Three Peaks Thoughts
So, the three peaks.
Before I start let me say that yes, I did fail. We managed two of the three. On the other hand I’m still massively proud of what I did, utterly loved every moment and am already making plans to go for it again.
So, a bit of a round up of what happened:
Got to Victoria Station for 11:30 as told coach was leaving at 12:30. Found out coach was leaving at 13:00 and had been lied to to ensure that I wouldn’t be late. I got past this betrayal and chatted with two of the people climbing with me, Rob and Haider, both great friends from work. We then went to board the coach.
It turned out that Mega Bus had over booked. There were five of us left and only four seats, Rob, Haider and myself and a youngish couple. I figured we could take them in a fight so I wasn’t to concerned. It was then things kicked off a bit with the loading guy taking exception to Haider pointing out that ‘We’ didn’t have a problem that there weren’t enough seat, ‘Megabus’ had a problem as we had paid well in advance. I was about to break in with a ‘Leave it Hides, he’s not worth it…’ when the supervisor intervened and offered us a seat on the next bus up and a full refund. So that was that nights dinner paid for.
We pulled into Manchester at around 18:30 and were met and picked up by Stacy, the fourth member of the team. An experienced walker and climber, he really looked the part with a slightly unshaven, lean face, short hair and a generally confident demeanour. We dropped the bags at his place, were bounded at by his Springer, Ruby, headed out to pick up last minute supplies (peanuts, dried fruit and a chocolate bar that would all be mixed up in a couple of plastic bags for me) and a hearty meal. After that it was bed for us. We had an early start.
Woke up at 02:45 after two and a half hours sleep. Found out both Stacy and Rob had had no sleep. This made me feel much better. Got in the car at 03:00 as was the plan. Pulled out at 03:15 which was a little frustrating, but I think that that was the tiredness more than anything. Went to pick up Cameron. Chatty and with a quick sense of humour, I enjoyed his company, despite him having forced me to get on very intimate terms with the side of Stacy’s car as he squeezed in. I made a mental note to hate Rob for the rest of my life as, as the slimmest of all the passengers, he had obviously felt it necessary to sit in the front. We then drove to Scotland.
This took a very long time.
We eventually got there and met Scot and his wife Vanessa. Scot, Cameron’s brother, along with his wife who would be driving us, had done most of the logistical organising. He instantly felt like a natural leader, with charm, charisma and confidence. Despite all of that I still liked him. We loaded up the 9 seater that had been rented, picked up the insanely well behaved 4 year old daughter of the pair whose name I have been rude enough to forget and then finally headed off!
To pick up the final member of our team. Vanessa’s dad. He would be helping with the driving and general support duties. Still, he only lived an hour and a half away, by now that felt like a short hop. And *THEN* we drove to Ben Nevis.
We started just after midday. Having talced up anything that needed talking, and fully supplied, I was feeling apprehensive but excited. Before I go any further, can I just say that Scotland is one damn fine looking country. The landscape is staggering. On the drive I actually stopped taking photos due to beauty fatigue. However, it is a little bit like driving through a giant bed sheet that God couldn’t be bothered to pull straight. There are a lot of mountains. When I noticed the horizon and the clouds in the sky were on intimate terms I was worried. At 1,344 metres above sea level Ben Nevis is pretty high. Still, off we trotted. I found the climb up pretty enjoyable really. There were a lot of people n the slopes, which was a mixed bag. The ones who offered a cheery ‘Hello there’ were a pleasant distraction, those who blanked you were just there, and those who barged past you without any kind of thought were an annoyance. I say this thinking of of two girls who, during my descent (more of which later) were walking up, side by side, each waving a pair of sticks without any real idea how to use them. Despite clearly seeing me they didn’t move into single file or even try to bring their wind milling under control. I actually pulled my back trying to get out of their way and I like to think that one of them pulled a leg at the top, the other waited with her, and they both died of exposure that night.
As I was saying… I didn’t find the ascent any real challenge. The issue I had was that my body works well with constant movement. I find taking a break every five minuets really hard. However for Rob and Haider this was their preferred method of climbing. The way this was resolved was to totally forget the original plan of Stacy always being in front and me tearing off well ahead and then having a nice long break to let the others catch up. Still not ideal for me, but better. It was during the second time this happened that I was told Cameron had had to drop out due to an injury he had picked up last week when he and Stacy had done the Yorkshire three peaks as a warm up. I was sad he wouldn’t be climbing with us, but pushed on regardless.
