| Monday 15:45 | Just arrived back at 2RM. |
| Monday 14:25 |   |
| Monday 14:22 |  |
| Monday 09:51 | Snowdon - en-route we discussed tactics for Snowdon and it was decided to let the A's "fantastic 4" go it alone on the timed part of the challenge, with Kelvin, Annette and Nige following as a trio. Tactically, this gave the team the best chance of a fast time, ensured all the walkers got to complete Snowdon and also allowed at least one of our great drivers to take part in one of the mountains. When under the challenge, the need for speed means that there's little time for sight seeing - although to be fair the weather was so poor on Nevis and Scafell there were no views anyway!! Great weather at Snowdon and the trio we're able to actually take the climb at a more leisurely pace - albeit the pain of exertion didn't seem to be any lower :-( The trio hit the summit to choruses of "Seagulls we love you" delivered by the fantastic four and Mel.....which was a great ending. Typically for 'Jonah' Nige as the trio hit the summit: 1) Thick mist rolled in obscuring all views! 2) The last train down left the station (full)!! 3) The new summit cafe closed!!! Sometimes you just know it's not your day :-( Anyway, getting to the top gave a real sense of achievement to us all and so after photos and a brief rest we headed off down. The fantastic four decided to head down at pace while the trio made their own way - in hindsight this was probably an error as in the thick mist we took a wrong turn and headed off down an alternate route. We didn't realise this until we exited the fog and found ourselves staring into a stunning valley of lakes and grassland - but which unfortunately had no signs of civilisation - whoops!! Kelvin to the rescue though and within a few minutes he had identifed our true position and clarified our new route and so we let everyone know we were coming "overland". Although a considerably longer route, in fact the soft boggy ground of the valley we were traversing was generally easier on Nigel and Annette's injuries than the rocky mountain path. Safely back at the hotel the only downside was that our delayed return meant we all missed the 3 Peaks presentation/awards ceremony in Llanberis - so apologies to all for that. After a quiet dinner the exhausted teams headed off for their first proper sleep since Saturday. 23/06: Almost everybody slept really well - once the din from Mel's 'sleepover' had died down ;-) All feeling weary and sore this morning....plenty of muscle knots....Nigel unable to reach feet to put socks on, much to Paul's amusement! Good rooms, great breakfast and so a great find Reg and Lin. Repacked the vans and tried to get Mel/Caroline to take our dirty washing on their bus.....nearly got away with it :-) and boy does it stink (especially Mikes)!! Seeing everybody wandering round it's easy to spot any 3 Peakers as they all have a very strange stiff looking John Wayne type hobble. Left hotel about 09:15 for the 228 mile journey home. |
| Monday 08:46 | Scafell Pike - Mike B, Emma, Stacey and Paul complete the climb in 3hrs 57mins. All come back saying that this was even harder than Ben Nevis due to the terrain. Numerous falls, although most of these were by Mike B ....Paul, Emms and Stace took to scoring his artistic content to keep themselves entertained. Again, no view at the top due to the low cloud. This is becoming a habit!! Nige took to spring cleaning the van, out of guilt and the nice Fireman Sam cooked everyone a bacon butty. Emma says she ".....will never ever ever return to Scafell Pike" despite Mike B's encouragement that "no matter how bad this is, childbirth is worse". :-( Oh, and Annette dribbles when she's asleep ;-) Finally, we're now back in the van for the 200 miles to Snowdon |
| Monday 08:38 | Ben Nevis - The time for the A Team was 4hrs 44mins, unfortunately the B team ran into trouble after we saw them and ended up taking about 5.28 hrs. |
| Monday 08:35 | Scafell Pike - wet cold and miserable!! :-( Fantastic time-keeping by our drivers meant we arrived almost spot on time. Both drivers also managed to get some shut-eye....the first since Friday night. Annette also says she hopes the 'home help' will be available when she gets back.......hint to Margaret ;-) On the basis of Scafell being the roughest terrain of the 3 Peaks, the A's have decided that Nigel and Kelvin will miss out the ascent after a late fitness test for a knee injury following a fall + flying splits and as the pace needed to keep the team on target for gold/silver was to be very high. The difficulty being that if any team member is unable to complete the climb for any reason, they have to be escorted down by another member of that team - that's OK if you have a team of 6 climbers but you must have 4 finishers and so if you start with 5 and lose another en-route then effectively the team falls to 3 members and gets disqualified. Both Kelvin and Nige will take on Snowdon though. Mike has assumed the team captain role and will lead our youngsters. Here's hoping for a sight of the sun at Snowdon and the opportunity to actually see the top of one of the peaks. |
