3 Peaks Challenge - 16th and 17th June 2012

One day, not long ago, I got invited to partake in the 3 Peaks Challenge. That’s a good idea I thought, I could raise money for Moorfields Eye Hospital where Pearce, my son (your Saltash Journal Newspaper boy) is treated for Congenital Glaucoma, a rare eye condition that has affected him since birth. I do a lot of walking, how hard can it be?

So on Friday 15th June, 17 people (15 men & 2 women) piled in a minibus and left Plymouth at 1pm for the journey to Fort William, for our first climb, Ben Nevis.

With a few stops along the way, we arrived at Glasgow at 1.15am to stay the night in a Travelodge; the last decent sleep before our challenge began.

After a hearty breakfast and lunch, we arrived at Fort William ready to climb at 4pm (Saturday). The weather was wet and looking at the incline that we had to walk, I felt sick. What was I doing?

The team took off at a rate of knots and I wasn’t able to keep up; getting too hot and not having time to refuel; it didn’t feel good. I knew it was going to be hard and I wasn’t disappointed. Gradually the ones in front slowed down and we walked together to the summit where we were greeted with snow and freezing fog. The change in temperature was extraordinary and your fingers froze if you took your gloves off to take a photo.

After a quick photo shoot, we made our way down the slippery slopes of the mountain and finished in just under 5 hours. We were still on time.

We arrived at Scafell Pike and began climbing at 4am (Sunday), one hour behind schedule. We began the ascent in rain, gradually climbing up into thick fog. It was a very steep climb but I was holding my own and not feeling too bad, unaware of the situation we were just about to get ourselves in to. Gradually we started climbing a slope which was made of loose rock, which tumbled down on you as the person in front climbed up before you. At this stage it wasn’t scary, just inconvenient. It didn’t feel right and I was sure that this wasn’t the correct way to go. Nevertheless, we continued to the top where we were met with a two foot wide ridge with a very large drop the other side – this definitely wasn’t right! By this stage there was no going back so we inched our way along the ridge, not daring to look to the left where the drop was and came to a crevasse which we were going to have to climb. It was only wide enough for one person so, one behind the other, we began. It was awful! There was nothing stable to hold on to and the rock and boulders (some 1ft wide) were tumbling down as the people in front disturbed them. Kev had warned me of the dangers and this was exactly what he was talking about. The further we climbed the harder it was. We had to navigate ourselves over smooth rock, at least 4ft high, with nothing to hold on to. Even the mountain to either side of us was crumbling away in our hands. Eventually, after much climbing we reached the top. I cannot tell you how frightened I was, or how relieved, and even some of the men cried on reaching safety.

After a few tears, we pulled ourselves together and continued to the summit, which was thick with fog, before making a swift return down the mountain. None of us felt like hanging around. It took us at least 5 hours when it should have only been 4, but we had made it and that felt good.

We reached Snowdon at 3pm. We were now way behind schedule and knew that we wouldn’t make the 24 hours but I didn’t care. The sun was shining and I was just glad to be alive!

We climbed as fast as we could but my knee had started hurting and by the time I reached the summit (24 hours 50 mins) it was agony. However, it felt really good to finish on a high; the sun was shining, the views along the way were beautiful and we had all made it; a great end to a very exhilarating and tiring weekend.

It was the hardest thing that I had ever done, but then, it was a challenge!

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me. I am hoping to have raised (including gift aid) in excess of £1000, which is an amazing achievement for a very worthy cause. I am overwhelmed by your generosity and support, thank you so much.

Karen Edwards, Hafmyne, The Row