Fun Fact: When I’m doing any kind of physical activity I heat up lots. This meant that I started the walk with a T-Shirt on that, within less than ten minutes had been stripped off, leaving me climbing wearing a sleeveless vest. Even by the time I was walking past hardened snow I hadn’t added any more layers, only putting on a pair of gloves when I was about five minutes from the top.
The summet of Ben Nevis was covered in cloud, adding an even more surreal and dreamlike quality to reaching it. All around me were people posing, chatting and enjoying lunch. This despite the fact that it was below freezing. Children were running around and laughing. It just all felt very odd. After a quick phone call I posed with the rest of the group at the trig point for a photo and then headed back down.
I was clearly itching to go. Stacy said to me ‘You go ahead, we’ll catch up’. By this I thought he mean I should go ahead, and they would catch up. What he actually meant was I should go ahead, and then wait for them so that they wouldn’t have to alter their speed at all. Seeing as climbing up had been something of a doddle, with a path that you couldn’t miss if you tried, I was happy running down - literally - on my own. And this was actually my favorite bit of Ben Nevis. I’ve already mentioned how staggeringly, mind numbingly gorgeous Scotland is. Running along a path, looking out and seeing those mountains and bodies of water from a height was utterly thrilling. Also, while I could live with not managing all three peaks inside 24 hours, I didn’t want to be the reason that the group failed. I wanted to do everything I could to ensure we hit our target.
I paused in order to sort out my left sock, which was busy bunching around my toes. That was a bad, bad call. As I tried to get my boot off the muscle of my left calf spasmed so badly I actually let out a rather loud yelp of pain. For about five minutes I tried to stretch my leg out, my muscle literally as hard as a rock. It was total agony. After sitting there and feeling sorry for myself for a while, dreading and hoping the others would be along any moment to help me, I got back up again and continued down. Luckily I had a large reserve of anti-inflammatory to call upon.
Near the bottom of Ben Nevis the path splits. Curses, I thought, one way is labeled ‘Youth Hotel’ the other isn’t labeled at all. I remembered that where we had parked there had been a building with a sign giving what had looked like very affordable nightly rates, but I wasn’t sure if that was a youth hostel. So I sat down and waited for the others. 20 minutes later I got bored and asked someone coming along the path if the one towards the youth hostel led to the cool suspension bridge. “Oh yes.” She said, before heading on her way. I waited for one more person, who agreed that yes, the suspension bridge lay that way. Both of these people need to learn the difference between a suspension bridge and a beam bridge. Still, the walk from the youth hostel to where I actually wanted to go was along a B road, so easy enough.
I spotted the van and walked over, expecting the others to be there, teasing me for having gone the wrong way. No sign of them. Having chatted to the support team I was told they had been expected about fifteen minutes ago after a phone call. Oh well, thought I, time to hobble about and try and ignore the pain in my leg and also not worry about how my knees were feeling, maybe plaster up a few little blisters. I was also handed a nice hot bowl of beans and some buttered bread. This was very welcome. I had made it up and down Ben Nevis in about 5 hours fifteen minuets. Given the amount of stopping on the way up, the injury and getting lost (Oh the hubris) I was pretty happy with that.
About half an hour later the rest arrived. They tucked into their beans - now with added sausages - as quickly as they could before we headed off.
On the journey to Scar Fell I learned a very valuable lesson: Teasing people who have just walked up and down Ben Nevis while they are tired can result in the possibility of violence. Still, that didn’t happen, which was nice. After traveling for two hours we pulled into a service station. I didn’t get out to stretch my legs, instead I took the opportunity to put my feet up across the back seats. For twenty minutes I was in heaven. We then started the next, 5 hour leg of our journey.
Scar Fell Pike
We got to Scar Fell a little after twelve. There is a new car park there, which wasn’t signposted at all and we didn’t find in the dark but, as we didn’t know it existed, didn’t really matter. We pulled in close to the start and just got on with it. Stacy was urging speed above all so I didn’t actually remember to strap my right knee which - due to the way I was walking thanks to my left calf - had suffered quite badly coming down Ben. (I feel like we’re on first name terms now).