| Sunday 23:19 | Now back in the bus en-route to Scafell Pike. Both teams having completed the climb of B.Nevis- hooray ;-) The A team members were fantastic, singing and chanting all the way. We also had a bit of a laff as we said 'hello' in 6 languages to anyone who passed us. Passed the ascending B team on our way down and they all looked to be doing really well and in good spirits. However, I can safely say I don't think I've ever been this tired. Most of us have aches and pains of some sort but are hoping a few hours sleep will rejuvenate us for the dawn climb on Scafell.....deep joy :-) The good news is the compo rations are brilliant - heaven in bag ;-) So Russ, wherever you are...."respect". |
| Sunday 16:15 | .jpg) .jpg) |
| Sunday 15:10 | Team A starts Ben Nevis at 17:20 & team B at 17:35. Weather forecast is mist and drizzle above 300m and as the summit is 1,200m+ we're not going to be seeing much. Also potential fog so our navigators will be busy. Targetting 4 hrs 20m to complete and so looking forward to our 3 course army compo rations when we get back. Should be an interesting mix - steak & pots, followed by rice pudd (yuch) and then a 6 hour drive to Scafell Pike courtesy of our very own Colin Mcrae (Annette) and Sterling (Richard). Hoping we don't meet Phil and Hugh on the way :-) Just cramming in yet another meal.....more carbs!! Probably the only teams to do a 25 mile intensive workout and put on weight - think less 'swooping Seagulls' and more 'lardy emu'. BTW, if anyone sees our white polystyrene 'keep meals warm' box laying around, could you please send it to the foot of Ben Nevis for 21:00 tonight? Whoops, knew there was something missing :-( |
| Sunday 11:10 | Oh yeah, happy fathers day to all our readers and thanks for the chocolate/cards etc secreted in our bags ;-) For those that didn't send anything......shame on you (we're busy bottling midges for you)! P.S panic as Emma had forgotten sox!! Luckily found late on. |
| Sunday 9:10 | Just registered for the event and have the safety briefing at 12.00. For the ladies - lots of hunky firemen everywhere. For the men - Paul shared a room with 16 firemen - who got butt naked........nice. Cue Spanish firefighter joke - Jose......... ;-) Team A is off up the 'hill' at 17.20 and team B at 17.35. Queue the nerves and squitty tums ;-) |
| Sunday 09:00 | As a request Emma would like to say:
and on behalf of me and everyone's family would like to say happy farther's day to all the farther's participating in the the three peaks challenge |
| Sunday 7:30 | Midges like sparrows!! Great big ginger haired things wearing tamashanters and they bl**dy bite too. Not very welcoming. |
| Sunday 6:30 | up at 06:30. Lovely warm shower......late rising team members cold showers ;-) Great cooked breakfast and now trying to waste time in local hotspot - Morrisons!!! |
| Saturday 18:30 | Finally arrived at Fort William about 18.30 - roughly 20mins after the B team. Total travel time 13hrs 10mins incl stops. Everybody very tired and subdued. Just been for a meal.....unfortunately spelling was not a key skill at the restaurant and 'spiced' pasta was actually VERY 'spicey' pasta. So our pre event carbo meal was somewhat sabotaged. Hoping this doesn't revisit us en-route as it could get slippy underfoot!! Tomorrows weather forecast for Nevis is blustery strong winds on the summit and showers. Not ideal as the top is likely to be under cloud cover and we'll probably need to tie Mel down :-( Still, being at the back means the mist might conceal some of the 'broader beams' in front ;-) So D-Day approaches and the nerves are jangling: 'Have I done enough training', 'will I cope', 'what happens if I need the loo', 'will the mossies bite if I drop my troos?'. Anyway it's all too late now....what will be will be. Wish us all luck :-) |
| Saturday 12:38 | .jpg) |
| Saturday 05:20 | we're off.....only 500 miles and 12 hours in the bus to look forward to - I can feel my back creaking already!!! |
| Saturday 05:00 | team meets at 2RM - chucking it down with rain......boo :-( |
| Saturday 04:00 | alarm ringing!!! Luckily no hair left to wash & so an extra 15mins in bed ;-) Picked up by John (great that he got up so early as he's not even taking part) so big thanks! |
| Friday 20:15 | Annette to the Rescue! Annette steps into the breach to be a driver. Previously she had been a 'walker' but had to pull out due to a badly sprained ankle a few weeks back. Hooray....Nige is now very happy. |
| Friday 17:30 | Frantic search to find a new driver at very short notice begins. |
| Friday 16:30 | disaster strikes! Team A loses one of our two compulsory drivers to the vagaries of the DVLC! A dejected Nige switches from walking to driving :-( |
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