Fundraising Event

Paul Appleton completed the 3 Peaks Challenge in July in 25 hours 25 minutes and kindly raised £1134 for South Cheshire CLASP. I interviewed him via email to find out more. Here is a shortened version of his answers:(If you hold the mouse arrow over the photograph the slide show will pause. if you click on it a new tab will open cantaining more information.)

Chris: Why did you do the 3 Peaks Challenge?

Paul: There are 2 main reasons why I did the 3 Peaks Challenge.

1. Ultimately the 3 Peaks Challenge is an event which centres around fundraising and gives the person involved the opportunity to raise money for their chosen charity... I wanted to raise a 'reasonable' amount for CLASP as I did on this occasion. The satisfaction of handing over a tidy sum to a charity is worth far more than all the hard work involved in completing the actual challenge.

2....I really enjoy the experience, the 'thrill' of the climb, being outdoors in unpredictable environments. Each attempt 'casts' different degrees of difficulty. It can be very challenging dependent on the elements. I have a real drive to acheive and have climbed Snowdon on a number of occasions when the weather has been really against me. I have only had to abandon the walk twice since 1999 due to high winds and snow!

Chris: Can you give us some general info about the challenge?

Paul: I was very well prepared for the challenge in 2010. The 3 Peaks Challenge in 2009 which I did after only 6 weeks preparation did challenge me physically and left me feeling like I had definitely walked up and down 3 mountains! It did take some time before my legs felt anything like normal. The 3 Peaks Challenge event in 2010 was 'comfortable' in comparison ... I continued from July 2009 through to July 2010 to cycle a minimum of 36 miles to work prior to each of my 14hr 40mins shifts! ...Physically I remained in good shape throughout the challenge. I applied deep heat rub into my legs prior to and after each mountain climb. I had no aches or pains during or after the challenge....

Chris: What were the highs and lows of the challenge?

Paul: The Lows -
Scafell Pike is definitely the hardest of the 3 climbs despite being the lowest summit to reach at 978 meters. We left Ben Nevis at 2110hrs and started Scafell Pike at 3am with head torches for vision. It was a tough climb and a tough descent due to the fact that Ben Nevis took it out of you a bit and then after 5hrs 50mins we were back on our feet for another one, and the hardest of the 3. What definitely made it harder for me was the fact that 2 people out of the group were particularly slow and had underestimated the challenge. They hadn't prepared themselves properly which they admitted to later. It meant walking at a slower pace than I would have chosen to walk at. I organised the event and naturally 'looked after' the other members within the group. It just meant having to slow down my speed which consequently challenged me more physically and mentally.

The Highs -
Being witness to each summit as we reached them in turn was a fantastic feeling. All the preparation and organisation (which was time consuming but also pleasurable) was well worth it given the individual achievements in the 24hrs. Beating the elements and reaching each summit was fantastic... 'to sum it up', [we had] freezing cold temperatures, wind, rain and mist to contend with which only made the challenge physically and mentally more challenging... As the organiser of the event taking those other persons on the experience of the 3 Peaks Challenge gave me a real 'buzz', because I made it happen for them too. That was a definite high for me. Coupled in the knowledge that a nice big cheque would be finding its way to CLASP at the end of the challenge certainly steered me in the right direction!

Chris: What were the views and characteristics of the peaks?

Paul: The views from each mountain before the cloud cover was amazing. The lakes we passed on the way up made for a very scenic view from the heights we reached, coupled with the adjoining mountains that sloped away from us. On all the mountains we climbed the views were astounding and offered a different perspective each time...

The photos I sent you should give you an idea of how barren some of the climbing was and shows off some characteristics....