Climbing Scar Fell was really interesting, a very different experience. Firstly and most obviously it was in the dark. Head torches were the order of the day. Secondly it’s a much less visited site. Still a ‘touristy’ mountain as these things go, it still clearly hadn’t had as much work done on it, and that helped me enjoy the climb so much more. The path isn’t quite so clear, making it much easier to wander off, and meaning you had to be far more reliant on the cairns dotted about. At one point Haider lost his footing crossing a stream, soaking his feet. I think the other, more experienced walkers hadn’t noticed this as if they had I’m sure they would have done the same but I was very clear that he had to change his socks there and then. Wet socks and walking do not happy feet make. This was why I had come out, this was more like it.
Initially Scar Fells path, possibly for the first 3rd - is made up of a very steep granite... I hesitate to call them steps, lets just say stoned on top of each other. Where as Ben Nevis takes a very lazy zig zagging route, it’s almost like at Scar Fell someone had simply said ‘No time for this messing about. That’s where we’re going, so straight up it is!’ It was tiring but exhilarating. As things get even steeper the path then starts becoming a bit more winding. You’re then faced by shale. A lot of shale and boulders. I loved this bit. This is what I had expected when I said I’d climb a mountain. As Stacy was mostly far enough in front of me that I couldn’t exactly follow his footsteps and the others were about the same distance behind me this left me to deal with things myself. The dark also would have made a difference. Still I found myself scrambling over boulders and having to pick out the best past across a load of lose stones, and I loved every second. There were also far fewer people on the mountain too, though I did say hello to one group who I had met on Ben Nevis who were obviously doing the 24 hour challenge as well.
As we got closer to the top it started raining. I pulled on my waterproof jacket and considered an earlier thought I had had while climbing. What would those steep gravel slabs be like coming down? I was going to get to find out. The last few hundred meters up Scar Fell were really exciting, especially with the wind howling and the rain coming down. You suddenly appear at the top, staring straight at the trig point. I felt utterly elated as I shock Stacy’s hand. The two of us had climbed it in one hour fifty eight minutes, and the other three were not far behind.
At this point I’d like to salute Scot. A keen walker and climber himself, he is tough and determined, having completed the MdS a few years back as well having climbed various mountains. But throughout the whole of Skar Fell he stayed with Rob, who after having not managed to sleep for about forty hours was clearly suffering. (I also found out Robs knees were causing him a huge amount of pain.)
A quick calculation in my head and the three peaks in 24 hours, which when we had set off on Scar Fell had seemed unlikely, now seemed possible. I started down full of hope. Very quickly I felt the pain in my right knee returning, and this time the left one decided to join in as well. I’m used to knee pain though and was happy to just push through that. The descent was tricky, but I was still able to maintain quite a good pace. However, suddenly my left calf felt like it had decided to just run up my leg and hide behind the back of my knee. Falling straight down I was confused and stunned. My leg didn’t hurt at all but I knew I’d strained it quite badly. Standing I felt the pain again. This was going to be tricky.
We then had an unexpected rest. On the way up we had passed someone who had injured themselves. Pail and shivering from shock, she was a reminder that things could go very wrong very easily. She were with friends and I could see that under their survival bag they had a thermal blanket wrapped around her body and mountain rescue had been informed, so I had no hesitation about leaving them after offering any first aid supplies they might need and a cheery ‘good luck’. But as we came around a corner we were told quite clearly to turn our lights off. Mountain rescue had arived and she was going to be airlifted out. But the helicopter pilot needed to be able to see what was going on and our lights weren’t helping. So we all turned off our head lamps and waited. For over half an hour. It was thrilling, having a rescue helicopter swoop overhead, watching everything in action, still I couldn’t help but think of the ticking clock. This was going to be even more tricky.
