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No Laughing Matter!

Sully O'Sullivan is raising money for Act 4 Africa
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No Laughing Matter 3 Peaks Challenge · 30 June 2007 to 1 July 2007 ·

We help women and girls in Africa thrive on their own through health, education, and jobs. Our vision: equal communities where they transform their lives.

Story

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On July 30th 2007, 4 teams including 14 professional comedians from Britain, Ireland, Canada, the US and New Zealand, attempted to climb the 's 3 highest peaks in the UK, all in 24hours, to raise money for Act4Africa, a charity dedicated to delivering HIV and AIDS Education Programmes in an effort to arrest the AIDS pandemic threatening a whole continent.

The comedians were split into 3 teams:

Team A: a mixture of clean living fitness freaks, high on lifers, and people who did too much cocaine in the 80s and are still coming down.

Team B: I haven’t done any training but at least I’m not fat!

Team C: I’m fat!

Training: As final preparation for the climb Sully spent a week locked in a room with another comic writing a new show for the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, subsisting on a diet of pizza and chicken wings. He understands this is standard procedure before such expeditions. He capped off his intense training regime by performing at an Act4Africa charity event the night before the first climb, where he was undeservedly chastised for having a couple of pints “just to even himself out”.

Ben Nevis : The first ascent was Ben Nevis in where Sully hit the front of Team B along with Canadian Phil Nichol and set a pace that soon had them pass Teams C & D which had started earlier. This all seemed like a great idea till Sully’s back packed in. Still, Team B completed the ascent in 2nd place and Phil & Sully were amongst the first 5 hikers to return to base, ahead of most of Team A.

Scarfell Pike: The next ascent was Scarfell Pike, but just short of halfway is was clear Sully’s knees were shot. Aware he was now slowing team B’s progress he volunteered to switch to the next ascending team who would be moving at a slower pace. As Team C had stayed on Ben Nevis to attend to a medical emergency to an unrelated climber, Sully joined the corporate team D ascending just 10mins behind. Eventually, after losing the path in the dark and confusion of multiple mountain rescues happening around them, Team D scrambled up a rock face to the summit. In contrast they made swift progress on the descent in the light of dawn, finishing just 20mins behind team B.

Snowden: Sully was returned to Team B for the final ascent of the normally placid Mount Snowden in , just in time for the teams to find themselves facing sleet, hale, and gale force winds, with the possibility of being blown off the hill side seeming, by this point, almost appealing.

Though the ascent was at times painstakingly slow, all members of Team B reached the summit. For the descent Team B was split into two groups with the two members who had suffered serious knee injuries, including Sully, descending separately, and arriving at the base approximately 20mins behind the main group.      

Epilogue: We’re waiting on medical confirmation but it does appear that half way up Scarfell Pike Sully snapped the anterior cruciate ligament is his left knee. A ligament already surgically reconstructed. We’re not sure what he’s done to the right knee, but the initial indication is that it might be medial.

Team B’s official climb time was 16 hours, 28mins, and 50 seconds, with the total time including travel diversion between Ben Nevis and Scarfell Pike due to Bomb Attacks at Glasgow Airport , 27hours and 42mins.

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Donation summary

Total
£740.00
+ £207.31 Gift Aid
Online
£740.00
Offline
£0.00

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