![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Last weekend, I participated in a National Three Peaks challenge with two of my colleagues. For those who don't know, this consists of climbing the highest peaks in Scotland, England, and Wales... all in the space of 24 hours.
From North to South, the peaks are:
Making things more challenging, of course, is that the peaks are not adjacent to one another. Their location within Great Britain can be seen here:
The 24 hour countdown starts when you set out on the trail at your first peak, and ends when you complete the trail at the end of the final peak. All intermediate time -- including the drive between peaks -- is on the clock. When you figure that the drive from Ben Nevis to Scafell Pike is nearly six hours, and the drive from Scafell Pike to Snowdonia is another four... well, that takes a big bite out of those 24 hours.
I planned the trip back in January, with the idea of hiring a PhD student to be a dedicated driver. Students always need money, so I figured a hundred quid plus fuel would be sufficient enticement. Suffice to say that we did not end up finding a driver and very nearly called the whole thing off. In the end, though, we decided to split the driving between the three of us (which, in practice, became two).
We started on Saturday afternoon (25th July) at 15:00. Here are the relevant times:
2015-07-25 15:00 - Start at Ben Nevis (Mountain Track trailhead)
2015-07-25 17:33 - Reach summit of Ben Nevis
2015-07-25 20:00 - Finish at Ben Nevis
2015-07-26 01:51 - Start at Scafell Pike (Wasdale Head trailhead)
2015-07-26 04:11 - Reach summit of Scafell Pike
2015-07-26 06:10 - Finiah at Scafell Pike
2015-07-26 10:52 - Start at Snowdonia (Miners Track trailhead)
2015-07-26 12:52 - Reach summit of Snowdonia
2015-07-26 14:49 - Finish at Snowdonia
Our challenge was successful, and I completed the three peaks in 23 hours and 49 minutes. Towards the end, I wasn't so confident that we would be under 24 hours; the final stretch of the trail is on flat ground for a mile or two, so I ran the last bit to make it back to the car park in time!
Looking at this in triathlon terms, my times break down as follows:
My colleague TD did the driving between Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike. I did the drive from Scafell Pike to Snowdonia (plus all the off-the-clock driving from Sheffield to Scotland and from Wales back to Sheffield).
Astute readers may observe that our ascent up Scafell Pike began in the night. Indeed, it was pitch black and we had only our head lamps to guide us. In such conditions, we inadvertantly went off the trail... and ended up in a scramble, climbing the side of the mountain. It was only on the way down, after dawn, that we saw how far we had veered off. Our way up couldn't even be called the more difficult path -- it wasn't a path at all!
Despite being the tallest of the three peaks, Ben Nevis proved to be the easiest to climb. As mentioned, Scafell Pike was done in the dark... and Snowdonia threw rain down upon us the entire way. The clothing under my waterproofs was drenched!
One of the fun parts of this little adventure was seeing so many other people doing the same thing. Our schedule was offset from most others by two or three hours, with us starting first. Thus, on the way down Scafell Pike, I said "See you on Snowdon!" to nearly everyone that we passed. (Unlike Ben Nevis and Snowdonia, which are attractions in their own right, nearly nobody climbs Scafell Pike except as part of a National Three Peaks Challenge.) Indeed, I wasn't wrong -- several hours later, we passed a lot of familiar faces on the climb down Snowdon!
After finishing the challenge, we made our way to a nearby hotel and collapsed. I slept for 12 hours; can't remember the last time that happened! We passed out at 7pm... and didn't get up again until 7am Monday morning, when we started back to England and the new work week. I was limping for a large part of Monday, and some of Tuesday... but it was totally worth it!
Finally, gentle readers, I will end with a picture of the three of us at the top of Ben Nevis:
The Most Altitudinous People in Great Britain
(click on picture for full version)
(Alas, at the top of Scafell Pike it was too dark to get a good picture... and at the top of Snowdonia it was too wet!)