Finally the helicopter was gone and we were able to continue down with our torches on. Doing so in the dark was unthinkable. Even with our torch on it was still was very tough. The rain had made the granite path amazingly slippery. I found out later that Scot, an experienced climber who has been on Scar Fell in the past, had slipped three of four times. That coupled with my left leg and knees made each step agony. I could also feel blisters on my feet forming due to the way I had been walking, though I found them somethign of a pleasent distraction. The real problem, beyond the pain, was the lack of mobility I had. My left leg was siezed up, each step was stunted and it was hard for me to react to my environment. Where as I might have taken a few quick steps to negotiating a slightly shifting surface I had to take one step, pause, and then carefully pick out another. And then another. This slowed me down, though I was still able to keep ahead of Haider, Rob and Scot. Still… it didn’t look like great time. By the time I got back to the van, having been passed by Scot who had left Rob and Haider with Stacy, it was 04:50 and dawn had been and gone. Realistically three peaks in 24 hours was not going to happen. Still, at least there was a nice helping of porridge waiting for me.
I thought about the next few hours as I changed my clothes in one of the most disgusting cubical I’ve ever been in. Doing a quick body part check I decided that - if I was able to properly strap my knees - I would be able to manage Snowdon, probably in about 5 hours. With four hours travel time that would mean finishing about 14:30. Rob and Haider had come in after Stacy, both of them looking utterly exhausted. Stacy said he felt they would manage it in 7 hours at the very best. 16:30. Our train was booked for 20:55. Still doable. As long as Rob and Haider could manage. I was feeling fine but… I frowned and just thought of how pail Rob had looked coming in, how much effort I knew Haider had put into this task, and how fervently they had both said that they were going to do Snowdon no matter what. I knew how they felt, desperate to reach the top of the third peak. But was it sensiable? I talked to Scot, who I passed leaving the toilet block. “I think if I strapped up my knees properly I could manage Snowdon in a good time, but after seeing Robs face, I just don’t know if we can do it in time to get the train.” “Funny you should mention that. We just had a talk and reached a decision as a collective. Without you being there I mean…”
We decided it wasn’t going to happen. And so I sat in the back of the car and fell asleep. I didn’t have time to spit and fume about the injustice of it all. I woke up back in Scotland, which was something of a surprise as I hadn’t realised we were now dropping off the minivan first. The next surprise was how painful my left calf had become. Trying to flex my left foot I suddenly realised that there was no way that I would have been able to do Snowdon in anything like a decent time. I’d injured my self good and proper. With the state I was in I had to call my Dad, asking if he could pick me up and drop me home from Euston (which later became Watford Junction as I realsied that was much easier) I was hugely guilty about this but it was necessary. I was very, very hurt. But he agreed, which was fantastic. And Vanessa’s step mother had made us all breakfast…
I sat on the train home looking at my two friends from work. We had treated ourselves to a 1st class upgrade, mostly at my urging, but I was glad we had. We were comfortable, warm and content. We hadn’t manage all three peaks, but both of them want to go for Snowdon next year. I quickly agreed. It’ll be good to do it, so that the year after, when I try for the three peaks again, I’ll at least know the way.
Don’t travel for almost 24 hours straight before you try to climb a mountain. There is a youth hostel and a hotel both at the base of Ben Nevis. It’s £17 a night. Go there the day before and get a good night sleep. You'll wake up feeling refreshed, not like you've been folded in half a few times.
When you arrive at a mountain take five or ten minutes to sort yourself out. Leaping into action and charging up Scar Fell without strapping my knees quite possibly caused me to have such a bad time of it coming down.
The support group were great. You need to have two people who are able to share driving responsibilities. And a bit of hot food on the return is amazing.
Speaking of driving, get a comfortable ride. The 9 seater people carrier we had was perfect.
My friends are fantastically supportive. I enjoyed tweeting as I went, and reading all the replies. It was so encouraging to have people talking about what I was doing.
You need to get lucky. If it hadn't been for the rain and the mountain rescue hold up who knows the kind of speed we might have managed on Scar Fell?
This is a tough thing to do. People will get tired and irritable. An hour later it’s all apologies and hugs. Don’t let things get you down and just remember it’s a lot of fun.
So that’s it I guess. It really felt like an adventure, and I’m amazingly glad I attempted it. Ultimately I didn’t manage to achieve the goal I set myself, but today, as I write this, the only thing that hurts is my left calf. My knees and hips are fine. I’ve got some blisters but they aren’t bothering me at all. Other than my leg I feel no worse than if I had been for a decent run. Which tells me that I can do this, I can manage the three peaks. And I can’t wait to go for it again.
