Three Peaks Challenge - May 2018

It all started when I paid a visit to my friend Peter Kirton in London.  He suggested that I join him and his three sons on a “Three Peaks Challenge” that his son Akira was arranging.  The idea is to climb the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales in one weekend. Starting in Edinburgh, we would drive to Fort William for Ben Nevis the highest peak in Scotland (4,413 ft), then drive to the Lake District to climb Scafell Pike (3,209 ft), the highest in England, and finally finish up with Snowdon (3,560 ft), the highest in Wales.

It sounded like a nice thing to do so I agreed.  Over the next few weeks however I felt more and more unsure of things, Ben Nevis is the highest of the three and it is cold up there and there is snow.  

On the Friday afternoon I flew from Gatwick to Edinburgh to meet up with everyone and we all set off in a couple of rented vans.  There were 22 of us, mainly friends of Akira’s, predominantly fellow parents from his children’s school. We drove north from Edinburgh into the highlands, stopping for a bite of food on the way in Doune (totally overwhelming the staff at the pub who were not set up for an onslaught of 22 people in one go).  

At Fort William we had rooms at the Nevis Bank Inn.  The arrangements were a bit loose and we all shared rooms and most people had to share a bed.  I was fortunate as I shared a 2 bed room with Peter and son Hugh and I got my own bed.

In the morning after herding everyone out after breakfast (not an easy task) we set off for the mountain.  Since conditions on Ben Nevis can vary rapidly and the forecast was not good, Akira had arranged for a guide.  Not something I would generally do but in retrospect with 22 people many of whom had little prior mountain experience it was a good idea.

The Group before Ben Nevis

The trail from the Ben Nevis Inn is a well maintained route along the side of the mountain but it is up all the way.  It is built to last with huge boulder steps for most of the way up the lower slopes. Whoever built and maintains the trail did a fine job.  

Lower Slopes of Ben Nevis

On the lower slopes we were below cloud level and we could not see the top - it was shrouded in clouds.  It was pleasantly cool but not cold walking up the lower slopes and the fine rain that had been with us at the start fortunately stopped as we got higher.  There was some nice scenery with a couple of lakes and a view of the loch at Fort William below (Loch Linnhe). As we moved into the clouds we started up a series of long and steep switchbacks.  At the top of these we had reached snow level. There was a bit of a tough scramble in the snow up the last steep rise before the trail leveled out and sloped more gently towards the top. I used my crampons on this last bit since I had carried them all the way up but you could certainly manage without them.

This top section is where things could have gotten tricky without a guide, the clouds were low, the visibility poor, and the wind was fierce and somewhere out there there was a drop off down the steep side of the mountain.  

We finally reached the summit - a concrete trig point, a stone shelter and a weather station.  Of course we weren’t the only ones up there. It was terribly crowded with over a hundred people milling around taking photos and congratulating each other.  We did the obligatory summit team photo and munched on Hob-Nobs before starting our descent.

The Group on the Summit

Yours Truly on Summit of Ben Nevis

On the way down we did get a clearer look at the drop off down the steep side and it was very near to the summit trail.  That is definitely where things could have gotten nasty.

The way down was much easier for me.  When I am not limited by my breathing and gravity I find I can move a lot more quickly.  In fact I like to jog down a bit, it seems to be easier on the knees and quads.

At the bottom there was a pub where we all had snacks and beer while we waited for everyone to get down.  Then it was in the vans for the long drive south.

We drove through much of the same route that we had taken in the dark the previous night and we got the chance to see how beautiful it really was.  It was my first time in the highlands and they didn’t disappoint.

We picked up a couple of more people in Glasgow who were joining us for the last two peaks and then continued south to Lockerbie where we were staying for the night.  We finally arrived at the hotel around 9:00 pm and got the last orders in for a meal in the restaurant. For whatever reason I lucked out on the rooms and got one to myself.  It was a very small double bed with one side against the wall, not the sort of room to share a bed with another person.

