Firstly, let me apologise to new readers. My writing style is rambling at best, and tends to veer toward unreadable.
I recently had the privilege to be asked to be part of The Three Peaks challenge as the driver. My wife, Jane, and her friend Laura had decided to take up this challenge to climb the highest peaks in England, Wales and Scotland; namely Scafell Pike, Mount Snowdon, and Ben Nevis. This blog entry is not about the physical challenge the climbers face, but more of a little insight as to what the driver might face as part of a 3 Peaks team.
We live in Hertfordshire. This is about 500 miles away from Fort William, the nearest town to Ben Nevis. Now the original plan was to drive to Ben Nevis, and climb it the same day. Ok here is my first tip for drivers, especially if you are the only driver. Exert as much influence as you can muster, beg, shout, stamp your feet, cry, bribe, anything to avoid this plan. It is a long drive, and that last thing anyone wants to do after is to either climb a sodding great big pile of rocks (over 4000 feet), or sit at the bottom of said mountain worrying about the team climbing up it. Instead persuade your climbers that it is a much better idea to arrive the night before, and set off early in the morning. The knock on effect is that the highest peak will be finished whilst they are fresh, and a second mountain can be finished the same day, albeit in the dark. Two thirds done, simple huh?
Just before the border of Scotland there is a fantastic services at Tebay. The food is great, and the food is fabulous. The fuel prices are horrendous however, so try and hold out until you get off the motorway.
Ben Nevis is generally accessed from Glen Nevis. There is a very reasonably priced youth hostel in Glen Nevis. Take my advice, grab your bed early, put the sheets on etc., and get to bed early. The rooms are pitch black at 23:00, and stressing about making a bed, on the top bunk is just going to add to your lack of sleep. The rather over weight chap snoring all night doesn’t help either. If you can get a B&B all the better, but book as early as you can as there is thriving trade locally in producing “No Vacancies” signs.
Opposite the youth hostel is a bridge to the steep start to the Ben Nevis Trail. Make sure you take photos of your team at this point. It might be the freshest, smilyest, most enthusiastic you see them for the next 24 hours. For a more sedate start they might want you to drop them to the Glen Nevis visitors center, a little way down the road.
Right, it is early in the morning. You have seen off the climbers, told them to be careful, wished them well, and watched them trip off into the foothills singing “Climb every mountain”. You might want to treat yourself to a famous full Scottish breakfast. Fort William is not the place to find one. My guess is that most people get this delight in their B&B. There is not much in the way of friendly little cafes in the town. Most of the shops are Climb and Stagger type outfitters. Trust me you will be sick out seeing outdoor gear by the end of the challenge. The best the town can muster at 8 o’clock in the morning is McDonalds. Yes, I know, but I was hungry. What could I do?
If you want to park up and kip for a few hours there is a long stay carpark near to Lidl, and Morrisons. You will pretty much have it to yourself for most of the morning, however it is right beside the local football staduim, and therefore might get busy in the afternoon. Its a short walk to the remains of the original fort if you fancy a bit of history.
Now in a few hours your climber will be arriving back down to ground level. When we did the challenge there was little visibility even at sea level, torrential rain, 70 MPH winds at the top of Nevis, and a wind chill of –1C.
Whilst you are in town waiting you can buy a couple of flasks, and fill them with hot tea or coffee in anticipation. Don’t buy these from the little hardware store as they thermal cups I bought were pretty crap. They leaked both the heat and the liquid. However if the weather is bad even a tepid tea will be welcome.
The climb up Ben Nevis will probably take between five of six hours. Make sure you head to your rendezvous point in plenty of time. Have plenty of change if you are parking at the Glen Nevis Visitor centre as it is a Pay and Display carpark. If you get stuck for something to do plan the next step of the journey as much as you can. The path from Ben Nevis ends at a bridge at the end of the carpark furthest away from the visitors centre. Park there to pick up your climber, then drive them to the visitors centre where there are toilets with plenty of room to change in. There isn’t too much to entertain you in the centre itself, but they sell a few bits. The sew on patches seemed like a good memento for your colleagues.
