Swallowing this news, I knew I could make it to the top and I was in experienced hands, but we were told that if one member of the group wanted to turn back whilst on the mountain we would all have to give up.
7:45pm I was hoping that some of the less fit and determined members of our group would heed this advice and decide not to go, but also unphased they came along. Encouraged by their Accountant boyfriends and not really understanding what they had agreed to, they soon realised the extent of the conditions we were faced with and wanted to turn back after 10 minutes, but we continued...
I'm not going to lie, the conditions were tough - driving rain that bites away at your face, wind that knocks you off your feet, pitch black darkness, the highest mountain in England to climb...
10pm: We reached check point 2 - 3/4 way to the top and got news on the radio that the conditions had worsened and now the Management Team had made the decision that everyone had to turn back. Trying to restore some morale to the less happy members of our group, Glen says "ok let's go back and get some Mc Donalds". All I wanted was to reach the summit, but one of the girls retorted in an uneccessarily sarcastic tone "I think that's the best thing you've said all day".
Absolutely gutted, we turned around and headed back to base consolled only by the fact that no-one had been allowed up and sometimes you have to give way to the forces of nature. In retrospect it would have been a massive drain on our fast depleting stores of energy and didn't make the challenge any less challenging by not being able to reach the summit.
12pm: By midnight we had been fed chilli con carne at the base of Scafell Pike in the rain, got into dry clothes and our minibus was ready to depart for Wales and the final mountain - Snowdon. As the minibus pulls away Nathan (event logistics and support) illuminated by the headlights and soaked through himself from having to stay there all afternoon and night ensuring the safety and feeding of 80 people says "thank you for coming to visit Scafell Pike... I realise there are many mountains you could have chosen to climb that would have been better options but we are happy you came...and good luck!"
Sunday 6th September 2008:
4:45am: As the minibus came to a halt in Wales the sliding door was pulled open and I was awoken by Crispin saying "Welcome to the most extreme 3 Peaks Challenge Ever", I appreciated the welcome but in my state of slumber I definitely didn't want to be a part of world I could see beyond Crispin and his massive poncho. There was rain, darkness, more wind and very wet shoes to be put on. And another mountain of course... I then took stock and told myself that I didn't sign up to this to be warm and dry and suddenly I was up for the challenge ahead once more. Afterall, once the wet shoes were on the worst part was over... nearly.
Head torch on, and FULL waterproofs on (or should I say 'imposter waterproofs' which later were described by one of my team as looking like "two very wet bin bags") we headed into the darkness of Snowdonia. Scrambling up rocks in Wales all I could see ahead and behind were clusters of little lights - tired people on the last leg of the challenge letting their Mountain Leaders and head lights lead the way to the final summit. At least I still had some energy in me to strike up good conversations and check in on the status of my team. The chat along with a bit of banter formed the silver lining of my very wet and dark cloud I was climbing through. Literally. The vast majority of the last climb was in a cloud, it did get lighter but maintained it's wetness throughout.
The one unifying factor for all 80 of us, was the solo thought guaranteed to be running through everyone's mind "I CAN'T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY PAID TO DO THIS..."
As the first light started peaking over the hills I could see silver slithers streaming down the sides of the hills. As we continued on my eyes could see more and I realised they were waterfalls that we had to walk through as we walked around the curve of the Horsehoe Lake. As I didn't get to see an
y of Scafell Pike in the light, I can only compare Snowdon to Ben
Nevis. Snowdon is a lot more rocky with steep hillsides meeting each other at sharp angles, whereas Ben Nevis lays claim to expansive but steep green slopes that converge in a wide valley bottom.
Into the morning this seemed to be a mountain with many false summits, as we scrambled up more rocks, over more water streaming down rock faces, up further into the big white wet cloud encompassing half of Snowdon, encouraged by groups already on their way back to base having reached the summit. Glen offers his encouragment too "we're nearly there guys" again the moaner pipes up "umm can you please define nearly?" About 20 minutes love...
Anyway... we eventually got there. We climbed up to the highest point in Wales and again reached a concrete slab in a cloud. The feeling was fantastic but the challenge was not yet over we still had a good 2 1/2 hours down the mountains. Then I knew I would really feel the achievement.
9 am Sunday: We made it, back to base camp in Wales and the end of the 3 Peaks in one piece. For the last time we could take off our wet clothes and change into dry ones that would accompany us back home. It was only once I reached the end of the challenge that I was able to reflect on what we had done in 1 day, the sights, the experiences, the people I had met, the pain I had put myself through - that all culminated in the way I felt upon completion as we left Wales to return to London. It made me think if this is what I have achieved in 1 day, what else can I do...?
I loved the 3 Peaks Challenge and am pleased that I have now done it. As I said at the start of this, I would like to do it all over again this time with some of my friends and family to share such an amazing experience with and also with people who were of the same level of fitness as me or higher so that I could really push myself to the limit. If anyone thinks they are up for it let me know!