Next morning our friends John and Gabrielle, who live an hour away in Kirkcudbright, joined us for breakfast.  I had seen them in Idaho for the eclipse the previous year but it had been many years since Peter had seen them.

Moving on south we drove into England and around the west side of the Lake District to the trailhead for Scafell Pike in Wasdale.  The weather was much better - sunny, warm, blue skies. A perfect day for a hike.

Wastwater from bottom of Scafell Pike Trail

My legs were certainly sore from the previous day’s efforts but I eventually got adjusted to climbing again.  The route from Wasdale is the shortest way up the mountain, being only 2.5 miles each way. Of course that makes it the steepest and it was a relentless slog up the side of the hill.  The lower 75% was a well maintained trail but at the top it became more of a slog through boulders and scree. Not easy going at all.

The Group on Scafell Pike

There were lots of people on the summit - a Bank Holiday weekend and the promise of good weather really brings everyone out.  Again after summit photos and celebrations we started down the hill. The downhills were becoming more painful now and my quads were really burning.

View from Summit of Scafell Pike

Wastwater from Scafell Pike Trail

At the bottom of the trail was a pub in Wasdale and a refreshing pint of shandy was just what I needed.  Then it was onwards for the long 4 or 5 hours drive into Wales to Snowdon. Again we drove through some stunning countryside a lot of it new to me.  Along the west and southern edges of the Lake District then as it got darker we were on the north coast of Wales (the Dee estuary, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay) before we turned down towards Caernarfon.

Since we were so late the restaurant we had planned to eat at declined to wait for us we had to find another place to eat.  We settled on an Indian in Caernarfon. It got a bit boisterous after the long drive and the consumption of alcohol but our Indian hosts did a great job of putting up with us and serving us some fine Indian food.

We arrived quite late at our hotel, the Saracen’s Head in Beddgelert.  After two nights of my own bed, I finally had to share a bed with Peter.  It was large enough and fortunately his snoring wasn’t too bad.

The next morning I wasn’t moving very well at all.  The stairs in the hotel were difficult and left me out of breath, how was I going to climb Snowdon?

View of Snowdon from Trailhead

There are many routes up Snowdon but we chose the Pyg trail out of the Pen-y-Pass car park on the way up, with a return on the more gentle but longer Miner’s trail.  The trail as usual was very well maintained for the most part. Lots of big boulder steps that tested you going up and going down.

Snowdon Summit

Snowdon is perhaps the most spectacular of the three mountains given that Ben Nevis was in the clouds.  It is a real mountain and you can clearly see the peak as you ascend. The views as you ascend are simply wonderful and the day was perfect, blue cloudless skies and quite warn.  As you climb out onto the summit ridge you join the railway track of the cog railway from Llanberis. There can’t be many mountains where you summit to a railway station and a cafe.

The Snowdon Cog Railway

Snowdon Summit Photo

After the obligatory summit photos we adjourned to the cafe for huge Welsh Pasties and cold Coca Colas.  Perfect.

The descent down followed the same route as we took going up and then the Miner’s Trail turned off downhill on a very steep section for about ¼ mile before leveling out for a gentle walk along the side of a lake and then down to the parking lot.  I took a most refreshing paddle in the icy waters of the lake. Just what the feet and calves needed. Some hardier folk like Akira and Ken took a swim in the lake. That would have been too cold for me.

Down Miner's Trail, Snowdon

The final mile back to the trailhead is a most pleasant walk. Nothing steep, just a gentle descent with a well placed pub at the bottom provided the necessary refreshments.

Lower section of Miner's Trail, Snowdon

So there it was, three peaks in three days.  That was quite an achievement and I don't know if I need to do that again.  Everyone was calling it the “Three Peaks Challenge” but I later learned the true Challenge was doing what we did in 24 hours.  That seems a little extreme, but lots of people do it apparently.

It was then a 5 hour drive back to London where we distributed people around Windsor and Heathrow and said our goodbyes.  I caught the bus from Heathrow to Gatwick where I had a hotel for the night.

There are more photos here.