Before I start let me say that yes, I did fail. We managed two of the three. On the other hand I’m still massively proud of what I did, utterly loved every moment and am already making plans to go for it again.
So, a bit of a round up of what happened:
Got to Victoria Station for 11:30 as told coach was leaving at 12:30. Found out coach was leaving at 13:00 and had been lied to to ensure that I wouldn’t be late. I got past this betrayal and chatted with two of the people climbing with me, Rob and Haider, both great friends from work. We then went to board the coach.
It turned out that Mega Bus had over booked. There were five of us left and only four seats, Rob, Haider and myself and a youngish couple. I figured we could take them in a fight so I wasn’t to concerned. It was then things kicked off a bit with the loading guy taking exception to Haider pointing out that ‘We’ didn’t have a problem that there weren’t enough seat, ‘Megabus’ had a problem as we had paid well in advance. I was about to break in with a ‘Leave it Hides, he’s not worth it…’ when the supervisor intervened and offered us a seat on the next bus up and a full refund. So that was that nights dinner paid for.
We pulled into Manchester at around 18:30 and were met and picked up by Stacy, the fourth member of the team. An experienced walker and climber, he really looked the part with a slightly unshaven, lean face, short hair and a generally confident demeanour. We dropped the bags at his place, were bounded at by his Springer, Ruby, headed out to pick up last minute supplies (peanuts, dried fruit and a chocolate bar that would all be mixed up in a couple of plastic bags for me) and a hearty meal. After that it was bed for us. We had an early start.
Woke up at 02:45 after two and a half hours sleep. Found out both Stacy and Rob had had no sleep. This made me feel much better. Got in the car at 03:00 as was the plan. Pulled out at 03:15 which was a little frustrating, but I think that that was the tiredness more than anything. Went to pick up Cameron. Chatty and with a quick sense of humour, I enjoyed his company, despite him having forced me to get on very intimate terms with the side of Stacy’s car as he squeezed in. I made a mental note to hate Rob for the rest of my life as, as the slimmest of all the passengers, he had obviously felt it necessary to sit in the front. We then drove to Scotland.
This took a very long time.
We eventually got there and met Scot and his wife Vanessa. Scot, Cameron’s brother, along with his wife who would be driving us, had done most of the logistical organising. He instantly felt like a natural leader, with charm, charisma and confidence. Despite all of that I still liked him. We loaded up the 9 seater that had been rented, picked up the insanely well behaved 4 year old daughter of the pair whose name I have been rude enough to forget and then finally headed off!
To pick up the final member of our team. Vanessa’s dad. He would be helping with the driving and general support duties. Still, he only lived an hour and a half away, by now that felt like a short hop. And *THEN* we drove to Ben Nevis.
We started just after midday. Having talced up anything that needed talking, and fully supplied, I was feeling apprehensive but excited. Before I go any further, can I just say that Scotland is one damn fine looking country. The landscape is staggering. On the drive I actually stopped taking photos due to beauty fatigue. However, it is a little bit like driving through a giant bed sheet that God couldn’t be bothered to pull straight. There are a lot of mountains. When I noticed the horizon and the clouds in the sky were on intimate terms I was worried. At 1,344 metres above sea level Ben Nevis is pretty high. Still, off we trotted. I found the climb up pretty enjoyable really. There were a lot of people n the slopes, which was a mixed bag. The ones who offered a cheery ‘Hello there’ were a pleasant distraction, those who blanked you were just there, and those who barged past you without any kind of thought were an annoyance. I say this thinking of of two girls who, during my descent (more of which later) were walking up, side by side, each waving a pair of sticks without any real idea how to use them. Despite clearly seeing me they didn’t move into single file or even try to bring their wind milling under control. I actually pulled my back trying to get out of their way and I like to think that one of them pulled a leg at the top, the other waited with her, and they both died of exposure that night.
As I was saying… I didn’t find the ascent any real challenge. The issue I had was that my body works well with constant movement. I find taking a break every five minuets really hard. However for Rob and Haider this was their preferred method of climbing. The way this was resolved was to totally forget the original plan of Stacy always being in front and me tearing off well ahead and then having a nice long break to let the others catch up. Still not ideal for me, but better. It was during the second time this happened that I was told Cameron had had to drop out due to an injury he had picked up last week when he and Stacy had done the Yorkshire three peaks as a warm up. I was sad he wouldn’t be climbing with us, but pushed on regardless.