Now it's time for me to focus on my next challenge. Some of you may know that I am doing a race through the jungles of Borneo in November (about 2 months from now) for which I have been training for months. But I'll save that for another post...
Thanks for reading
Sophie
Friday 5th September 2008: 7am - caught the coach from London to Glencoe in Scotland arrived 7:30 pm. Assigned to rooms for the night, once all 80 challengers had arrived we had a full brief by Event Manager Crispin - my favorite gag of his aimed to entertain us was "if you get lost on the mountain stay in one place or we won't find you..." then after a quick scout around the questionning faces in the rooms he continued "actually, don't worry... we will find you". Nice one Crispin, I know we need to know the worst case scenario but after hearing about dehydration, deaths, blisters and "unpopular decisions being made" on the mountains this was...shall say an interesting consideration!
None of this phased me though, it was only the next morning on the way to the first mountain that the realisation of what I had got myself into started to kick in, big time.
Saturday 6th September 2008: 5am rise from our dormitories, eat as much breakfast as I could force myself to consume in the dark in the Scottish Highlands.
7am: the REALISATION STARTS TO KICK IN! We're on the way to Ben Bevis and I'm looking around at all the huge mountains none of which are as big as the one I had to climb. I suddenly thought, I have not climbed any mountains in my 23 years of living and now I HAD to climb 3 in 24 hours. Notice the boldness of the word "had", yes that's right there was no way I would let any of these mountains get the better of me. I reasoned with myself that it was ok because this was one of those things that I had to do...it would be over tomorrow and then would have done it and never have to do it again. Now I've accomplished this, I would do it all over again and here's why:
7:30 am: we start off in our group of 10 people and 1 Mountain Leader by the name of Glen. The pace was fine until people started wanting to stop, and couldn't! At the end of the day we weren't there to rest, we were there to climb and that we did. Resting was short and infrequent - about 1 minute rest every 45 minutes. I was so cold by the time I reached the summit of Ben Nevis and stood on the concrete slab that is the highest point in the UK, I couldn't feel my fingers and by-passed checking the time so I could start getting down the mountain quicker than I got up it.
None of the summits are places you want to hang around. And they are all in the clouds so you can't see anything either... sounds great doesn't it!
12:45 pm: Back to the base 10 mins rest, eat and toilet break time then back in the minibus to The Lake District and the next climb - Scafell Pike.
6pm: Mountain Leader Glen get's a call from Crispin (Event Manager) he informs us of the update Mountain Rescue have delivered on the weather conditions - 70 mph winds at the summit, -6 degrees and as the Guardian Paper headlines had predicted "2 weeks worth of rain over 2 days - South West England and wales to feel the brunt of the storms". Swallowing this news, I knew I could make it to the top and I was in experienced hands, but we were told that if one member of the group wanted to turn back whilst on the mountain we would all have to give up.
7:45pm I was hoping that some of the less fit and determined members of our group would heed this advice and decide not to go, but also unphased they came along. Encouraged by their Accountant boyfriends and not really understanding what they had agreed to, they soon realised the extent of the conditions we were faced with and wanted to turn back after 10 minutes, but we continued...
I'm not going to lie, the conditions were tough - driving rain that bites away at your face, wind that knocks you off your feet, pitch black darkness, the highest mountain in England to climb...
10pm: We reached check point 2 - 3/4 way to the top and got news on the radio that the conditions had worsened and now the Management Team had made the decision that everyone had to turn back. Trying to restore some morale to the less happy members of our group, Glen says "ok let's go back and get some Mc Donalds". All I wanted was to reach the summit, but one of the girls retorted in an uneccessarily sarcastic tone "I think that's the best thing you've said all day".
Absolutely gutted, we turned around and headed back to base consolled only by the fact that no-one had been allowed up and sometimes you have to give way to the forces of nature. In retrospect it would have been a massive drain on our fast depleting stores of energy and didn't make the challenge any less challenging by not being able to reach the summit.
12pm: By midnight we had been fed chilli con carne at the base of Scafell Pike in the rain, got into dry clothes and our minibus was ready to depart for Wales and the final mountain - Snowdon. As the minibus pulls away Nathan (event logistics and support) illuminated by the headlights and soaked through himself from having to stay there all afternoon and night ensuring the safety and feeding of 80 people says "thank you for coming to visit Scafell Pike... I realise there are many mountains you could have chosen to climb that would have been better options but we are happy you came...and good luck!"
Sunday 6th September 2008:
4:45am: As the minibus came to a halt in Wales the sliding door was pulled open and I was awoken by Crispin saying "Welcome to the most extreme 3 Peaks Challenge Ever", I appreciated the welcome but in my state of slumber I definitely didn't want to be a part of world I could see beyond Crispin and his massive poncho. There was rain, darkness, more wind and very wet shoes to be put on. And another mountain of course... I then took stock and told myself that I didn't sign up to this to be warm and dry and suddenly I was up for the challenge ahead once more. Afterall, once the wet shoes were on the worst part was over... nearly.
