Football for Good Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, 11th October 2015

This was for Charity Challenge, again. The participants were from the charitable foundations of various professional football clubs, raising money for their respective foundations' charitable activities.

We camped in the car park at Horton in Ribblesdale, the one on the other side of the River Ribble from the pub.

Because of having less than 12 hours between sunrise and sunset, we set out hideously early, when good folk are still a-bed and only bakers and burglars are about their business. The early morning weather was much warmer than it had been the weekend before, and the cloud cover that had caused that suggested cooler day-time conditions, which is how it turned out. I was assigned to look after all the participants from one charitable foundation, and to keep them walking together as much as possible through the day.

There were no major events or epic happenings, except for one young woman having to be very brave on the scramble up Pen-y-Ghent (and later with another leader, on the scramble up Ingleborough) as she faced down her fear of falling off – well done to her.

Again, I ended up at the back with the slowest walker, a young man who a year or so earlier had been in a stationary car which was shunted at fairly high speed by a driver yakking on his mobile phone instead of paying attention to the road. That kind of thing makes my blood boil! Anyway, the young man was basically fit and strong but had problems caused by the impact, so he kept going as best he could, and I kept alongside him, right the way to the finish line.

Checking the time when we arrived showed that he had actually done the whole route in less than twelve hours, which is a good rate even for an uninjured walker.

We finished well before dark, as planned.

I was the last leader off the hills, for my last event of the season. I felt very pleased with my work that day and of the summer as a whole, and when I arrived at the hostel at Malham to stay the Sunday night, I treated myself to a pint of Black Sheep ale, relishing every drop and remembering, as I drank it, all the hardships and achievements of the season.

By about half past eight I was so tired that I just had to go to bed, so unfortunately I missed out on being in the pub with my colleagues, which I had been rather looking forward to.

For the record, the three peaks of the route are:

1.   Pen-y-Ghent (694m)

2.   Whernside (736m)

3.   Ingleborough (724m)

Congratulations to all the participants, especially to those that I looked after.

Red Eye Alzheimer's Society Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, 3rd October 2015

This was for Charity Challenge, again. The participants were all from a company called Red Eye, raising money for the Alzheimer's Society.

We stayed at the YHA in Malham, a place which has become something of a home-from-home for me over the past eighteen months or so.

Because of having less than 12 hours between sunrise and sunset, we set off from Horton-in-Ribblesdale at about seven in the morning while it was still dark, to make sure we could finish while it was still light. There was frost on the ground, but an indication of almost perfect weather for later. I was assigned to the middle of the group of about 40 participants.

During the approach to Pen-y-Ghent the soles of one participant's boot came asunder. I provided gaffer tape for him to repair it with, but it ruptured again, so he made his way alone back to Horton (a route he knew well) – in the afternoon, he re-joined the walk wearing a pair of brand new boots he had managed to buy in Skipton.

It all went well until the ascent to Whernside, but by then it was hot, with not a breath of cooling breeze, and I was suffering from having eaten too much lunch too quickly, which seems to be a hazard of this kind of work when timing is tight. Everybody was happy and relaxed at the top, so we continued our merry way around, without any major incidents that I can recall.

As often happens, I ended up at the back with the slowest walker. Providing support to walkers to are struggling seems to be what I am best at, rather than surging ahead with the fast walkers who really don't need that much support.

We finished well before dark, and returned to the hostel for a jolly good meal.

It was my third time of leading on this route, but first time I had actually walked every inch of the way.

For the record, the three peaks of the walk are listed here.

1.   Pen-y-Ghent (694m)

2.   Whernside (736m)

3.   Ingleborough (724m)

Congratulations to all the participants, especially to those that I looked after.

NSPCC Snowdon Sunrise Challenge, 19th & 20th September 2015

This event was staged by Action Challenge for the NSPCC.

There were two hikes: an afternoon lowland warm-up hike, and a night hike to the summit of Snowdon. Before either of them, there was a whole load of work to do in the blazing sunshine, putting up thirty five pop-up tents for some of the participants -- despite the manufacturer's claims, some of the tents took more then two seconds to erect, and it was afternoon by the time we had got them all up and nailed them all down.