Fun Fact: When I’m doing any kind of physical activity I heat up lots. This meant that I started the walk with a T-Shirt on that, within less than ten minutes had been stripped off, leaving me climbing wearing a sleeveless vest. Even by the time I was walking past hardened snow I hadn’t added any more layers, only putting on a pair of gloves when I was about five minutes from the top.
The summet of Ben Nevis was covered in cloud, adding an even more surreal and dreamlike quality to reaching it. All around me were people posing, chatting and enjoying lunch. This despite the fact that it was below freezing. Children were running around and laughing. It just all felt very odd. After a quick phone call I posed with the rest of the group at the trig point for a photo and then headed back down.
I was clearly itching to go. Stacy said to me ‘You go ahead, we’ll catch up’. By this I thought he mean I should go ahead, and they would catch up. What he actually meant was I should go ahead, and then wait for them so that they wouldn’t have to alter their speed at all. Seeing as climbing up had been something of a doddle, with a path that you couldn’t miss if you tried, I was happy running down - literally - on my own. And this was actually my favorite bit of Ben Nevis. I’ve already mentioned how staggeringly, mind numbingly gorgeous Scotland is. Running along a path, looking out and seeing those mountains and bodies of water from a height was utterly thrilling. Also, while I could live with not managing all three peaks inside 24 hours, I didn’t want to be the reason that the group failed. I wanted to do everything I could to ensure we hit our target.
I paused in order to sort out my left sock, which was busy bunching around my toes. That was a bad, bad call. As I tried to get my boot off the muscle of my left calf spasmed so badly I actually let out a rather loud yelp of pain. For about five minutes I tried to stretch my leg out, my muscle literally as hard as a rock. It was total agony. After sitting there and feeling sorry for myself for a while, dreading and hoping the others would be along any moment to help me, I got back up again and continued down. Luckily I had a large reserve of anti-inflammatory to call upon.
Near the bottom of Ben Nevis the path splits. Curses, I thought, one way is labeled ‘Youth Hotel’ the other isn’t labeled at all. I remembered that where we had parked there had been a building with a sign giving what had looked like very affordable nightly rates, but I wasn’t sure if that was a youth hostel. So I sat down and waited for the others. 20 minutes later I got bored and asked someone coming along the path if the one towards the youth hostel led to the cool suspension bridge. “Oh yes.” She said, before heading on her way. I waited for one more person, who agreed that yes, the suspension bridge lay that way. Both of these people need to learn the difference between a suspension bridge and a beam bridge. Still, the walk from the youth hostel to where I actually wanted to go was along a B road, so easy enough.
I spotted the van and walked over, expecting the others to be there, teasing me for having gone the wrong way. No sign of them. Having chatted to the support team I was told they had been expected about fifteen minutes ago after a phone call. Oh well, thought I, time to hobble about and try and ignore the pain in my leg and also not worry about how my knees were feeling, maybe plaster up a few little blisters. I was also handed a nice hot bowl of beans and some buttered bread. This was very welcome. I had made it up and down Ben Nevis in about 5 hours fifteen minuets. Given the amount of stopping on the way up, the injury and getting lost (Oh the hubris) I was pretty happy with that.
About half an hour later the rest arrived. They tucked into their beans - now with added sausages - as quickly as they could before we headed off.
On the journey to Scar Fell I learned a very valuable lesson: Teasing people who have just walked up and down Ben Nevis while they are tired can result in the possibility of violence. Still, that didn’t happen, which was nice. After traveling for two hours we pulled into a service station. I didn’t get out to stretch my legs, instead I took the opportunity to put my feet up across the back seats. For twenty minutes I was in heaven. We then started the next, 5 hour leg of our journey.
Scar Fell Pike
We got to Scar Fell a little after twelve. There is a new car park there, which wasn’t signposted at all and we didn’t find in the dark but, as we didn’t know it existed, didn’t really matter. We pulled in close to the start and just got on with it. Stacy was urging speed above all so I didn’t actually remember to strap my right knee which - due to the way I was walking thanks to my left calf - had suffered quite badly coming down Ben. (I feel like we’re on first name terms now).