Head torch on, and FULL waterproofs on (or should I say 'imposter waterproofs' which later were described by one of my team as looking like "two very wet bin bags") we headed into the darkness of Snowdonia. Scrambling up rocks in Wales all I could see ahead and behind were clusters of little lights - tired people on the last leg of the challenge letting their Mountain Leaders and head lights lead the way to the final summit. At least I still had some energy in me to strike up good conversations and check in on the status of my team. The chat along with a bit of banter formed the silver lining of my very wet and dark cloud I was climbing through. Literally. The vast majority of the last climb was in a cloud, it did get lighter but maintained it's wetness throughout.
The one unifying factor for all 80 of us, was the solo thought guaranteed to be running through everyone's mind "I CAN'T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY PAID TO DO THIS..."
As the first light started peaking over the hills I could see silver slithers streaming down the sides of the hills. As we continued on my eyes could see more and I realised they were waterfalls that we had to walk through as we walked around the curve of the Horsehoe Lake. As I didn't get to see an
y of Scafell Pike in the light, I can only compare Snowdon to Ben
Nevis. Snowdon is a lot more rocky with steep hillsides meeting each other at sharp angles, whereas Ben Nevis lays claim to expansive but steep green slopes that converge in a wide valley bottom.Into the morning this seemed to be a mountain with many false summits, as we scrambled up more rocks, over more water streaming down rock faces, up further into the big white wet cloud encompassing half of Snowdon, encouraged by groups already on their way back to base having reached the summit. Glen offers his encouragment too "we're nearly there guys" again the moaner pipes up "umm can you please define nearly?" About 20 minutes love...
Anyway... we eventually got there. We climbed up to the highest point in Wales and again reached a concrete slab in a cloud. The feeling was fantastic but the challenge was not yet over we still had a good 2 1/2 hours down the mountains. Then I knew I would really feel the achievement.
9 am Sunday: We made it, back to base camp in Wales and the end of the 3 Peaks in one piece. For the last time we could take off our wet clothes and change into dry ones that would accompany us back home. It was only once I reached the end of the challenge that I was able to reflect on what we had done in 1 day, the sights, the experiences, the people I had met, the pain I had put myself through - that all culminated in the way I felt upon completion as we left Wales to return to London. It made me think if this is what I have achieved in 1 day, what else can I do...?
I loved the 3 Peaks Challenge and am pleased that I have now done it. As I said at the start of this, I would like to do it all over again this time with some of my friends and family to share such an amazing experience with and also with people who were of the same level of fitness as me or higher so that I could really push myself to the limit. If anyone thinks they are up for it let me know!
Now it's time for me to focus on my next challenge. Some of you may know that I am doing a race through the jungles of Borneo in November (about 2 months from now) for which I have been training for months. But I'll save that for another post...
Thanks for reading
Sophie
9 comments:
sophie, you're crazy! and brave, strong, and inspiring. sounds like an amazing experience and i love that you managed to do it in your homeland in such a short space of time - must've made for one of the most intense weekends ever!
jungle race in borneo sounds just as mad - good luck with it, i look forward to reading all about it.
keep it up!
c xx
p.s. have you considered getting some day-glow lycras with 'CHALLENGE SOPHIE!' emblazoned on the back?? an idea...
That's absolutely amazing, very inspiring although I do not think I will be joining you on a mountain climb anytime soon (need to work on the fitness).
I know you can do anything you want and will definitely achieve, you just have that air about you. Reach for the stars girl, oh you already have.
Nikki
Sophie,
Great going from here in the States.
I hope 'The Moaner' doesn't read this.
I'm definitely up for doing this!
Coming down must be difficult as there is no challenge, just the amazing reward of getting back down and getting some food.
Soph this is awesome...LOVE IT! just made soem random blog thing so i could write this! please also update this so i no wat u are doing...
i love u and miss you
xxxxx
Sophieeeeee!! We have TONS of peaks in Texas, when are you coming out to climb those?? You'll have to do a three day challenge out here: white water river rafting, horse back riding, and then, day three: boy hunting with yours truly haha. I am so incredibly proud of you and I know Borneo will be spectacular. It is always a wonderful sense of accomplishment and self confirmation when you conquer goals that require such stamina and grit. Congratulations of course and good luck with the training.
Love you always and miss you tons!
Well done again! You should write adventure novels. After reading that I feel like climbing a mountain or maybe heading for the south pole. Great pics too.
Cheers
Dan
Sophie, sounds like you had a good time. It also sounds like a great experience. And I think after I finish school this would be fun to do. I congratulate you on your determination. I bet you wish you could have relaxed in a hot tube after all that, but that's just me.
James
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