On Friday, I joined Steve (on the left in this photo), who is a friend from college. together with 6 other lads at Stansted Airport from where we caught a plane to Glasgow and then spent the weekend charging around between the highest peaks in each of Scotland, England and Wales - Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon respectively - in an attempt to achieve the 3 Peaks Challenge.
Now, I had a feeling that things might go awry when, after checking in at the hotel we stayed at in Glasgow, I realised I'd forgotten to bring my walking boots... in fact it was probably a blessing in disguise given that my feet are pretty much blister-free and I'm walking without pain of any kind - not something that most of our posse can claim!
Of course, they all have far more reason to feel proud than I do, but I'm not bothered about that - it was a great weekend and I'm grateful to Steve for making it happen. Saying that, I don't want to see the inside of a minibus again for quite some time... much of the 24 hours was spent hurtling around being driven by our driver Chris (somehow I only got a photo of his back!).
I was, to put it bluntly, a bit slack when it came to making the challenge; I had a bash at Ben Nevis, but bottled out after starting off at far too fast a pace. Instead I spent a pleasant afternoon taking photos and practising using my walking poles on the lower slopes, while the rest of the lads were injuring themselves in order to get up and down in as short a time as possible. I'm a bit disappointed because I have since realised that had we set off at a more reasonable pace (it was my fault... I was the initial pace-maker!) I should have made it to the top of Ben Nevis without problems and without slowing down the others who wanted to climb all three peaks within 24 hours. Saying that, seeing as at least four of them came off the mountain carrying twisted joints and overstretched muscles, I'm not overly upset!
Having failed to conquer Nevis, I took a pragmatic view when it came to Scafell Pike, by all accounts the hardest of the three climbs. Not having proper footwear (I was wearing reasonably sturdy Timberlands) the decision not to trudge off into the night was quite an easy one to take. I was later joined in the minibus by Neil who was forced down again after making a valiant attempt to climb it. At least we got a couple of hours sleep!
I did, however, manage to climb Snowdon - I couldn't really back down, as it's the easiest of the three mountains to climb and I had already done it before... when I was about 12 years old! Up and down in approx. 4 1/2 hours, which, while hardly record-breaking, isn't bad. I have definitely broken in my walking poles.
Seeing as I had more time on my hands than the others, I became something of the trip's unofficial photographer. I've posted unedited pics here, but will describe them on this post at some point over the next few days or so. Right now, I need some sleep!
For the time being, I'll just say congratulations to Steve, Phil, James, Gel, Rich, Bruce and Neil for all of your efforts. I'll even forgive the three of you that snored so loudly in the hotel we stayed in last night before returning to London!
Posted by dompannell at September 12, 2006 12:13 AM | TrackBack