The afternoon hike started at our base camp, the campsite at Llwyn-celyn Bach farm. As a single group of about eighty, we walked into town, past the terminus of the Snowdon Mountain Railway, then through Coed Victoria (the woods), joining the Llanberis Path at Stefan's café, where it is still road. After going up hill a short way we turned right off the Llanberis Path and took the footpath to the level crossing over the railway, where were treated to an ascending train going past, then to the footbridge over the Afon Arddu, then to the gate at Brithdir, then back along the bridleway and the road to Llwyn-celyn Bach farm.

It really was a good idea having this warm-up hike, as several problems with participants' feet were identified and fixed in a much more forgiving environment than the night ahead. It would have been even better if all the 210-or-so participants of the night hike had taken part in the afternoon hike, but it was not to be. There is, of course, an selection bias in making the warm-up hike voluntary: those willing to go are those less likely to be suffering on the main hike, because anyone really un-fit is unlikely to want to do two hikes within hours of each other; unfortunately, there is no way round this. Anyway, it was good that it happened.

In the evening, I went out with Kate Worthington and an assistant mountain leader to put up waymarkers for the final section of the night hike, across the fields between the Llanberis Path just uphill from Stefan's café, and the stile adjacent to the Afon Hwch bridge. After that, I managed to get about three hours' kip before supper.

There was a great buzz as the remaining leaders and participants arrived and everyone got ready for the night hike. At the appointed time, we left in small groups, with me as the back marker of the last group, with another mountain leader at the front of the last group and an assistant on hand too, and with one more mountain leader behind me as the back marker of the whole event. It was rather exciting!

We headed out of the farm and along the road and bridleway to the bridge over the Afon Hwch, then to the footbridge over the Afon Arddu, then left over the level crossing to the junction with the Llanberis Path just uphill from Stefan's café. Things started to slow down then, and my group started to spread out, as the gradient increased. We took a break at Halfway House then set off slowly but steadily, conserving strength for the steep ascent to Clogwyn.

We were about a third of the way up the ascent to Clogwyn (after the path turns left, away from Clogwyn Coch), when a call came over the radio for me to meet one of the paramedics and take further instructions from him. He told me to take one of the participants from the group immediately ahead off the mountain and take her to the barn were we had a support station; her mother came with me, for which I was grateful. The group I had been with continued onwards, and I led the poorly participant and her mother back down.

We made very slow progress -- she was wracked by intermittent attacks of diarrhoea and vomiting, felt panicky, and could cover only about one mile every hour. Even though the weather was fairly mild, I was initially concerned that she might not be making enough heat to avoid becoming hypothermic, but her hands and face were warm, and her dexterity and speech unimpaired, all good signs; later, when she had removed her jacket temporarily to put on another layer, I was able to feel the lining of her jacket, and it was warm and dry, indicating that she was nowhere near being hypothermic.

All the time I was in radio contact with support station at the barn, and could have called for further assistance if I had needed it.

As we descended, and particularly after Halfway House, her condition improved, her mood lifted, and our speed increased very substantially. She became chatty and engaged. By the time I delivered her to the barn we were had covered the final half mile or so at a normal hiking speed, and with no mishaps of any kind.

By this time the other participants were on the way down from the summit. The plan all along and been that the walk would be guided in the ascent and marshalled in the descent, so I was assigned to walk back down and reverse the direction of the way markers so that the participants could find their way back to Llwyn-celyn Bach farm, then to stand at one of the junctions where they might get still make a wrong turn, and send them the right way.

There was another evacuation of one of our participants from the mountain, one where the casualty could not walk off, but needed urgent removal to hospital. While I was stood in the beautiful wooded glade on the bridge over the Afon Arddu waiting for the first of the descending participants to turn up, I saw the big red and white rescue helicopter land on the flattish area east of Maen-du'r Arddu, fly off in the direction of its base, return to land a few minutes later, then finally fly off in the direction of Bangor, where the nearest hospital is. I do not know the details of that rescue.

