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.jpg) There were six of
us attempting the 3 Peaks Challenge. Myself (Steve Sparkes),
my colleague Simon Clapson, and four people I used to work with -
Richard Allen, Geoff Pugh, Ryan Lingley and Nick Wright. There
was also a vital seventh member of our team - our driver, Baz Bark. We
travelled the long journey from Ipswich to Snowdonia mid-afternoon
on June 2nd, in the biggest Ford Transit van ever! We arrived at the
Bunkhouse and found a good pub which served fantastic food and
ale. We got in good training for the next day by eating loads
and drinking even more! When
we woke the next day, we stepped out of the Bunkhouse and could see
the summit of Snowdon in the distance and in the cloud!
Someone the night before had cunningly arranged for the landlord at
the pub to cook us a fry up, so it was back to the pub again for
breakfast.
 Before we knew it,
the time was 10.30am, and we were heading up the Pyg Track on
Snowdon. We made fantastic time to the summit - in only one
and a half hours!
We didn't have long at the top, and luckily
there was no fantastic view to keep us there either - just grey murk
and cloud.
In seemingly no time at all, we were back in the
van, and making our way up to the Lake District.
Snowdon climb time
- 2hrs 55mins
.jpg) We arrived at the Lake District at a few
minutes past 6pm, after a minor hold up on the M6. Soon we
were out of the van, and making our way up a very hot and humid
Scafell Pike.
Due to odd weather conditions, mist was rising
in clouds off the lake due to a warm evening, and there was a layer
of cloud above us. I liken our progress to trying to walk up a
down escalator in a sauna with a rucksack and lead boots on!
The going was not very easy.......
We made the summit by 8pm, and were
back down again by 9.30pm. Now it was time for the very long
drive to Ben Nevis.
Scafell Pike climb time - 3hrs 55mins
By this time, I was starting to feel a
little tired, a lot hungry, and - due to Baz's insanely fast (but
safe and legal!) driving along bumpy, twisting roads - very, very
ill. Luckily I fell asleep quite quickly. I remember
waking up at a petrol station somewhere in Scotland at about
1am. I opened the back doors of the van, and stepped
out. Unfortunately, due to hours of overuse followed by hours
of stiffening up, my knees were not working and I ended up in a heap
on the floor next to the diesel pump!
.jpg) My next memory was at 3.05am, being
shoved from the warm van into the dark, cold foothills of Ben
Nevis. Head torches on, we started what seemed like a journey
to Middle Earth. It wasn't too long until we could see, and we
seemed to be making good progress. That was, until we started
to encounter the white stuff - and I don't mean milk! The last
hour of the climb was going through snow that in some places must
have been twelve feet deep. We know this, because Nick decided
to fall into a snow hole! A little shaken, but OK, we got him
out and carried on. The summit was a very welcome sight, as I
think I can speak for all of us when I say it was bloody cold.
We were starting to get cold and wet - not a nice situation.
At 6.05am I was the highest person in Great Britain - quite a
feeling!
We didn't hang around for long at the
top. Nick - obviously bored with walking on snow - decided to
liven things up again. This time he got his foot caught
between two rocks in another snow hole. Due to the
blizzard-like conditions at the time, and with only Simon and myself
in sight, Nick experienced a short moment of "OH MY GOD
HELP!" He soon managed to free himself though, and we
were on our way down again.
The descent was starting to take its
toll on Simon's knees, and the rest of the group went on ahead to
get some very impressive 3 Peaks times. With a helping
shoulder from myself, Simon managed to hobble the last hour of the
mountain - sometimes backwards in parts where this made the descent
easier on his knees. It wasn't too long until we were again in
the foothills, and passing day walkers on their way up, which gave
us a boost.
We finally completed the 3 Peaks
Challenge in 23hrs 23mins!
.jpg) A few welcome beers were had in Fort
William, as due to our very good planning the pubs were just
starting to open.
I can recommend the Grog and Gruel for
anyone wanting good food and ale - it was a life saver. I
would like to give out an extra special 'Thank You' to Baz. At
the time I wanted to kill him because of his insane driving, but
without his efforts we never would have completed the challenge
within 24hrs. We only had 37 minutes to spare, and Baz
certainly made that up somewhere in the drive. Cheers Steve
Sparkes.  |
