2nd Norbiton (St. Peter's) Scout Group

The National Four Peaks

*** Date of Last Update: 13 June 2008 ***

Click on a thumbnail to see the full size picture.

Introduction

THE CHALLENGE was for a team of twenty Thales Avionics Limited staff and five friends and colleagues to ascend the highest mountains in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland within 48 hours over the summer solstice weekend of 1999 to raise £5,000 for two Kingston charities.

THE MONEY raised towards Kingston Hospital’s “Born Too Soon” charity was to be put towards their £25000 appeal for a specialist piece of equipment (a High Frequency Oscillatory Ventilator), which would be used to help pre-term and sick full-term infants with their breathing. Money raised towards the 2nd Norbiton Scout Group would be used to help the Group provide equipment and support for indoor and outdoor activities.

THE MOUNTAINS, in order of ascent, are: Ben Nevis (Scotland), the highest of them all, at 1344m (4406 feet); Scafell Pike (England), the lowest, at 978m (3208 feet); Yr Wddfa (Snowdon, Wales), the second highest, at 1085m (3559 feet); and Carrantuohill (Eire), the third highest, at 1039m (3412 feet).

THE TEAM consisted of two elements: the TAvL staff members Dave Batten, Phil Baverstock, Melvin Colesell, Tony Cullen, Matthew David, Steve Durkin, Peter Durrant, Paul Elliott, Neil Etherton, Mark Evans, Erica Fogg, Jerry Langton, Steve Lamb, Paul Morris, Mark Pursglove, Paul Rosewarn, Richard Scott, Giles Taylor, Russell Thorp and Jamie Wilson; and friends John Dutton, Mary McGovern, Jamie McConnon, Caroline Millar and Peter Smith.

Day One/Two - Peak One

DAY ONE: DEPARTURE. The team left TAvL at 1600 hrs on Wednesday, 16 June and travelled up to Kendall, Cumbria, where they stayed in a Church Hall for the night.
DAY TWO: THE START AND PEAK ONE. The following day, Thursday 17 June, the Team left the Church Hall at 0700 hrs and travelled up to Fort William. Arriving at 1300 hrs, there was just time to snatch lunch and visit the local shops to stock up with supplies before heading off down Glen Nevis.
BEN NEVIS (Route Plan) The Challenge proper began at 1425 hrs as the Team set off from the Youth Hostel in Glen Nevis up the 'Pony Track' onto Ben Nevis. The ascent was in hot conditions, though a snowball fight ensued high on the peak.

	The summit was reached at 1745 hrs, with the last 300 feet being in cloud and requiring the crossing of a large snowfield.
	Occasionally, the cloud cleared to give some reasonable views of the Carn Mor Dearg arête and, after a brief snack and a photo shoot, the Team finally departed the summit at 1800 hrs, arriving back at the Youth Hostel at 2030 hrs.
The Team departed Glen Nevis at 2045 hrs and headed south to the Lake District for the second Peak.

Day Three - Peak Two

DAY THREE: DOWN TO WASDALE. With a stop at the Services just outside Gretna,in order to freshen up and prepare with some form of light for the second peak (Scafell Pike), the Team finally arrived at Wasdale Head at 03:15 hrs on Friday morning 18 June.
SCAFELL PIKE (Route Plan) Setting off just 15 minutes later, at 03:30 hrs, the Team ascended directly to Mickledore (the saddle between Scafell Pike and Sca Fell) in cool but clear conditions, watching the sun rise as we climbed higher.

With a brief stop just before the steep scree slope up to the saddle, the Team reached the summit of Scafell Pike at 05:40 hrs and were rewarded with some fantastic views all around, though it was somewhat cold.

As on Ben Nevis, there was a brief stop for a drink and photo shoot before the Team left the top at 05:55 hrs for the descent, reaching the minibuses at 07:45 hrs. We departed Wasdale Head at 08:05 hrs and headed south and west to North Wales for Peak three.

Day Three - Peak Three

DAY THREE: DOWN TO PEN-Y-PASS. As the Team were beginning to get a little tight for time (we had a Ferry to catch!) we travelled from Wasdale Head directly to Pen-y-Pass without stopping, reaching the car park at 12:50 hrs.

YR WDDFA (Route Plan)
Just 5 minutes later at 12:55 hrs, conscious of the need to make up some time if the Ferry to Ireland were not to be missed, the Team departed for the summit along the Pyg Track at a blistering pace in very hot conditions. With a fantastic effort, the first members of the Team reached the top just 1 hour and 20 minutes later at 14:15 hrs, completing the 3 Peaks of Scotland, England and Wales in 23 hours and 50 minutes.

Giles, Dave and Tony on the Summit of Snowdon (16858 bytes)

The whole group was on the summit just 25 minutes later at 14:40 hrs and, though some cloud was around the top, good views were enjoyed through regular breaks. Following, once again, a brief drink stop and photo shoot, the Team left the summit at 14:50 hrs and descended via the Miners' Track, arriving back at Pen-y-Pass at 16:50 hrs.

DAY THREE - OVER TO IRELAND We departed Pen-y-Pass at 16:55 hrs and high-tailed it west to Holyhead as fast as traffic would allow, reaching the Ferry terminal at 17:50 hrs with just 5 minutes to spare to the booking-in deadline! Though we were on time, the Ferry, alas, was not: we had a 45-minute delay to the sailing time. However, the Team made the most of the opportunity, freshening up at the terminal ready for the journey ahead.