When the last three participants had passed me, I walked with them back to the finish line, feeling tired but elated.

I travelled home by train, having figured out in advance that it I would not be in a good state to drive home after working all night. I flopped into bed in the early evening and slept soundly right through until morning, and woke up looking forward to having the next weekend off.

teaching the basics of navigation to children, 17th September 2015

This was a half-day activity for the year-seven children of the Downs School in Bristol -- I was working for Aardvark Endeavours, under the direction of Martin Torbett.

The activity started in the lower public car park in Burrington Coombe and ended at the trig. point on Blackdown. To get from one to the other, the children, who had been placed in small groups, had to use textual clues and numerical direction and distance measures written on pieces of card, a compass, and a cut-up map, to navigate. On the way there were tokens to collect, and I had a bag of sweets to dish out as rewards.

My task was to assist the children in using the textual and numerical information, show them how to use the compass and how to count paces, make sure they stayed safe, provide first-aid cover, get them to the trig. point by one o'clock for lunch, and generally jolly them along.

The weather was perfect for the activity, which was a big help.

The bunch of kids I was looking after worked really well together, completed the task successfully, and did it with a good sense of fun. Well done, all of you.

Macmillan Marks & Spencer Jurassic Coast Challenge, 11th & 12th September

This was a two-day event on the Dorset coast for about 40 high-ranking managers of Marks and Spencer, in support of their fundraising for Macmillan. I was one of six Charity Challenge mountain leaders who accompanied the participants around their circular routes from Swanage, the first day just for a straightforward hike, and the second day livened with light-hearted treasure-hunting activities.

Food during the breaks was from the repertoire of M&S: yummy! I know where I'll be getting more of my sandwiches and crisps from now on.

It wasn't mountaineering and the distances weren't epic, but there was still a fair collection of blisters, sprains, unexpected locking-up of knees on descent, and runnings out of puff. Well done to all those who took part, especially those who had to tough it out when it wasn't easy.

Macmillan National Grid Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, 22nd August 2015

This was for Charity Challenge, again: my fourth piece of work for them.

Instead of camping, we stayed at the YHA in Malham. I do love being in my tent, but there is no doubt that everything is quicker and more convenient when staying in a hostel, especially in rainy weather.

We set off from Horton-in-Ribblesdale just before eight in the morning with weather better than had been forecast. I was assigned to a group of thirteen participants co-led by my colleague Dan. We were the first out of the the starting gate, with me at the front.

During the approach to Pen-y-Ghent it became clear the range of speeds of the participants would require a re-arrangement of the group before long, and so it came to pass, with Dan racing ahead with the very fast walkers, and me at the back, looking after the slower walkers.

One of the participants who was with me, Jodie, started to develop nasty blisters, and was in a lot of pain, and limping to reduce this, and thereby overstressing her joints. The most likely cause of the blistering was her socks, which were too large for her feet and were rucking up inside her boots and causing intense local friction. I applied the first-aid treatments at my disposal, but to no avail. She was in a poor way and and it looked as if she would have to give up, which would have been unfortunate. However, to my surprise, she took off the boot of the worse-affected foot and carried on wearing just the sock, and completed the ascent of Whernside this way. I was most impressed at this example of determination and fortitude, but more was to follow.

As we left the summit, her boot now back on but without the sock inside it, she started to speed away. I was moving forward only slowly, looking after another participant who was flagging, and no-one walking with me would have had time to complete the circuit, so as conditions were safe and our intermediate destination was in sight, I let her and two others go ahead, to giver them the best chance of completing the circuit in the care of another leader.

At the second Charity Challenge checkpoint, at Philpin Farm, I queued for the loo behind a sweaty man in a vest (not one of our participants) who spent nearly ten minutes doing whatever, then came out and announced, "That was heavenly!". Er, yes, mate: and thanks for keeping the rest us of waiting.

The last one of my original thirteen who had not sped ahead called it a day, and was taken to the finish by minibus. I was put on the minibus with her, not so that I could put my feet up and idle about at the finish, or sit in a hot tub at the local spa, but so that I could walk from the finish back towards Ingleborough to meet four very fast participants who had broken away. No rest for the wicked, eh!

