Over the weekend of 21st-22nd June 2013 sees the GE Sponsored Three Peaks challenge take place and we have been asked to be a part of that team. For those not in the know, the three peaks are the three highest peaks in each of Scotland, England and Wales which are Ben Nevis (1,344m), Scafell Pike (978m) and Snowdon (1,085m). The aim is to climb all three within 24 hours. The clock starts when walkers begin Ben Nevis and ends when the walkers reach the finish point of Snowdon which is either Llanberis or Pen-y-Pass.
The team are also hoping to raise £10,000 for two excellent charities; British Limbless Ex-Servicemens Association (BLESMA) and the Gloucestershire Air Ambulance. There have been 'Just Giving' pages set up. Why not take a look and maybe contribute a few pounds to these worthy charities.
The usual plan is to drive directly to Glen Nevis near Fort William and begin the walk there at either the visitor centre or the Youth Hostel. Ben Nevis is estimated to take about five hours up and down and involves 1,352m of climbing in 17km (up and down) which is interesting given that the height is less than that - clearly some downhill on the way up!
Once down, there is a six hour drive to Wasdale Head to begin Scafell Pike which is a four hour walk involving 989m of ascent in 10km of walking.
Next is a five hour drive to Pen-y-Pass for the four hour walk to the summit of Snowdon and back which is 723m of climbing in 11.5km of walking normally taking around four hours.
It is a tight schedule, but achievable and the GE team have been busy training over the last few weeks including regular trips on Cleeve Hill, the nearest hill but at a mere 330m requires some cunning routes to simulate the more serious challenge to come.
The team recently spent a day training on the Malvern Hills, which again is nowhere near as high, with a maximum altitude of just 425m again it required some thought on our part to plan a route with similar altitudes, but that was something we managed and the team completed a 24km walk climbing 1,220m in the process.
Of course no challenge of this magnitude could be done without logistics and other support so we have all been busy organising transport, food and drink, accommodation at the finish, route maps, drivers and everything else needed to ensure a successful expedition.
More detailed general information on this challenge can be found at Three Peaks Challenge
Regular training sessions are taking place on Monday and Thursday evenings to Cleeve Hill and of course each team member is expected to undertake regular training in addition to this.
Three teams set out from Glen Nevis Visitors Centre, the first leaving at around 4:30pm on Friday 21st June and all three teams walked back into the car park at Pen-y-Pass having successfully climbed all three mountains. A full report is here
Well done, from everyone here at BLESMA HQ, for all of your excellent fundraising and participation in the 3 Peaks challenge! It's brilliant to see that you have raised so much money for our cause and we are very grateful for your generosity and hard work.
I understand that you each had your own online sponsorship pages as well as offline sponsorship. In two weeks time (Monday 19th August), we will be sending a formal thank you for all of the funds received both online and offline to date, as well as certificates for each of you for undertaking such a physically demanding challenge.
If some of your funds will not be in by this time, please feel free to contact us directly to let us know so that we can postpone a thank you. Similarly, if you would prefer to be thanked via one point of contact as opposed to all being copied into email correspondence please do not hesitate to let us know.
Thank you once again on behalf of all of our men and women, both serving and ex-service, for supporting BLESMA.
Saturday 1st June: Brecon Beacons Walk
Saturday 15th June: Black Mountains Walk