Ben Nevis well and truly smashed, you will now need to hit the road. Its a long way to the border, but if you are travelling during the day one of your climbing team might be able to navigate for you. There aren’t many routes out of Fort William so this should not be too arduous. We were also fortunate enough to have photocopies of the relevant pages of the road atlas (Satnav? Not for us, although I will be regretting this principle when trying to leave Scafell Pike in the dark)
So onto England. If you are not doing an aggregate time then this leg of the journey will be mildly aggravating. The roads are fine until you are in sight of the mountain range, but are frustratingly twisty, and often blocked by nervous drivers. Lucky for me it is light and the rain we had constantly in Scotland has stopped. For a while. Oh no here it comes again. The last leg of this journey is on a very bumpy stretch of road that is pretty much single track all the way. Sheep own the terrain here so beware of the wooly creatures sleeping in the road. The track is also undulating so those who suffer from travel sickness will not be thanking you at this point. Buy them marzines and seabands before you leave. The views in the Lakes are stunning, so if the weather is with you enjoy the vistas.
There is not much to do here at Scafell Pike, however there is a pub. Sorry I’m driving, Doh. And some toilets. Bring your own paper, and clothes peg. Its here that you might start seeing some familiar faces as it become apparent who if attempting the same challenge. It’s great for sharing information about the conditions up top. The path to the Pike is just at the entrance to the carpark. So its time to send off you team for mountain number two. If you can get a kip here, although it is surprisingly busy. Earplugs might be the order of the day, as teams of climbers are quite rightly geeing themselves up for a climb that can be quite unpleasant.
For some reason, be it the flat lower terrain, or the unforginving nature of the Pike, this mountain seems to be the equivalent of The Wall that marathon runners experience. Give your team lots of encouragement. They are going to be on this mountain for a good few hours, and some of it maybe in the dark.
When they are back, dry, and strapped in its time to head to Wales. Driving the tortuous twists and turns of the lake district in daylight hours is frustrating enough. When its pitch black it becomes something else. If you can persuade someone to navigate this first stretch do so. It is a right pain in the arse, and seems to go on forever.
When you hit the motorways your navigator can safely get some shut eye. Now if you are foolish enough to be the sole drive, like me, this is the point where strange things start happening on the road. The driving gets a surreal feel about it. Fresh air and a fuel stop will be your friends and guardian here. Please take great care. No challenge is worth having an accident for. We were driving through the night to Snowdon, and the traffic was absolutely wonderful. Your target is probably going to be Pen Y Pass.
There is a carpark here. Arriving at 3 o’clock, you’re bound to get a parking space surely. Do not bank on it. We got the last space in a otherwise rammed carpark. There is also no lighting, so beware of moving vehicles looking for a space, people looking for the start of the path, and dogs looking for a place to do their business. There are toilets here but I’m not sure they are open all night. The ticket machins are by the toilets. At the time the prices were £5 for 4 hours or £10 for an all day pass.
The path here is the Miners Path which starts of pretty easy going, however in the dark I am told it’s not so much fun. When you reach the steep ascent it is pretty horrendous, especially with tired legs and heads. Remember kids, head torches, and walking poles are you friends!
Get some kip here it’s a long drive home. The carpark attendands arrive about 6am so if you haven’t got your ticket by them you need to be pretty sharpish. If you have time have a little stroll up the miners path to take in the breathtaking views.
In a few hours the climbers will be coming round the mountain. Tired, cold, wet, but elated at completing this challenge. I can’t express enough my pride and admiration for Jane and Laura. I am glad I could help in a small way by getting them to all the mountains in time. Well done ladies. You’re amazing
So now it’s over, there is just one more thing to do before heading home. At Pen Y Pass there is a cafe that cooks the most amazing breakfasts. The staff are very friendly. Give them a nice tip, trust me the food is worth it.
If you are doing the Three Peaks Challenge I wish all the very best of luck. Even as the driver it was an amazing experience.
Three Peaks Challenge 2013 T-Shirt
