Carver Three Peaks Challenge 2016
Congratulations to the guys (and girls!) who completed the Carver Three Peak Challenge - a fantastic achievement by all, not least Adam the bus driver who had to put up with the group for the duration of the challenge.
Thanks to the Crab Manor Hotel for providing the raffle prize of an overnight stay and congratulations to Abby Glass who was the winner of the prize!
A huge thank you to all that donated and helped us exceed the &2000 target!
Group organiser Henry Carver gives a rundown of the trip:
"It was an extremely tough challenge made even harder by the 60mph winds and torrential rainfall, but we did it and we are all extremely proud! To raise well over &2000 for local charities, Heriott Hospice Homecare and St. Theresa's made every blister, ache and pain worthwhile!
The challenge began at Ben Nevis, and with the rest of the country basking in sunshine the volunteers had no such luck and began their assent in the cold and wet Scottish weather. The stunning views were unfortunately blocked due to low cloud and rain however this did not deter our team. We took it easy on the descent due to the slippery conditions, and with the gale force wind and fading light, the final hour of seemed like an eternity! Nonetheless, Ben Nevis was completed in under the allocated 5 hour schedule. Now over to our driver, Adam Swalwell to begin his hairy drive to Scafell Pike.
5.30am in the morning and with little to no sleep during the journey our team seemed actually in pretty high spirits! A few people looking a bit green however, possibly due to the windy roads or perhaps the skills of our tame racing driver.
Scafell was completed in daylight which, after the last hour on Ben Nevis seemed like a stroll in the park. The theme of the weekend was perhaps walking in the clouds, due to us seeing absolutely none of the breathtaking views we were hoping for, but maybe this was what kept us moving, rather than looking up and seeing the peak an impossible distance away from our current position.
Scafell, was in my opinion the hardest of the 3 mountains due to its steepness and rocky terrain, however it was another mountain ticked off the list and 2 down, 1 to go!! Come on Adam!
Another incredible effort by Mr Swalwell - his dedication to keeping awake was second to none, and on his diet of Monster energy drink, Haribo and Rocky Road we again arrived safely at our final destination, Mount Snowdon.
The novelty of actually seeing the summit from the car park spared a few conversations for the first 20 minutes of walking. Having 3 hours and 45 minutes left to complete the challenge we could not dordel, and dordel we did not! The first hour or so of Mount Snowdon felt like we had wandered onto the "baby slope" and missed the actual mountain and we were wondering how long this relative easy climb would continue, and then we saw it.... The large, never ending rock face. "Pass the ropes!" I heard a Bear Grylls lookalike say to his Ranulph Fines lookalike friend....surely we had now clambered up to the wrong path? We hadn't. And this mountain wasn't going to climb itself! So the accent into the cloud for one last time began!
A solid hour of clambering up the slippery and wet sheer rock face and we must have been somewhere close....? Until a brave/stupid by passer told one of our team, "Still a long way to go and it gets a lot worse up there!" Well, it's safe to say that there was nearly the need to call in the mountain rescue at that point as the said "by passer" was lucky to remain with two feet on solid ground!
Finally, the summit arrived and with the cafe closed we could not get a cup of tea! CAFE?? Who the hell knew that? Turns out that there is a cafe at the top accessed by a train track! Yes, we nearly died trying to succeed in our challenge when we could have just got the train to the top.
The descent began in earnest and we had 2 hours to get to the car park to beat the 24 hour deadline.
Needless to say it was slow going at the first part of descent, however once out of the clouds the speed could be increased! Managing to get ourselves split up, we ensured that about 500m from the finish line we all completed the last part together! Having 20 minutes remaining on the clock to complete the challenge we ensured we crossed the line together! The feeling of relief, followed by a sheer sense of achievement no doubt was soon outweighed by exhaustion, but not before we got the final photo with a couple of beers and got back onto the bus, where Adam's final leg of his journey began!
A fantastic achievement by everyone and thank you to all those who have donated and helped raise well over &2000!"