3 Peaks Challenge Accomplished!

 

3 Peaks Challenge Update: Mission Accomplished!

We are very proud to announce the accomplishment of completing the three peaks challenge in 23 hours 44 minutes commenced on 23rd June 2023.

Thank you for all your encouragement and support that really fueled us to complete this incredible challenge.

Below are the key details outlining the timings and routes. Further posts will feature personal accounts of the challenge which I strongly encourage you to read as we all had varying experiences and perspectives despite walking and driving the same journey!

Photos will be published in a separate post.

Ben Nevis (Scotland’s tallest mountain)

We set off walking from the Glen Nevis car park at 6:30am and followed the Ben Nevis Mountain Path approaching the lake ‘Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe’ which approximately marked the half-way point. As the ascent progressed the views over Fort William became foggier until we reached the summit where visibility was poor after gaining 1,339 m in elevation. The conditions resembled those of all four seasons and we were somewhat surprised to pass large sheets of snow and ice as we plateaued. Ben Nevis was the longest route (16.59 km) and unsurprisingly took the longest of the three mountains to complete with a total moving time of 4 hours 16 minutes.

Scafell Pike (England’s tallest mountain)

En route to the second mountain we made a navigational error by naively inputting the wrong side of the mountain into the SatNav which added nearly an hour onto the original car journey time. Fortunately, we made up for lost time by maintaining a quick walking pace and resiliently powering through the penetrable rain especially on the descents.

Although this was the shortest climb of the three mountains, it was by far the most treacherous in terms of physical challenges and adverse weather conditions. We began our 904 m ascent from Wasdale Head at 6:05 pm, almost 12 hours since the stop watch was set. Wast Water below was only visible for the first hour of the ascent until we progressed further and were shrouded in fog. We scrambled up Mickledore (the steep gully-like structure as seen in the photos) before reaching the summit which was extremely blustery and where our waterproofs were continuously tested at the mercy of the elements. The extreme weather certainly added to the atmosphere and the jubilations of reaching the top offset the disappointment of the lack of beautiful panoramic views of Cumbria’s mountainous landscape. This climb really accentuated both the physical challenge- our legs were already well-worked from climbing the UK’s tallest mountain and fairly stiff after a 5 hour car journey; and the mental challenge- we still had Snowdon to climb and required energy to maintain our resilience. Despite the demands, this was the quickest climb of all three mountains with a total moving time of 3 hours 3 minutes and covering 10.40 km.

Snowdon (Wales’ tallest mountain)

We started the climb at 2:30am on Saturday 24^th using our headtorches for a couple of hours to illuminate the Pig Track before sunrise. We opted for this track up the mountain because it was a good compromise between distance and difficulty compared to some other routes such as following the train line which is easy but longer or taking the miners track which typically steeper. Stepping down from the cairn was probably the most precarious and exposed moment of the trip as we battled against the extreme gusts to prevent being blown away! We completed the 11.50 km round trip in 3 hours 22 minutes with mixed feeling of exhaustion and relief. We finished at 6:14 am. Rory generously offered to drive us back to his home for breakfast and a well-deserved power nap was much needed after only 2-3 hours of interrupted sleep during the driving legs.

 All statistics, measurements and routes were recorded using Strava as well as the visual mapping interpretations.

Overview:

Ben Nevis

Distance: 16.59 km

Total moving time: 4 hours 16 minutes

Elevation gain: 1,339 m

 

Scafell Pike

Distance: 10.40 km

Total moving time: 3 hours 3 minutes

Elevation gain: 904 m

 

Snowdon

Distance: 11.53 km

Total moving time: 3 hours 22 minutes

Elevation gain: 744 m