Finally, the Ferry departed Holyhead at 19:15 hrs and the Team was able to stretch out, relax and eat some hot food for the first time in 28 hours.
The crossing to Dun Laoghaire (and to disembarkation) took one hour and forty-five minutes and we left the Terminal in Dun Laoghaire at 21:10 hrs, heading south and west once again for MacGillycuddy's Reeks down near Dingle Bay at the far south-western tip of Ireland.

Day Four - The Breakdown & Peak Four

DAY FOUR: THE BREAK DOWN. Whilst travelling down the N7 to Limerick, the driver of the lead minibus suddenly announced at 00:50 hrs on Saturday 19 June that the accelerator pedal was not responding. Pulling off at a side turning and moving to the kerbside, the engine was switched off as it was revving like mad.

After some investigation, it was determined that the pedal had jammed into the rubber of the drivers' footwell and was duly freed. But the engine would now not start. After a lengthy discussion - with many a hypothesis being propounded and various attempts to start the engine coming to nothing - we finally contacted the local breakdown service and requested assistance as soon as possible.
Just over an hour later, the breakdown van arrived and the service man determined the cause of the fault (which had already been suggested by one of the Team members): since, when the engine was switched off, the vehicle was stationary but revving like crazy, the engine management system assumed that the vehicle had been in a crash and shut off the fuel flow to the engine! Finally, after some manual tool work to encourage fuel through, the minibus coughed into life at 02:15 hrs.
Eternally grateful to the Irish breakdown service, the Team resumed the challenge at 02:20 hrs as we headed off once again on the journey to the Reeks.

CARRANTUOHILL (Route Plan)
With no further problems - other than the pedal occasionally sticking again and being immediately freed (on the move) by the driver - we finally reached the car park near Knocknafreaghaun at 04:20 hrs, whereupon the Team prepared for its assault on the final Peak of the challenge.

Setting off at 05:05 hrs, the Team headed up Hags Glen in overcast and windy conditions and the weather worsened as we climbed higher. A mist set in, giving a very light but permeating drizzle, and the Team had to don waterproofs for the first time in three days.
Eventually, the Devil's Ladder was reached, a steep and loose slope leading to the final ridge up to the summit. Ascending carefully, the team reached the saddle at the top of the Ladder at 720m, cresting into the teeth of a gale. The last 320m of the ascent was through heavy mist, requiring some careful navigation, and the wind constantly threatened to bowl everyone off their feet.

	The summit cross and stone shelter of Carrantuohill was reached at 08:25 hrs on the morning of Saturday 19 June, 42 hours to the minute after beginning the challenge in Glen Nevis.
	On the top, the wind was gusting so strong it was hard to even take photographs, and one of the Team had his poncho torn to shreds! With concerns about the risk of hypothermia with so tired a group of 23 people in such harsh conditions, we turned around just 10 minutes after arrival at the summit and headed back down into the mist.

Once out of the wind, having descended from the saddle into the Devil's Ladder, the going - albeit steep and loose as on the ascent - became easier, though one of the team took a tumble at one point and broke his glasses: the only 'casualty' (apart from the minibus) of the whole trip.

The descent along Hags Glen was uneventful apart from a dunking to one Team member whilst crossing the river, and the car park was reached by the last team members at 11:55 hrs.

DAY FOUR: WATERFORD CITY. After a little relaxation back at the buses, the Team packed up and we finally headed off east for Waterford City in the south-east at 13:00 hrs. En route, we dropped off one Team member near Cork Airport, as he was flying off to Portugal that afternoon to his girl-friend's birthday party!

It was a very tired but happy Team that finally reached the Guest Houses in Waterford City at 17:15 hrs that evening. With a short break to settle in, shower and change, the Team headed off to the local bar for a much-deserved meal and drink prior to collapsing into bed for the first decent few hours sleep since the challenge began.

Day Five - Homeward Bound

DAY FIVE: OVER THE WATER TO FISHGUARD Rising at 06:00 hrs on Sunday 20 June, most of the Team snatched breakfast though, unfortunately, four of the Team in another Guest House had to forgo anything as the proprietor had neglected to put any breakfast items out ready for them. It was only that we were getting tight for time that prompted the Team leader to roust everyone out of the breakfast room to get on the road, not in any way due to the fact that he was one of the four who got no breakfast! (He sneaked a couple of slices of toast from the other Guest House, anyway.)

The minibuses finally pulled away at 06:55 hrs and headed for the ferry terminal at Rosslare on the south-eastern tip of Ireland, arriving at 07:55 hrs. There was no delay to the ferry this time and the boat sailed on time at 09:00 hrs for the three and a half hour crossing to Fishguard on the west coast of Wales.

On board, the Team availed themselves of the facilities, stocking up with a good cooked English breakfast and making purchases in the duty-free lounge. The rest of the crossing was spent simply relaxing and enjoying (in 95% of cases, though no-one was actually physically ill) the trip, finishing off rolls of film in the cameras and chatting both inside and on deck.

Arriving in Fishguard at the scheduled time of 12:20 hrs, disembarkation went smoothly and we headed off on the final leg of the journey eastwards and southwards at 12:30 hrs. Apart from the accelerator pedal still sticking on the odd occasion, the trip back to Raynes Park went off smoothly and we finally pulled into Thales Avionics at Bushey Road at 17:45 hrs.

Statistics

Total distance driven for the Challenge:	725 miles
Total distance walked on the Challenge:	27.75 miles (per person)
Total height ascended for all peaks:	12,695 feet (descended, too)
Total time for the '3 Peaks':	23 hours and 50 minutes (for the first few - 24 hours and 15 minutes for everyone)
Total time for the '4 Peaks':	42 hours (to the top of Carrantuohill, 45 hours 30 minutes back to the car park)