We do not charge schools for our Easter and Christmas Plays, since we like to consider them a gift;  but we crunched some numbers recently, and found that one play costs us roughly £8,500.00.  This takes into account our staff's wages, the cost of any materials, and also the notional costs of our volunteer helpers.
 
SO:-  the entire CRIBS team decided to take-on the THREE PEAKS CHALLENGE in the week commencing Monday 7 September 2009.  This meant that we aimed to climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in 24 hours!
 
Wow! – it was tough! The weather on Ben Nevis, the highest peak, was good. VERY cold at the top (7pm Monday evening) probably well below zero. Going down again should have been quick but in the dark it was very difficult. Rain started as we approached the van about an hour later than schedule. The climb and descent took 6 hours. Drive down to Scafell Pike overnight was good and this put us back on track.
 
Scafell Pike started at 5 am Tuesday morning – so started in dark, but dry. Had to cross fairly significant waterfall (no bridge)! Then the rain started and we were in cloud with about 2 hours left to climb – really hard work. It was torrential and visibility was really poor, probably circa 15-20 meters. A few got completely soaked through to the skin regardless of the quality of their gear. Some of the party really struggled on this hill with energy levels, tiredness, bad knees etc. Really slow progress as almost half of the team were exhausted or carrying injuries. It took over 6 hours to do this peak which took us to about 11.30am. It didn’t stop raining from when it started. When we got back to the bus we found we could pour water out of our boots. We were all very cold and tired. We now knew we couldn’t complete within 24 hours but we wanted to complete the challenge.
 
Between Scafell Pike & Snowdon we stopped at a service station for a break. Snowdon forecast was for very heavy rain followed by brightness later in the afternoon. It was wrong!
 
We got to Snowdon and the wind and the rain was incredible. We had to stand in the shelter of the van as the wind was so strong and the rain made getting kit on impossible otherwise. It was 5 pm - 25 hours after we started. The initial team of 10 reduced to a resolute 6 who were prepared to try to give it a go. They did about 20 minutes up Snowdon but the conditions did not improve at all and our Expedition Leader - Andy Nicholls - took the decision to call off the attempt.
 
The summit would not have been reached before dark and coming down, cold, soaked through, in the dark and exhausted would have been daft. This was a real challenge. The CRIBS workers did fantastically well – it was an excellent team-building exercise.  Everyone coped admirably well and gave everything.  We discovered the pressure of living in a steamed-up minibus with wet clothes AND the joy of 'Ainsley Harriott' pot pastas!!! We have real respect for anyone who has completed this challenge at all, let alone in 24 hours.
 
Thank you to those who have contributed towards our target.  As you can see below we are on the way to reaching it!

The CRIBS Team

www.cribsonline.org

 

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