I intercepted the first two, then the second two, in the Sulber Nick area, but it was clear that neither pair need me to guide to them in (and, to be honest, I am not sure I could have kept up with them anyway). Instead, I made my way back to the finish line to help out there.

Before long, Jodie came to the finish. Not only was she several minutes ahead of her group, but also, she was running! She said she had run ("jogged") the final two miles, but the signs on the path down from Ingleborough understate the distance, so she had certainly run further than that. Go, Jodie!

Her transformation was astonishing to behold, and very moving to witness.

We had been lucky with the weather, but between the first and the last participants finishing, the wind picked up and it became very blustery and much cooler, with threatening thunder clouds bubbling up nearby. Finally, while were we on the coach on the way back to Malham, the heavens opened, and we were treated to a fine display of lightning, but by then were off the hills and out of harm's way.

For the record, the three peaks of the walk are listed here; the two in bold I ascended, but not Ingleborough, as I was needed elsewhere.

1.   Pen-y-Ghent (694m)

2.   Whernside (736m)

3.   Ingleborough (724m)

Congratulations to all the participants, especially to those that I looked after, and most of all to Jodie.

Macmillan Lakes Eight Peaks Challenge, 8th August 2015

This was another day's work for Charity Challenge, which had organised the event for Macmillan, the cancer charity.

I arrived the evening before and pitched my tent at Baysbrown Farm in Langdale, attended the leaders' briefing, picked up my walkie-talkie, then helped set up the marquees and other paraphernalia of a charity event, then went to bed early for a good night's kip.

When I woke up at quarter to five in the morning, there was a very strong temperature inversion in the valley, with multiple stacked laminae of mist, the whole thing softly illuminated by the waning Moon and the pre-dawn blue sky. This promised great weather for walking.

Once the participants had gathered, my group, which had two leaders, set off four our first summit, via the Cumbria Way and Rossett Ghyll. On the climb up before the first zig-zags my tummy started going very wobbly, so I pulled out to recover, leaving my group with the other leader assigned to them. When I felt better, which was about five minutes later, I was assigned to newly-formed group of six, and stayed with them for the remainder of the day.

The first peak was Rossett Pike (651m), which was alternately bathed in mist and bathed in sunshine. From there we made our way past beautiful Angle Tarn to Allen Crags (784m), then to the Charity Challenge checkpoint at Esk Hause.

After a short break we went to Scafell Pike (977m) in one move – it was the only time I had ever been there in good visibility, and it was really good this time, with gorgeous, inspiring views all around, and brilliant sunshine.

Then we made our way back to Esk Hause more-or-less the way we had come, but deviating to Broad Crag (934m), Ill Crag (935m), and Great End (907m).

Broad Crag wasn’t on the official list of peaks for the day, but by then it had become clear that the speed of the group would not permit us to go to the three remaining peaks east of Scafell Pike, so I made the most the minor peaks nearby to make an unofficial eight.

In that spirit, we climbed the lower prominence at Ill Crag (ca. 930m, about 100m east of the main peak) and the lower prominence at Great End (ca. 905m, approximately 200m south east of main peak). We then descended on the established footpaths to the checkpoint at Esk Hause, then back the way we had come via Angle Tarn.

By any standards, it was a full day’s hiking, and all the participants did it with enthusiasm and good grace. For the record, here again is the list of peaks we reached, in order; those listed in bold were on the official list, and the others were slipped in to make eight, instead of the three we did not have time to reach.

1.   Rossett Pike (651m)

2.   Allen Crags (784m)

3.   Scafell Pike (977m) – the highest mountain in England

4.   Broad Crag (934m)

5.   Ill Crag (935m)

6.   peak ca. 100m east of Ill Crag (ca. 930m)

7.   peak ca. 200m south east of Great End (ca. 905m)

8.   Great End (907m)

Well to done all the participants, especially to those in the group of six: Jane, Cheryl, Geoff, Philip, John and Bekka.