Sorry for the late response, but we did it!!! YAY! here's how it happened!

Saturday 5^th June

We all arrived at  CV2 Van Hire, our fantastic sponsors, around 11:30  with trepidation, very short toenails and 70 pre - prepared sandwiched.

Before we set off we made some last minute checks such as, “do we have everyone?”  and were off. Just before we set off we found out that Alan Edgington had kindly said that LDJ solicitors would cover our petrol for the entire journey along with CV2 which was a really pleasant surprise.

Kenny “the Stig” Kendal got us well under way and we were making very good time, that is until while bombing down the M6 he noticed the wing mirror about to fall off and managed to get his hand out in time to catch it, so we had to pull over and make some repairs with a roll of Gaffa Tape. That wasn’t going to slow us down and we made the Premier Inn in good time in Glasgow where we all had a bite to eat and went to bed after some stretching and didn’t sit in the pub for 6 hours getting drunk and playing poker!!!

Sunday 6^th june

The big day, The intention was to all have a lie in and a lazy journey to Fort William, however most of us were up early due to a mix of fear and excitement so not a great nights sleep was had.

We departed the Premier Inn and headed for Fort William at about 11am, arriving at about 2pm. The mountains driving through the Highlands, in particular Glen Coe, all made the bus quiet and got everyone focused on the challenge, or that could have been the fear at a particularly Stig-esque overtaking manoeuvre from Kenny over a narrow bridge in the mountains!

Once we arrived in Fort William we had a few hours to chill out which we spent playing Frisbee in the park until we got our kit together and headed for Glen Nevis Youth Hostel and our starting point.

After much toing and froing, and Mark Cooper developing an ocd about the time and getting one final team photo we set off from the Minibus at 4:45pm, waving a good bye to Kenny who we left with a new present to keep him entertained.

The initial half an hour was very quiet as people were focused on a steady pace and a bit nervous, But once we started to ascend to good vantage points the views of the highlands lifted our spirits and the challenge began in earnest. It was an uneventful climb and the weather was really kind to us staying dry and mostly sunny. We hit the summit at around 7:30pm and had the chance for a quick photo before we started the ascent down. We’d agreed that since the down hill journeys were well marked out we’d descend at our own pace and some broke into a jog in parts. The first guys made it down at 9:15pm with the rest all coming in by 9:45pm with the only major incident being Mike Bulls shoe falling apart and the discovery that everyone liked the jelly bears and Freddie Frogs which were brought for the climbs

We set off from Ben Nevis immediately and got stuck into the rations of sandwiches, crisps, fruit and chocolate  and were making good progress through the highlands until a deluge meant Kenny had to slow his pace down a little to just over the national speed limit.

Some slept while others were quite pumped and couldn’t manage to get any in while Chris and Andy spoke to Kenny inanely in an attempt to keep him awake, which wasn’t needed in the end.

We arrived at Scafell Pike in the pitch black and got our kit on including our head torches, setting off at 3:45am. We cut a tired and groggy group wading through the darkness and the fog, but spurred on by T the Cyborg we were making good time and arrived at the summit at 5:50am. A quick photo and the descent down began. I don’t mean to be disparaging about one of the UKs most stunning landscapes but in the heavy fog and darkness Scafell Pike was one of the most depressing and demoralising points for the group and we were all glad when we made it down at around 7am, with the last guys getting in around 7:30am. We woke Kenny, who thought we had only just left, which thankfully meant he had got some sleep, and hit the road.

Again we tried to sleep and all of us got through another round of Cheese and Pickle sandwiches, but by now the bus was starting to hum and the fatigue really setting in. However as we came close to Snowden we realised we were on the home straight and the mood really picked up. We hit the Pen-y-Pass car park at 12:15pm and were  off within 5 minutes. We’d all decided to go at our own pace, get to the top for a group photo and head down to try and set our own personal times, so we hit the summit at around 2:10pm and the race was on. The early front runners, as they were for most of the last 24 hours were James May and the Cyborg with Chris, Edgy and Mike all looking to try and beat them. However even a Wiley Cayote style diversion by Chris and Edge  couldn’t prevent Andy and T from getting in first at 3:25pm, followed by Chris and Edge at 3:35pm, then Mike at 3:36pm with everyone else coming in at around 4:05pm.

A jubilant and very tired group were picked up by our knight in shining Armour, Kenny, and a couple of group  photos later we were back at the Alpine Hotel for a shower and straight to the pub.

The whole team performed excellently and some real personal demons were vanquished as well as everyone getting in under 24 hours, which was a phenomenal achievement. Special thanks needs to go to Kenny who was the most valuable member of the team without who we would have never have got the times we did.

We also need to thank our sponsors CV2 Van Hire, LDJ Solicitors and all of the other people that donated money which means that our total raised should hopefully smash through the £3,000 mark for the Stroke Association,

 

Hi and thanks for visiting our sponsorship page.

Before Christmas we decided that we wanted set a physical and mental challenge each year rather than tackling the gym for a few months and then giving up. The reasons are numerous but the two underlying reasons were to acheive something personally and also help raise money for worthy causes.

I managed to rope in 8 friends who felt the same and we have now fully planned our challenge for 2010. To climb the 3 highest peaks in the UK in under 24 hours.

So the team of unlikely mountaineers is myself, Paul Edgington, Andy Baylis, Mike Bull, Chris Clarke, Andy Taylor, Mark Cooper, Julian Hill and Kenny "the Stig" Kendall

We all had charities which we wanted to raise money for and that were close to our hearts, but we decided to stick these in a hat and pick one charity, which resulted in us raising money for the Stroke Association. We will be organising and training for this off of our own backs.

So...... we will set off on the 6th of June early doors from the midlands to get to Ben Nevis and begin our ascent at 6pm, we are aiming to complete this within 4 hours and get back on the road at last light and head for the Lake District to begin our ascent of Scaffell Pyke for 5am (first light).

4.5 hours later we're aiming to be back on the road to Snowdonia National Park  and aim to begin our ascent of Snoden by no later than 2pm and to be back down by 6pm, therefore completing it in 24 hours.

We wouldn't be able to do this without the support of CV2 Self Drive who have kindly donated a minibus for our challenge, please do check them out here: http://cv2selfdrive.co.uk/

We would really appreciate all donations and will be keeping people up to date via facebook and twitter of our "training" and then also the trek itself. it'll be a bit like an episode of 24, but with heavier people!