Climbing Scar Fell was really interesting, a very different experience. Firstly and most obviously it was in the dark. Head torches were the order of the day. Secondly it’s a much less visited site. Still a ‘touristy’ mountain as these things go, it still clearly hadn’t had as much work done on it, and that helped me enjoy the climb so much more. The path isn’t quite so clear, making it much easier to wander off, and meaning you had to be far more reliant on the cairns dotted about. At one point Haider lost his footing crossing a stream, soaking his feet. I think the other, more experienced walkers hadn’t noticed this as if they had I’m sure they would have done the same but I was very clear that he had to change his socks there and then. Wet socks and walking do not happy feet make. This was why I had come out, this was more like it.
Initially Scar Fells path, possibly for the first 3rd - is made up of a very steep granite... I hesitate to call them steps, lets just say stoned on top of each other. Where as Ben Nevis takes a very lazy zig zagging route, it’s almost like at Scar Fell someone had simply said ‘No time for this messing about. That’s where we’re going, so straight up it is!’ It was tiring but exhilarating. As things get even steeper the path then starts becoming a bit more winding. You’re then faced by shale. A lot of shale and boulders. I loved this bit. This is what I had expected when I said I’d climb a mountain. As Stacy was mostly far enough in front of me that I couldn’t exactly follow his footsteps and the others were about the same distance behind me this left me to deal with things myself. The dark also would have made a difference. Still I found myself scrambling over boulders and having to pick out the best past across a load of lose stones, and I loved every second. There were also far fewer people on the mountain too, though I did say hello to one group who I had met on Ben Nevis who were obviously doing the 24 hour challenge as well.
As we got closer to the top it started raining. I pulled on my waterproof jacket and considered an earlier thought I had had while climbing. What would those steep gravel slabs be like coming down? I was going to get to find out. The last few hundred meters up Scar Fell were really exciting, especially with the wind howling and the rain coming down. You suddenly appear at the top, staring straight at the trig point. I felt utterly elated as I shock Stacy’s hand. The two of us had climbed it in one hour fifty eight minutes, and the other three were not far behind.
At this point I’d like to salute Scot. A keen walker and climber himself, he is tough and determined, having completed the MdS a few years back as well having climbed various mountains. But throughout the whole of Skar Fell he stayed with Rob, who after having not managed to sleep for about forty hours was clearly suffering. (I also found out Robs knees were causing him a huge amount of pain.)
A quick calculation in my head and the three peaks in 24 hours, which when we had set off on Scar Fell had seemed unlikely, now seemed possible. I started down full of hope. Very quickly I felt the pain in my right knee returning, and this time the left one decided to join in as well. I’m used to knee pain though and was happy to just push through that. The descent was tricky, but I was still able to maintain quite a good pace. However, suddenly my left calf felt like it had decided to just run up my leg and hide behind the back of my knee. Falling straight down I was confused and stunned. My leg didn’t hurt at all but I knew I’d strained it quite badly. Standing I felt the pain again. This was going to be tricky.
We then had an unexpected rest. On the way up we had passed someone who had injured themselves. Pail and shivering from shock, she was a reminder that things could go very wrong very easily. She were with friends and I could see that under their survival bag they had a thermal blanket wrapped around her body and mountain rescue had been informed, so I had no hesitation about leaving them after offering any first aid supplies they might need and a cheery ‘good luck’. But as we came around a corner we were told quite clearly to turn our lights off. Mountain rescue had arived and she was going to be airlifted out. But the helicopter pilot needed to be able to see what was going on and our lights weren’t helping. So we all turned off our head lamps and waited. For over half an hour. It was thrilling, having a rescue helicopter swoop overhead, watching everything in action, still I couldn’t help but think of the ticking clock. This was going to be even more tricky.
Finally the helicopter was gone and we were able to continue down with our torches on. Doing so in the dark was unthinkable. Even with our torch on it was still was very tough. The rain had made the granite path amazingly slippery. I found out later that Scot, an experienced climber who has been on Scar Fell in the past, had slipped three of four times. That coupled with my left leg and knees made each step agony. I could also feel blisters on my feet forming due to the way I had been walking, though I found them somethign of a pleasent distraction. The real problem, beyond the pain, was the lack of mobility I had. My left leg was siezed up, each step was stunted and it was hard for me to react to my environment. Where as I might have taken a few quick steps to negotiating a slightly shifting surface I had to take one step, pause, and then carefully pick out another. And then another. This slowed me down, though I was still able to keep ahead of Haider, Rob and Scot. Still… it didn’t look like great time. By the time I got back to the van, having been passed by Scot who had left Rob and Haider with Stacy, it was 04:50 and dawn had been and gone. Realistically three peaks in 24 hours was not going to happen. Still, at least there was a nice helping of porridge waiting for me.
I thought about the next few hours as I changed my clothes in one of the most disgusting cubical I’ve ever been in. Doing a quick body part check I decided that - if I was able to properly strap my knees - I would be able to manage Snowdon, probably in about 5 hours. With four hours travel time that would mean finishing about 14:30. Rob and Haider had come in after Stacy, both of them looking utterly exhausted. Stacy said he felt they would manage it in 7 hours at the very best. 16:30. Our train was booked for 20:55. Still doable. As long as Rob and Haider could manage. I was feeling fine but… I frowned and just thought of how pail Rob had looked coming in, how much effort I knew Haider had put into this task, and how fervently they had both said that they were going to do Snowdon no matter what. I knew how they felt, desperate to reach the top of the third peak. But was it sensiable? I talked to Scot, who I passed leaving the toilet block. “I think if I strapped up my knees properly I could manage Snowdon in a good time, but after seeing Robs face, I just don’t know if we can do it in time to get the train.” “Funny you should mention that. We just had a talk and reached a decision as a collective. Without you being there I mean…”
We decided it wasn’t going to happen. And so I sat in the back of the car and fell asleep. I didn’t have time to spit and fume about the injustice of it all. I woke up back in Scotland, which was something of a surprise as I hadn’t realised we were now dropping off the minivan first. The next surprise was how painful my left calf had become. Trying to flex my left foot I suddenly realised that there was no way that I would have been able to do Snowdon in anything like a decent time. I’d injured my self good and proper. With the state I was in I had to call my Dad, asking if he could pick me up and drop me home from Euston (which later became Watford Junction as I realsied that was much easier) I was hugely guilty about this but it was necessary. I was very, very hurt. But he agreed, which was fantastic. And Vanessa’s step mother had made us all breakfast…
I sat on the train home looking at my two friends from work. We had treated ourselves to a 1st class upgrade, mostly at my urging, but I was glad we had. We were comfortable, warm and content. We hadn’t manage all three peaks, but both of them want to go for Snowdon next year. I quickly agreed. It’ll be good to do it, so that the year after, when I try for the three peaks again, I’ll at least know the way.
Don’t travel for almost 24 hours straight before you try to climb a mountain. There is a youth hostel and a hotel both at the base of Ben Nevis. It’s £17 a night. Go there the day before and get a good night sleep. You'll wake up feeling refreshed, not like you've been folded in half a few times.
When you arrive at a mountain take five or ten minutes to sort yourself out. Leaping into action and charging up Scar Fell without strapping my knees quite possibly caused me to have such a bad time of it coming down.
The support group were great. You need to have two people who are able to share driving responsibilities. And a bit of hot food on the return is amazing.
Speaking of driving, get a comfortable ride. The 9 seater people carrier we had was perfect.
My friends are fantastically supportive. I enjoyed tweeting as I went, and reading all the replies. It was so encouraging to have people talking about what I was doing.
You need to get lucky. If it hadn't been for the rain and the mountain rescue hold up who knows the kind of speed we might have managed on Scar Fell?
This is a tough thing to do. People will get tired and irritable. An hour later it’s all apologies and hugs. Don’t let things get you down and just remember it’s a lot of fun.
So that’s it I guess. It really felt like an adventure, and I’m amazingly glad I attempted it. Ultimately I didn’t manage to achieve the goal I set myself, but today, as I write this, the only thing that hurts is my left calf. My knees and hips are fine. I’ve got some blisters but they aren’t bothering me at all. Other than my leg I feel no worse than if I had been for a decent run. Which tells me that I can do this, I can manage the three peaks. And I can’t wait to go for it again.