Well its over and the only question remaining is 'How?' Well, here's how:
We actually started well and everyone turned up at 5am to set off from Camberley and an enjoyable journey resulted in us reaching Fort William in the early evening. After settling in to the 'Lodge' we went for Dinner and to recce the start point.
At 5.15am on Wednesday we started the climb of Ben Nevis (15mins late which was a bad omen!) The sun was shining and what little cloud there was,was at about 500m. A good and healthy start turned into a route march as 'The Ben's' gruelling path took its toll and it wasn't till 9.47 am that we made the snow capped summit. Once there the clear blue sky and morning sun made everyone forget the climb and for 15 mins there was much picture taking and general tomfoolery. (Check Geoff's summit stunt in the photos!) The descent started at 10 and was completed only at 12.50 pm which made for a 7 hour 25 minute climb and put the schedule in danger.
On the road to Scafell Pike we made a quick stop at the Lodge to pick up Adil's wash (cosmetics)bag which he had managed to leave that morning, but it had mysteriously been taken to an employees home and didn't get returned for 30 minutes. More time lost and alternative plans were discussed. Nevertheless, onward we went until the M8 at Glasgow turned into a car park and the chance to climb The Pike that day faded completely. A new plan was hatched to go to the next hotel, wake at 2.30am, drive the 1.5 hours to The Pike and climb at first light. Easy!!
Easy, huh! We arose at the correct time and set off in the darkness, unaware the Tom Tom was leading us through Wrynose Pass and onto Hardnott Pass, possibly the most difficult roads in the UK, impassable in a mini-bus! Wrynose we navigated, but trying to get into Hardnott proved too much for the mini-buses clutch and the sad faces of the team as we shivered in the cold whilst Martin gamely burned clutch plates was a depressing sight. Never to be defeated we turned the bus around and flew into the night on a different path and arrived at Scafell at 6am. 1.5 hours late and not a good start to a difficult day!
The climb started at 6.16am and the troops were lively now they were back on their feet. We had one causualty from 'The Ben' and were down to 6 climbers for this climb but smiles were all around, even when Rob realised I had lied about how steep it was! The summit was made at 9.08am on schedule and so spirits were lifting. A quick round of photos and the descent started at 9.16am. The walk down was a bad one for the knees and the stresses and strains of the adventure were becoming apparent. We got down at 11.40am which was 24mins over our schedule but not grim.
A quick sandwich and change of clothes and off to Wales for the last climb, time was of the essence as we didn't want to climb too much in the dark and some of us had work the next day! We made Snowdon for 5pm and were on our feet and climbing by 5.20pm. Now there were only 5 as Scafell Pike had taken another casualty!
Snowdon turned out to be a magnificent ascent being achieved in 2.5 hours, reaching the summit just before 8pm. The still beautiful weather was marvellous as the trial climb of Snowdon had been in atrocious conditions. Downward we went very quickly as night was drawing in, tired limbs and heads were now our worst enemy and we were about half way down when darkness fell, we all donned head lights and slowly trekked on. Our speed at this point slowed to a crawl as the route was little more than a rock scramble but we eventually arrived to a warm meal and coffee at 11pm, under 6 hours which was a great time.
The journey home was one of weary bodies and tired heads, several stops were made for refreshments and an eventual arrival in Camberley around 5am was welcome relief for all.
The pictures (all available at Photobucket.com - user 3Peaks2008) tell the story best but the following awards could be made:
Best Climber - The Beaver
Best Hair - Adil
Best Pillow - John
Best Gollom impression - Rob
Best Abuse - Geoff
Best Gnome impression - Tim
Most Welcome Face - Martin with hot pasta
Most likely to fall over - Mark
Best looking - Arnold by a long way!
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