From North to South, the peaks are:
- Ben Nevis (Scotland) - 1344 meters
- Scafell Pike (England) - 978 meters
- Snowdonia (Wales) - 1085 meters
Making things more challenging, of course, is that the peaks are not adjacent to one another. Their location within Great Britain can be seen here:
The 24 hour countdown starts when you set out on the trail at your first peak, and ends when you complete the trail at the end of the final peak. All intermediate time -- including the drive between peaks -- is on the clock. When you figure that the drive from Ben Nevis to Scafell Pike is nearly six hours, and the drive from Scafell Pike to Snowdonia is another four... well, that takes a big bite out of those 24 hours.
I planned the trip back in January, with the idea of hiring a PhD student to be a dedicated driver. Students always need money, so I figured a hundred quid plus fuel would be sufficient enticement. Suffice to say that we did not end up finding a driver and very nearly called the whole thing off. In the end, though, we decided to split the driving between the three of us (which, in practice, became two).
We started on Saturday afternoon (25th July) at 15:00. Here are the relevant times:
2015-07-25 15:00 - Start at Ben Nevis (Mountain Track trailhead)
2015-07-25 17:33 - Reach summit of Ben Nevis
2015-07-25 20:00 - Finish at Ben Nevis
2015-07-26 01:51 - Start at Scafell Pike (Wasdale Head trailhead)
2015-07-26 04:11 - Reach summit of Scafell Pike
2015-07-26 06:10 - Finiah at Scafell Pike
2015-07-26 10:52 - Start at Snowdonia (Miners Track trailhead)
2015-07-26 12:52 - Reach summit of Snowdonia
2015-07-26 14:49 - Finish at Snowdonia
Our challenge was successful, and I completed the three peaks in 23 hours and 49 minutes. Towards the end, I wasn't so confident that we would be under 24 hours; the final stretch of the trail is on flat ground for a mile or two, so I ran the last bit to make it back to the car park in time!
Looking at this in triathlon terms, my times break down as follows:
- Ben Nevis: 5:00 (1344 meters)
- T1: 5:51
- Scafell Pike: 4:19 (978 meters)
- T2: 4:42
- Snowdonia: 3:57 (1085 meters)
- TOTAL: 23:49
My colleague TD did the driving between Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike. I did the drive from Scafell Pike to Snowdonia (plus all the off-the-clock driving from Sheffield to Scotland and from Wales back to Sheffield).
Astute readers may observe that our ascent up Scafell Pike began in the night. Indeed, it was pitch black and we had only our head lamps to guide us. In such conditions, we inadvertantly went off the trail... and ended up in a scramble, climbing the side of the mountain. It was only on the way down, after dawn, that we saw how far we had veered off. Our way up couldn't even be called the more difficult path -- it wasn't a path at all!
Despite being the tallest of the three peaks, Ben Nevis proved to be the easiest to climb. As mentioned, Scafell Pike was done in the dark... and Snowdonia threw rain down upon us the entire way. The clothing under my waterproofs was drenched!
One of the fun parts of this little adventure was seeing so many other people doing the same thing. Our schedule was offset from most others by two or three hours, with us starting first. Thus, on the way down Scafell Pike, I said "See you on Snowdon!" to nearly everyone that we passed. (Unlike Ben Nevis and Snowdonia, which are attractions in their own right, nearly nobody climbs Scafell Pike except as part of a National Three Peaks Challenge.) Indeed, I wasn't wrong -- several hours later, we passed a lot of familiar faces on the climb down Snowdon!
After finishing the challenge, we made our way to a nearby hotel and collapsed. I slept for 12 hours; can't remember the last time that happened! We passed out at 7pm... and didn't get up again until 7am Monday morning, when we started back to England and the new work week. I was limping for a large part of Monday, and some of Tuesday... but it was totally worth it!
Finally, gentle readers, I will end with a picture of the three of us at the top of Ben Nevis:
(click on picture for full version)
(Alas, at the top of Scafell Pike it was too dark to get a good picture... and at the top of Snowdonia it was too wet!)
Tags: